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As human rights evolved to become part of a dominant moral discourse in world politics, regional organisations (ROs) often portray themselves in the language of human rights. Facing growing contestation and politicisation, they have also gradually begun to legitimate their authority drawing on human rights. Yet not all ROs do so to the same extent, in the same manner, or consistently over time. This begs the question: why and how do ROs use human rights for self-legitimation? To answers this research question, I combine a macro analysis using qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) on 23 ROs from 1980 to 2019 with a micro analysis via process-tracing in two cases - Arab League (LoAS) and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). Ultimately, ROs use human rights in their legitimation because they strive for congruence. When norms, values, and moral principles purported and embodied by the RO are congruent with those of its core constituency and all relevant audiences, The researcher observes human rights legitimation. She argues that the degree of congruence combines with different degrees of delegitimation stemming from the distinct constellation of agents and audiences of legitimation. Shee circumscribes this via four types of human rights legitimisers. Testing existing theories on legitimacy, legitimation, and human rights, the QCA suggests that "Self-containing Legitimisers" are ROs with a status quo of congruence between the RO and its core constituency. "Signalling Legitimisers" irregularly use human rights legitimation as a signal to respond to additional audiences. Thanks to the case studies, the author further refines existing theory. CARICOM constitutes a case of a "Reviving Legitimisers" where delegitimation towards their core constituency occurs to which it reacts by reviving what it embodies which entails including human rights in its legitimation. With LoAS, the author observes a "Brokering Legitimisers" in which case delegitimation is on the verge of a legitimacy crisis, but its Secretary General manages to broker human rights to two diverging audiences thanks to localisation. Thus, this book provides an explanation of how a distinct norm is used in self-legitimation, nuances our understanding of agents and audiences of legitimation, and introduces the concept of localisation to the study of legitimation.
New media and digital technologies open up numerous possibilities to document different versions of reality, which makes it essential to examine how they transform the logic behind the creation and production of documentaries in digital cultures. The goal of this study is to investigate the integration between the traditional documentary and new media: the interactive documentary, in the context of the different sociocultural and technological environments of China and the West. Accordingly, a comparative study on the evolution and integration of these two fields was carried out. The documentary genre brings with it a method of classification and various modes of representing reality, while new media provide new approaches to interactivity as well as the production and distribution of interactive documentaries. In this context, the study examines the differences and characteristics of interactive documentaries in China and the West. Interactive documentaries grow and change as a continuously evolving system, engaging the roles of the author and the user, such that their roles are mixed for better co-expression and the reshaping of their shared environment. In addition, an analytical approach based on the types of interactivity was adopted to explore this new form of documentary both to deduce how the stories about our shared world can be told and to understand the impact of interactive documentaries on the construction of our versions of the reality as well as our role in it.
The ethical apparatus: The material-discursive shaping of ethics, autonomy, and the driverless car
(2023)
This research argues that the emergent driverless car, as a kind of autonomous vehicle, is a Foucault-ian "ethical apparatus", working as an epistemic device to materially embody and enable discursive power by generating notions of "autonomy" and "ethical decision-making". The ethical implications of AI, algorithmic, and autonomous technologies are topics of current regulatory and academic concern. This concern relates to the lack of meaningful oversight of black boxes inside AI systems, liabilities for manufacturers, and inadequate frameworks to hold AI-based socio-technical systems to account. One recent artefact, the driverless car, has taken on these concerns quite literally in the shaping of a niche discourse of the "ethics of autonomous driving". Ambitions to produce a fully autonomous vehicle based on AI technologies are constrained by speculative concerns that its decision-making in unexpected accident situations cannot be assumed to protect humans. "The ethics of autonomous driving" evaluates proposals to build "ethical machines" by examining the relationship between structures of human values and moral decision-making, and how they comport to computational architectures for decision-making. This is the first case this work takes up, chiefly organised around an analysis of a thought experiment, the Trolley Problem, and the online game, Moral Machine, that crowdsourced values to suggest approaches to an "ethics of autonomous driving". Rather than evaluate the feasibility or appropriateness of these two approaches, this work attends to the more critical issue that ethics is being proposed in terms of technologies turning on the logics of risk, speculation, and probabilistic correlations that are fundamental to how machine learning makes decisions. The concern in this work is less a normative framework or approach for a better or more appropriate ethics of autonomous driving. Rather, this work argues that what we understand as "the ethical" is being transformed when architected by, through, and for Artificial Intelligence / autonomous technologies to become their own regulators. Hence the production of autonomous driving necessitates computational infrastructures that are creating a world legible to and for the navigation of a driverless car. The author argues that this is fostering computational governance that has implications for human bodies and social relations, chiefly that conventional approaches to regulation and accountability attend to human values and decision-making rather than computational ones. A second case that this research examines is that of driverless car crashes, to examine how "autonomous" driving requires substantial embodied human knowledge and micro-work. Taken together, these two cases make an argument for how myriad practices of knowledge-production are translating the human world into something legible to the navigational needs of the car, producing changes in the human world through the actions of the car on that basis, and advancing notions of "autonomy". This work concludes with arguments for a critical reconceptualisation of ethics and ethical decision-making in AI / autonomous systems.
This dissertation contributes to research on generating actionable knowledge for coastal governance to enhance the resilience of coastal social-ecological systems (SES) to climate change. It does this by providing theoretical, methodological and empirical insights on three research questions (RQs). These are: (1) what is a more actionable concept for applying the concept of resilience in coastal governance?; (2) what methods and approaches are suitable to generate actionable knowledge for coastal governance?; (3) what obstacles to knowledge co-production exist for early-career researchers (ECRs) and how can they be overcome? The RQs are addressed in five publications. For answering RQ1, the dissertation applies a research synthesis to bring together common themes and challenges documented in resilience, climate change and environmental governance literature. For answering RQ2, different methods and approaches for generating actionable knowledge are proposed and tested using a case-study in the SES of Algoa Bay, South Africa. These include (i) the analysis of stakeholder agency; (ii) the application of a stakeholder analysis; and (iii) the combination of a capital approach framework, and fuzzy cognitive mapping. Finally, for answering RQ3, the thesis provides a perspective on the obstacles that especially ECRs face, and actions that are needed to create the conditions under which knowledge co-production processes can be successful. This is done by applying a multi-method approach combining an online survey and workshop targeted at ECRs in the marine sciences. Key findings suggest that system and transformative knowledge are particularly important when applying the concept of resilience in coastal governance to generate actionable knowledge. The different methods and approaches that are proposed and tested contribute to generating both system and transformative knowledge. Firstly, they provide an overview of the capacities of different stakeholders to act, shed light on current collaboration and knowledge exchange, and enable the identification of different governance processes for coastal governance and climate change adaptation (system knowledge). Secondly, results have implications for how to improve knowledge exchange and identify leverage points that can enhance overall governance performance, thus providing recommendations on actions and processes that can enhance climate resilience in the case-study area (transformative knowledge). It is also highlighted how knowledge co-production can contribute to generating system and transformative knowledge together with stakeholders, and what actions are needed to build the capacities to translate knowledge into action. Additionally, the findings of this dissertation put forward actions that are needed at different organisational levels of the academic system to facilitate knowledge co-production processes with stakeholders involved in coastal governance. The results of this dissertation have implications for stakeholders and decision-making in the case-study area, as well as for environmental governance, climate change adaptation and broader sustainability research. Implications for stakeholders include recommendations for implementing formal commitments to share climate information across levels and sectors, establishing the role of information providers in the municipality, and reinforcing human capital within the local municipality in Algoa Bay. Findings also suggest the need for a more integrated approach to climate change adaptation in coastal planning and management frameworks. It also suggests that the conservation of environmental assets presents an important bottleneck for resilience management and needs to be further prioritised within decision-making. Implications for research include the applicability of methods beyond the context of this dissertation; a more actionable concept for approaching resilience in (coastal) governance systems; and a more critical reflection on how transformative research is conducted, and what academic foundation is needed so that it can fulfil its societal goal.
This thesis deals with sustainability in African Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and the influence of language in achieving sustainable development. Several authors highlight the existing imbalance of sustainability research in higher education, with most publications focusing on the so-called Global North. Little is known about sustainability in the so-called Global South, and in African educational institutions in particular. The first article of this thesis investigated existing sustainability activities in African HEIs. Rather than focusing on the shortcomings, the paper took a positive stance, opposing the predominant language of deficits in research on Africa. In the Delphi study conducted, 32 experts from 29 HEIs in 16 African countries described the sustainability activities they are engaging in. Experts provided information about their experiences in their respective HEI, while language and culture emerged as areas in need of further research. The second article therefore focused on the relationship between language and education for sustainable development in African educational institutions, and systematically reviewed scholarly literature regarding this connection. Authors of the reviewed 33 papers approached this connection mainly on a theoretical and philosophical level, focusing on education and Africa as a whole rather than specified forms of education in specific countries. The third article examined the views of Tanzanian higher education students and graduates regarding language and sustainability. Participants explained how they integrate sustainability and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into their research and how they approach translations in the process. In the ensuing interviews, participants estimated that only a fraction of people outside of academia are aware of sustainability and the SDGs, rendering the achievement of target 4.7 unlikely. This thesis therefore contributes to a better understanding of the current challenges in implementing sustainability and the SDGs in African educational institutions. It highlights the need to integrate (local) African languages in order for sustainability activities as well as the SDGs to be successful.
This study examines the perspective of German venture capitalists on the success factors of digital startups and follows an explorative three-dimensional research approach that integrates the micro perspective on the entrepreneurial personality, the macro perspective on the entrepreneurial context, and the meso perspective on the business model. Thus, the study operates in a very young field of entrepreneurship research. One of the purposes of this research project is to work out the significance of particular characteristics at each research level for the economic success of a digital start-up from the perspective of German venture capitalists. Furthermore, the study sheds light on the view of this group of experts on the relevance of an entire group of characteristics. To answer the central research questions, qualitative research methods and a mixed-methods approach are pursued, with quantitative and qualitative primary data being collected by means of theory-driven semi-structured expert interviews. As a result, a total of four articles have been produced: three articles that focus on presenting the results of qualitative research from only one of the three aforementioned research perspectives each, and a fourth article that combines methods from qualitative and quantitative research and derives an integrated, evidence-based working model of the economic success of digital startups from the perspective of German venture capital (VC) investors.
The requirements for the design of information and assistance systems in labour-intensive processes are interdisciplinary and have not yet been sufficiently addressed in research. This dissertation analyses, evaluates and describes possibilities for increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of labour-intensive processes through design-optimised socio-technical systems. The work thus contributes to further developing information and assistance systems for industrial applications and use in healthcare. The central dimensions of people, activity, context and technology are the focus of the scientific investigations following the Design Science Research paradigm. Design principles derived from this, a corresponding taxonomy, and a conceptual reference model for the design of socio-technical systems are the results of this dissertation.
Ziel dieser Arbeit ist es, empirisch gesicherte Aussagen über die schriftliche Textplanung von Mittelstufenschülern beim schriftlichen Argumentieren treffen zu können. Somit wird hier das argumentative Schreiben und Planen von schriftlichen Texten von Siebtklässlern betrachtet und untersucht. Die Daten resultieren aus dem Forschungsprojekt "!!Fach-an-Sprache-an-Fach!!". Im Rahmen dieses Projektes nahmen Schüler der 7. Klassen von insgesamt sieben Schulen in Niedersachsen und Hamburg an einer 15-wöchigen Intervention teil, um u.a. ihre schriftlichen persuasiven Argumentationsfähigkeiten zu verbessern. In diesem Zusammenhang arbeiteten die Schüler mit einem selbst entwickelten Planungstool, um argumentative Texte zu verschiedenen Aufgabenstellungen zu verfassen. In der Arbeit werden von 33 Fokusfällen die bearbeiteten Planungstools sowie die dazugehörigen argumentativen Texte in einem mehrstufigen qualitativen und quantitativen Analyseverfahren betrachtet. In dem Analyseverfahren wird u.a. mit der formal, strukturierenden qualitativen Inhaltsanalyse und mit einem gattungsspezifischen Textanalyseverfahren gearbeitet.
This dissertation deals with the increasingly recognized role of incumbent firms in advancing sustainability-oriented industry transitions. Incumbent firms are understood as firms-in-industries, which are embedded in established market structures and thereby contrast new entrant firms. The purpose of this research is twofold. First, to provide empirical evidence of barriers to and success factors of incumbent-driven industry transitions. Second, to unify hitherto dispersed descriptions of transition-related firm behaviour in a new understanding of incumbent firms in industry transitions. To this end, theoretical concepts are discussed and extended on the basis of different empirical studies in the German meat industry. The meat industry serves as suitable research setting due to its diverse sustainability challenges, ranging from climate change and pollution to animal welfare and public health, as well as its current developments towards sustainable protein alternatives. The meat context also offers opportunities to delve into individual-level processes influencing transition-related behaviour. The main contribution of this dissertation is a Multi Embeddedness Framework (MEF) that details processes and outcomes of integrated incumbent firm behaviour, including passive, reactive and proactive behaviors. The framework acknowledges the diversity in incumbent firm behaviors within industries and firms and provides new insights into transition-related behaviors at firm and individual level. With regard to the latter, the potential of learning about and from innovative start-up firms as well as shared sensemaking processes are discussed. The contents of this dissertation provide valuable contributions to the transition literature as well as important management implications with regard to the stimulation and promotion of proactive behaviors
Though the loss of biological diversity is an ecological phenomenon, it also has a social dimension. This makes the study of the social landscape, encompassing the multitude of perspectives and aspirations by different stakeholders, highly relevant for better navigating trade-offs between biodiversity conservation and other land use objectives. Engaging with and addressing contextual understandings of biodiversity is vital to develop socially palatable solutions for biodiversity loss. This dissertation, therefore, takes a place-based approach to studying biodiversity conservation trade-offs and seeks to understand how the perspectives and aspirations of different stakeholders shape them. First, it aims to identify shared viewpoints as ensembles of perceptions and meanings about human-nature relations and biodiversity. Second, it aims to understand how biodiversity is valued and constructed in stakeholders’ aspirations towards their landscape. To this end, a convergent mixed methods approach and case study design are used. Two cases were selected that face different underlying drivers of land-use change, resulting in loss of biodiversity. The Muttama Creek Catchment area is a farming landscape in south-eastern Australia where the ongoing intensification of agricultural production threatens native biodiversity. In the Spreewald Biosphere Reserve in north-eastern Germany, land abandonment and the resulting loss of the biodiversity-rich wet meadows presents a key challenge for biodiversity conservation. Narratives and discourses provide conceptual lenses through which the author studies biodiversity conservation trade-offs. Drawing on Q-methodology, this dissertation identifies biodiversity-production discourses for the first case study and cultural landscape narratives for the second case study. Moreover, based on a participatory futures approach, the Three Horizons Framework, it elicits narratives of change that highlight opportunities for biodiversity conservation in farming landscapes. The findings highlight that despite some overlap in how stakeholders perceive biodiversity, contrasting problem framings and different biodiversity priorities present hindrances to concerted action to protect biodiversity and for collaboration. The findings also identify shared values among stakeholders. However, there is polarity and contestation around the role and importance of biodiversity in rural development.
Die Einführung von Industrie 4.0 und der damit verbundene Wandel des Produktionsumfeldes führen zu neuen Herausforderungen, bieten auf der anderen Seite aber auch neue Möglichkeiten für Unternehmen. Ausgehend von den Herausforderungen der Produktionsplanung und Steuerung als zentrales Element der Produktherstellung, z.B. Komplexität, Dynamik und neue Organisationsformen, werden bestehenden Methoden der Reihenfolgeplanung auf ihre Tauglichkeit zur Verwendung hin geprüft. Die Analyse zeigt, dass Aspekte wie die Ableitung von Handlungen und der Transfer von Wissen in unbekannten Situationen zu den größten Herausforderungen für bestehende Verfahren zählen. Die in der Arbeit neu entwickelte Methode zur dynamischen Auswahl und Anpassung von Reihenfolgeregeln in komplexen Fertigungssystemen mit bestärkendem Lernen greift diese Herausforderungen auf und untersucht mögliche Lösungsstrategien. Die im Rahmen der Arbeit neu entwickelte Methode wird über ein Spektrum an unterschiedlichsten Szenarien evaluiert und mit anderen Methoden verglichen. Dabei werden verschiedene Ausprägungen und Komplexitäts-Niveaus von Handlungen, der Beobachtungsraum und die Mengen an benötigten Daten detailliert analysiert. Schlussendlich zeigt sich, dass die neue Methode in der Lage ist, die Anforderungen an die Produktionsplanung- und Steuerung zu erfüllen und in bekannten wie in unbekannten Szenarien gut Leistung zu erbringen. Zusätzlich ist die Methode in der Lage menschenähnliche Leistungen zu bringen und kann in einem realen Anwendungsfall zur Unterstützung der Produktionsplanung und -Steuerung genutzt werden.
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) recognize the importance of the inextricable link between social and ecological systems and human quality of life (QoL) and biodiversity. Therefore, understanding the feedback and interactions between biodiversity, nature’s contributions to people (NCP), and QoL plays a central role in advancing toward sustainability. In this context, the social-ecological systems (SES) approach has advanced on the subject, particularly in recent decades; however, much remains to be done to comprehensively understand these relationships and interactions, especially at local decision-making scales. In this thesis, through the lenses of the SES approach, the researcher investigates connections between biodiversity, NCP, and QoL in a tropical dry forest (TDF) on the Western coast of Mexico. This place is one of the best-known Neotropical TDF and has been the focus of SES research in the past 20 years, making it an excellent case study for exploring these connections. First, to approach the need for dialogue among different global and local scales and between global and local frameworks, the thesis identifies five key components of the SES dynamics-(1) ecological supply, (2) co-production of NCP, (3) management, (4) demand, and (5) benefits - and three local decision-making scales of analysis: individual plot, smallholder, and land tenure or governance units. A literature review was performed on the social-ecological indicators for the last 11 years in the Chamela-Cuixmala region to operationalize this framework. Second, this thesis uses social-ecological information to identify social-ecological systems units (SESU) spatially explicitly. A methodology was provided to spatially identify the components of social-ecological systems that environmental conditions and management practices have shaped at three previously stated relevant decision-making scales: plots owned by individuals, plot owners, and governance units. To do so, the research group identified and characterized: (1) ecological clusters (EC), (2) social-management clusters (SC), and (3) SESU in a TDF in western Mexico. The findings suggested that decision-makers (ejidatarios, i.e., type of ownership (related to agrarian reform), that in most cases the land allocated is small-smallholders) are bounded by the topographical characteristics and the public policies that determine communal (or private) governance and the number of resources available to them. Finally, the thesis examines the self-perceived QoL across the different SESU, finding 48 QoL items, which were grouped into six categories: 1) social capital, 2) economic capital, 3) agency, 4) nature, 5) peasant non-work activities, and 6) government and services; and two additional dimensions referred to obstacles and enablers of QoL. The researchers found that the more land cover transformation, the more enablers, and obstacles of QoL are identified; emphasis was put on economic capital to achieve QoL. As management is intensified and governance fosters individualism across SES, the higher the Current Welfare Index, and the lower the self-perceived material and non-material satisfaction.
Contemporary society is shaped by the idea that time is, above all, a scarce economic resource that must be used efficiently. Increasingly, however, scientific findings suggest that such a way of perceiving of time seems a major cause of the current global climate and sustainability crisis. Considerably less research work has been carried out in relation to the role of individual time-related needs regarding unsustainable consumption behaviour, although consumer research has been addressing needs-oriented approaches to sustainable consumption for a long time. Environmental and Sustainability Education (ESE) is considered an essential strategy to achieve the global sustainability goals of Agenda 2030. Internationally, as well as on a national level, ESE is increasingly mainstreamed in educational curricula and practice. Given the relation between time, needs and sustainability, it appears valuable to inquire into this field from the perspective of ESE. The core research interest of this cumulative dissertation is therefore the question of how the connection between time, our needs and sustainability can be conveyed through pedagogical approaches. The inquiry used an exploratory, qualitative research design to address this question. In a first step, the concept of sustainability-related time use competence was developed. This then served as a guiding concept for the understanding of time used in this work and as the overall objective for the educational intervention developed and piloted as part of the research. Next, a content analysis of German curricula was conducted with the aim of determining whether and to what extent these address the relation between time and sustainability. The results show curricula contain only a few starting points that encourage a connection between time and sustainability in school lessons. The study further indicates that an understanding of time as a scarce resource to be used efficiently has prevailed in school contexts so far. The next step involved developing and piloting a time use competence curriculum in cooperation with three partner schools, using an Action Research Approach. This intervention followed the pedagogical approach of Self-Inquiry Based Learning (SIBL) seeking to sensitise learners to the relation between individual needs and consumer behaviour. During implementation, which lasted one semester, students logged their time, were encouraged to reflect on their personal needs, and subsequently implement individual change projects related to time use. This was embedded in continuous reflective individual and group exercises. The results strengthen the hypothesis that there is a relation between time use and sustainability. Furthermore, the pedagogical approach of SIBL has proven suitable to enable students to reflect on their time use and to raise their awareness of the role of individual needs. Participants reported that changes in time use did indeed increase their personal well-being. A third empirical study was carried out, inquiring into students' time use during the period of COVID-19-induced school closures, using a Grounded Theory Approach. Since the pandemic disrupted young peoples' routines drastically, the research focused on which kinds of learning experiences students made during this time and which insights can be derived for ESE. The results of the semi-structured interviews with 69 participants show first that a variety of learning experiences are revealed, such as learning one's own learning and everyday rhythms or creatively adapting consumption habits to the new situation of "lockdown". Overall, a key finding of this work is that students are currently unable to adequately realise their time-related needs. In view of the findings from research on time and sustainability, one recommendation is therefore that everyday school life could give students more space to organise their time according to their needs. Furthermore, it would be advisable to give the topic of time in connection with sustainability more space in curricula and in teacher training. The experiences during the pandemic have shown that schools and all actors involved including students and teachers, are so far insufficiently prepared to handle crises. Here, the approach to time use competence piloted in this work can offer valuable stimulations for ESE research and practice. This is especially true since it is compatible with existing approaches to key competencies for sustainability by seeking to complement them with a stronger focus on individual, needs-oriented time shaping.
Diese Dissertation verfolgt einerseits das Ziel der umfassenden Sichtung der technischen, psychologischen, philosophischen und neurobiologischen Grundlagen der Künstlichen Intelligenz und damit die Etablierung einer epistemischen und ontologischen Eingrenzung der Technologie und andererseits das Ziel der moralphilosophischen Beurteilung und Risikobewertung. Die zentrale Hypothese unterstellt der Technologie, die überhaupt nur durch die rasanten Fortschritte der Natur- und Ingenieurwissenschaften und damit durch die Aufklärung ermöglicht wurde, eine Unterwanderung der zentralen Prinzipien und Werte der Aufklärung. Zu befürchten ist eine selbstverschuldete Unmündigkeit des Menschen durch die Künstliche Intelligenz. Wesentlich in der Argumentation ist das Aufgeben von menschlicher Autonomie zugunsten einer Technologie, die selbst nicht autonom sein kann, die Verlagerung von Verantwortlichkeiten in einen neu entstandenen rechtsfreien Raum, der Verlust der menschlichen Individualität und letztlich die Preisgabe der Menschenwürde durch den Übergang in ein "Reich ohne Notwendigkeit", aus dem es kein Entkommen gibt. Eine Ethik der Künstlichen Intelligenz muss, so die normative Schlussfolgerung, die Wahrung der menschlichen Autonomie, Verantwortlichkeit, Individualität und Würde in den Vordergrund stellen, sodass ein individueller und kollektiver Rückfall des Menschen in die Unmündigkeit verhindert wird.
Diese Arbeit untersucht, wie die massenhafte Verbreitung von Web Videos das Verhältnis von audiovisueller Zeugenschaft und medialem Ereignis beeinflusst: Wie lässt sich das Zusammenspiel von Medien, sozialer Dynamik und Ereignissen beschreiben? Was wird wann unter welchen (medialen) Bedingungen wie zum Ereignis? Wer hat die Deutungshoheit über dieses Ereignis und wie erlangt man sie? Gibt es privilegierte Formen der Zeugenschaft? Und unter welchen Umständen haben diese Zeugnisse politische Relevanz? Keine dieser Fragen ist neu und dennoch stellen sie sich in digitalen Kulturen mit neuer Dringlichkeit und Bedeutung. Denn durch die Proliferation medialer Produktions- und Rezeptionspraktiken sowie die Medialisierung der Distribution multiplizieren Social Media-Plattformen ästhetische, narrative und institutionelle Kontextualisierungsprozesse von Ereignissen. Dies vergrößert mediale Partizipationsmöglichkeiten, geht aber zugleich einher mit Glaubwürdigkeits- respektive Geltungsverlusten herrschender sozialer Akteure und medialer Formen. Die daraus resultierenden medialen wie sozialen Repräsentationskrisen destabilisieren das Feld medialer Zeugenschaft. Sie bilden aber zugleich auch einen Resonanzboden für "Kritische Medienereignisse". Unter diesem Titel entwirft die Arbeit ein Konzept sozio-medialer Ereignisse, das weder Medien und Ereignis gegeneinander ausspielt noch das Ereignis zum massenmedialen Genre degradiert. Stattdessen erfasst der Begriff soziale und medienästhetische Dynamiken in einem gleichberechtigten Zusammenspiel. Dahinter steht die durch den Vergleich von Rainer Leschkes Theorie medialer Formen mit Pierre Bourdieus Praxistheorie gestützte Annahme, dass mediale und soziale Formen mehr miteinander gemeinsam haben, als es unversöhnliche Gegenüberstellungen von medialem und sozialem Apriori vermuten lassen. [Im Sinne einer medienmorphologisch geschulten Bourdieu-Lektüre kann dann von kritischen Medienereignissen die Rede sein, wenn ähnlich gelagerte Krisen in sozialen Kräfte- und medialen Formenfeldern zeitgleich eskalieren - wie es gegenwärtig im doppelten Glaubwürdigkeitsverlust politischer Repräsentanten (Akteuren) und medialer Repräsentationen (Formen) zu beobachten ist. Es handelt sich hierbei nicht deshalb um Medienereignisse, weil sie durch Medien repräsentiert werden, sondern vielmehr deshalb, weil sie der öffentlich sichtbare Ausdruck medialer Umbrüche sind, in denen soziale und mediale Felddynamiken synchronisiert werden und die Neuaufteilung des Sinnlichen mit der des Sozialen zusammenfällt. In diesem Zusammenhang spielen Web Videos deswegen eine privilegierte Rolle, weil sie als audiovisuelle und kommunikative Prothesen sowohl den Handlungsspielraum von Augenzeugen erweitern als auch das Publikum auf eine neue Art und Weise adressieren und einbinden. Man ist nicht länger nur distanzierte Beobachter einer Live-Berichterstattung, sondern wirkt aktiv mit am Geschehen und dessen Beglaubigung. Diese neuen, partizipativen Formen der Zeugenschaft erschöpfen sich somit nicht in einer dokumentarischen Funktion, sondern fordern immer auch zur Teilnahme am jeweiligen Ereignis auf. Sie zeichnen sich dabei durch eine radikal subjektive Ästhetik der Authentizität aus, die weniger auf Objektivität als auf affektive Mobilisierung abzielt. Web Videos verändern auf diese Weise das etablierte Kräfte- und Vertrauensverhältnis im soziomedialen Feld der Zeugenschaft in epistemologischer, ethischer und politischer Hinsicht, weil sie dieses Feld für (neue) Formen und Akteure öffnen, die mehr oder weniger bewusst die hegemoniale Position massenmedialer Institutionen und Formen in Frage stellen. Diese Erschütterungen der sozio-ästhetischen Ordnung im Feld der Zeugenschaft offenbaren einen grundsätzlich politischen Gehalt von Web Videos, der immer dann explizit hervortritt, wenn Web Videos Widerspruch und Protest gegen die herrschenden Verhältnisse artikulieren. In kritischen Medienereignissen wie der (gescheiterten) Grünen Revolution in Iran wird daher das politische Potential von Web Videos aktualisiert und situativ beschreibbar. Web Videos machen ihre Betrachter somit in einem doppelten Sinn zu Zeugen: Erstens dokumentieren sie ein Geschehen und geben somit der Synchronisation feldspezifischer Krisen des Sozialen und Medialen eine anschauliche mediale Form. Zweitens fungieren sie als Formen des symbolischen Austauschs, die an der Umwertung des symbolischen Kapitals in medialen und sozialen Feldern entscheidend mitwirken. Weil sie somit zugleich Ausdruck wie Katalysatoren dieser Legitimitätsverluste sind, fungieren sie gegenwärtig als ebenso umstrittene wie privilegierte Zeugnisse kritischer Medienereignisse.
Over the past two decades, transitions research has witnessed rapid development. However, there is still a notable gap in our understanding of sustainability transitions in conflict settings and the role of international organizations in these transitions. Little is known about the dynamics of power, limiting and facilitating factors, and the role of (international) actors in sustainability transitions in conflict settings. This dissertation seeks to make contributions to these discussions by examining energy transitions in Afghanistan, a conflict-affected country, between 2001 and 2021. It specifically focuses on the involvement of international development organizations, shedding light on their role in energy access, institutional change, and imagining Afghanistan's future energy system development. After security, access to affordable energy is frequently reported to be Afghanistan's most pressing need. Following the fall of the first Taliban regime in 2001, billions of dollars and dozens of international development organizations poured into Afghanistan to support the reconstruction of the country including its energy sector. Between 2001 and 2021, the government of Afghanistan and the international development organizations worked on various aspects of energy system development despite on-going insurgency and threats against infrastructural projects. In 2021, the Taliban regained power, resulting in the suspension of operations for most development organizations, with only a few humanitarian agencies remaining active. Within this context, this thesis explores topics such as the country's energy potential and policy, the role of international development organizations in the energy sector, and visions for a future energy system in Afghanistan. The research conducted for this thesis employed a qualitative case study approach, utilizing semi-structured interviews and document analysis.
To respond to the challenges of the Anthropocene, scholars from various disciplines increasingly emphasize that a mere outer transformation is insufficient and that we also need an inner transformation that addresses deep leverage points. Yet, the open questions are how the inner and outer dimensions relate to each other and how inner transformation might lead to outer transformation. How we attempt to answer these questions is determined by our dominant paradigm. Paradigms define how we understand and shape the world, and thus, they define how we conceptualize challenges, such as inner and outer transformation. Various authors argue that the dominant paradigm, which is characterized by reductionism, empiricism, dualism, and determinism, might be a root cause for insufficiently addressing sustainability challenges. As an alternative, many argue for a relational paradigm, which understands complex phenomena in terms of constitutive processes and relations. A relational paradigm might offer possibilities to reconceptualize inner and outer transformation in the Anthropocene and might shed new light on how to integrate both in sustainability science. Yet, it is still being determined how a relational paradigm can contribute to the understanding of inner and outer transformations towards sustainability in the Anthropocene. Therefore, this dissertation's overarching scope is to contribute to systems change towards a more social-ecological future by generating insights into and exploring possibilities of a relational paradigm for inner and outer transformation in the Anthropocene. This thesis is divided into three sub-questions. The first research question aims to increase the theoretical understanding of a relational paradigm. The second research question aims to develop a transformative educational case study grounded in a relational, justice-oriented approach. The third research question aims to analyze how a relational paradigm might contribute to policies and practices for sustainable lifestyles. The results indicate that inner and outer transformation in the Anthropocene can be reconceptualized as paradigm-ing relationality in the Ecocene. "Paradigm-ing" as an active verb, reconceptualizes inner and outer transformation into ontologies, epistemologies, ethics, and socialecological realities that are ongoing, nonhierarchical, nonlinear, dynamic, co-creative processes of intra-action. The Ecocene decenters the human and attends to what we might be able to intra-actand become-with. These insights can offer unexplored perspectives to address sustainability challenges and increase our capacities to respond in novel ways.
Stretching is primarily used to improve flexibility, decrease stiffness of the muscle- tendon unit or reduce risk of injury. This cumulative dissertation includes six studies aiming to investigate the effects of long-lasting static stretching training on maximum strength capacity, hypertrophy and flexibility in the skeletal muscle. Before starting own experimental studies, a meta-analysis of available animal research was conducted to analyze the potential of long-lasting stretching interventions on muscle mass and maximum strength. To induce long-lasting stretching on the plantar flexors and to improve standardization of the stretch training by quantifying the angle in the ankle joint while stretching, a calf muscle stretching orthosis was developed. In the following experimental studies, the orthosis was used to induce daily long- lasting static stretching stimuli with different stretching durations and intensities in the plantar flexors to assess different morphological and functional parameters. For this, a total of 311 participants were included in the studies and, dependent on the investigation, the effects of daily stretching for 10-120 minutes for six weeks were analyzed. Therefore, effects on maximal isometric and dynamic strength as well as flexibility of the plantar flexors were investigated with extended and flexed knee joint. The investigation of morphological parameters of the calf muscle was performed by determining the muscle thickness and the pennation angle by using sonographic imaging and the muscle cross-sectional area by using a 3 Tesla magnetic resonance imaging measurement. In animals, the included systematic review with meta-analysis revealed increases in muscle mass with large effect size, muscle cross-sectional area, fiber cross-sectional area, fiber length and fiber number. The thereafter performed experimental studies from the laboratory showed a range of trivial to large increases in maximum strength and ROM dependent on stretching time, training level and testing procedure. Furthermore, significant moderate to large magnitude hypertrophy effects in muscle thickness and trivial to small increases in muscle crosssectional area were demonstrated. The results are discussed based on physiological parameters from animal studies and in the front of knowledge in resistance training, suggesting mechanical tension to be one important factor to induce muscle hypertrophy and maximal strength increases. Further explanatory approaches such as hypoxia and changes in the muscle tendon unit are debated in the following. Since these studies are the first investigations on long-lasting stretch-mediated hypertrophy in humans, further research is needed to explore the underlying mechanisms and confirm the results in different populations to enhance the practical applicability for example in clinical populations when, e.g. counteracting muscular imbalances or sarcopenia in the elderly.
Dem Konzept der Salutogenese folgend, widmet sich diese Arbeit der individuellen Gesundheitskompetenz von angehenden Lehrkräften, die als Schlüsselkompetenz verstanden wird, um die körperliche und psychische Gesundheit zu stärken. Vier Fragestellungen werden in dieser kumulativen Dissertation untersucht: (1) Die erste Studie widmet sich den Fragestellungen, wie die weiterentwickelten Fähigkeiten der individuellen Gesundheitskompetenz bei angehenden Lehrkräften ausgeprägt sind und welche Bedeutung diese für die Gesundheit von angehenden Lehrkräften haben. Dazu wurden Studierende aus dem 2. Mastersemester (195 Lehramtsstudierende vs. 108 Nicht-Lehramtsstudierende) befragt. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass sich Lehramtsstudierende im Vergleich zu Nicht-Lehramtsstudierenden signifikant besser in den Komponenten der Gesundheitskompetenz einschätzen, mit Ausnahme der Verantwortungsübernahme. Hinsichtlich des allgemeinen Gesundheitszustandes unterscheiden sich die Studierendengruppen nicht signifikant voneinander, jedoch weist knapp jeder dritter Studierende einen schlechten Gesundheitszustand auf. (2) Die zweite Studie geht ebenfalls den Fragestellungen nach, wie die weiterentwickelten Fähigkeiten der individuellen Gesundheitskompetenz bei angehenden Lehrkräften ausgeprägt sind und welche Bedeutung diese für die Gesundheit von angehenden Lehrkräften haben. Hierzu wurde jedoch in dieser Studie die Gesundheitskompetenz von Lehrkräften in der ersten (Lehramtsstudium) und zweiten Phase (Vorbereitungsdienst) der Lehrkräfteausbildung gemessen (195 Masterlehramtsstudierende vs. 242 Lehrkräfte im Vorbereitungsdienst). Lehramtsstudierende weisen im Vergleich zu den Lehrkräften im Vorbereitungsdienst signifikant höhere Werte in den übrigen Fähigkeiten der Gesundheitskompetenz auf mit Ausnahme der Fähigkeit zur Kommunikation und Kooperation. Hinsichtlich des allgemeinen Gesundheitszustandes schätzen Lehrkräfte im Vorbereitungsdienst diesen signifikant besser ein als Lehramtsstudierende, wobei in beiden Gruppen insbesondere die Komponente Selbstregulation mit dem Gesundheitszustand korreliert. Die Ergebnisse multipler Regressionsanalysen zeigen, dass die Fähigkeiten zur Selbstregulation, Selbstkontrolle und Verantwortungsübernahme Prädiktoren für den Gesundheitszustand von Lehramtsstudierenden darstellen und die Fähigkeiten zur Selbstregulation und Verantwortungsübernahme die Prädiktoren für den Gesundheitszustand der Lehrkräfte im Vorbereitungsdienst sind. (3) In der dritten Studie wird vor allem untersucht, wie die berufliche Selbstregulation mit den weiterentwickelten Fähigkeiten der individuellen Gesundheitskompetenz von angehenden Lehrkräften zusammenhängt und welche Komponenten die psychische Gesundheit von angehenden Lehrkräften bedingen. Dazu wurden 407 Lehrkräfte im Vorbereitungsdienst befragt. Die Selbstregulationstypen wurden mittels einer latenten Profilanalyse analysiert und die vier beruflichen Selbstregulationstypen repliziert (Gesundheitstyp: 35.4%, Schontyp: 22.8%, Typ A: 19.2% und Typ B: 22.6). Aus den Ergebnissen kann abgeleitet werden, dass eine Lehrkräfteausbildung, die Aspekte der Selbstregulationsfähigkeit einbezieht, nicht nur das Wohlbefinden von angehenden Lehrkräften verbessern könnte, sondern auch ihre individuelle Gesundheitskompetenz. Eine Förderung der beruflichen Selbstregulation durch Lernangebote könnte auch mit der Stärkung der individuellen Gesundheitskompetenz von angehenden Lehrkräften verbunden sein. (4) In der vierten Studie wurden die empirisch gewonnenen Erkenntnisse der ersten drei Studie aufgegriffen und ein Seminarkonzept zur Förderung der individuellen Gesundheitskompetenz von angehenden Lehrkräften im Rahmen der Lehrkräfteausbildung erstellt. Das Seminar umfasst unter anderem allgemeine gesundheitswissenschaftliche Grundlagen und die theoretische Hinführung zu verhaltensbezogenen Bewältigungsstrategien, am Beispiel von Achtsamkeit, und verhältnisbezogenen Strategien im Kontext Schule mit Bezug zur Unterrichtsqualität und Schulentwicklung. Das Rahmenpapier bettet die vier Publikationen in den übergeordneten theoretischen Kontext ein, diskutiert die Ergebnisse und leitet abschließend Empfehlungen für weitere Forschung und für die Lehrkräfte(aus)bildung ab.
Die negativen Auswirkungen des modernen Konsumverhaltens sind heute weithin bekannt. Dennoch ist insbesondere die Modebranche weiterhin durch sehr niedrige Preise, kurze Produktlebensdauer und Massenkonsum gekennzeichnet. Eine Veränderung des Konsumverhaltens in der breiten Bevölkerung hin zu einer Reduktion von Neukäufen, einer langen Nutzungsdauer der vorhandenen Kleidung und zum Kauf ökologisch und sozial verträglich hergestellter Produkte ist aber dringend notwendig. Ein wichtiger Erfolgsfaktor für die effektive Ansprache der Konsumierenden ist die Berücksichtigung handlungsrelevanter Persönlichkeitsmerkmale auf Seiten der Zielgruppe. Die wissenschaftliche Literatur zu Prädikatoren nachhaltiger Verhaltensweisen weist darauf hin, dass persönliche Werte eine wichtige Rolle für dessen Umsetzung spielen. Gleichzeitig wirkt sich insbesondere im Kleidungskonsum auch das Geschlecht bzw. Gender der Konsumierenden auf das Verhalten aus. Ausgehend von dieser Datenlage werden in dieser Arbeit drei Themen mit Relevanz für die Nachhaltigkeitsforschung - persönliche Werte, Geschlecht/Gender und nachhaltiger Kleidungskonsum - zusammengeführt und auf ihre komplexe Wirkungsbeziehung hin untersucht. Auf Grundlage von Fokusgruppeninterviews wird erforscht, welche individuellen Wertorientierungen sich in welcher Weise und welcher Konstellation positiv auf ein nachhaltiges Kleidungskonsumverhalten auswirken und welche geschlechterspezifischen Unterschiede hierbei erkennbar werden. Durch die Berücksichtigung persönlicher konsumrelevanter Motivatoren und deren individueller Ausprägung werden Potenziale für eine zielgerichtete Verstärkung nachhaltigen Konsumverhaltens in der breiten Bevölkerung aufgedeckt. Dazu werden (1) vier Wertorientierungen mit Einfluss auf nachhaltigen Kleidungskonsum identifiziert, (2) ihre kausale Beziehung zu nachhaltigem Kleidungkonsum analysiert, (3) die geschlechtlichen Unterschiede berücksichtigt und (4) mit Gender ein Ansatzpunkt für die Erklärung der gefundenen Unterschiede angeführt. Zur Aufarbeitung der Daten wird die fsQCA zur Untersuchung des Themas nachhaltiger Kleidungskonsum angewandt. Die Natur dieser Auswertungsmethode, welche statt kausaler unidirektionaler Zusammenhänge zwischen zwei Variablen Schnittmengen zwischen zwei oder mehr Phänomenen untersucht, trägt zu einer neuen Perspektive auf die Beziehung zwischen Werten und nachhaltigem Kleidungskonsum bei. Eine Forschungsleistung dieser Arbeit besteht darin, gerade das Zusammenspiel der verschiedenen Werte zu betrachten und damit ein tieferes Verständnis von wichtigen Einflussfaktoren für nachhaltigen Kleidungskonsum zu ermöglichen - ein Ansatz, der über die bisher existierenden Forschungserkenntnisse hinausgeht. Aus den gewonnenen Resultaten werden Handlungsempfehlungen für die Kommunikation von NGOs und Unternehmen mit nachhaltiger Ausrichtung abgeleitet, wie eine zielgerichtete Ansprache zur Intensitätssteigerung dieser bereits vorhandenen Bedingungen gestaltet werden kann.