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Essays on Say-on-Pay: theoretical analysis, literature review and empirical evidence from Germany
(2019)
The dissertation contains four journal articles together with a framework manuscript. The overall subject is the so-called Say-on-Pay (SOP) vote. SOP is a law that enables shareholders to vote on the appropriateness of executive compensation during the firms’ annual general meeting. The dissertation investigates SOP votes from different angles. While the framework provides a background for the relevance of the work, outlines existing research gaps, covers an in-depth discussion and concludes relevant research questions, the four articles present the essence of the dissertation. The first article is a theoretical paper on the recent advances of behavioural agency theory. It serves as a theoretical foundation for the empirical work of the dissertation. Although principal-agent theory has gained a prominent place in research, its negative image of self-serving managers is frequently criticized. Consequently, scholars advocate the utilization of positive management theories, such as stewardship theory. This paper reviews the literature of both theoretical concepts and describes how behavioural characteristics allow for a mutually beneficial symbiosis of the two theories. The second article establishes the foundation of the scholarly knowledge in the field by systematically reviewing the empirical literature. The review covers 71 empirical articles published between January 1995 and September 2017. The studies are reviewed within an empirical research framework that separates the reasons for shareholder activism and SOP voting dissent as input factor on the one hand and the consequences of shareholder pressure as output factor on the other. The implications are analysed, and new directions for further research are discussed by proposing 19 different research questions. Building on the research gaps defined in the literature review, the third article is an empirical manuscript. In this paper, a hand-selected sample of 1,676 annual general meetings with 268 management-sponsored SOP votes in 164 different companies between 2010 and 2015 in Germany is analysed. The analysis focused on the structure, rather than the level, of executive compensation by applying a sample-selection model and panel data regression. Finally, the fourth paper investigates the rare setting of voluntary SOP votes. Using 1,841 annual general meetings of listed firms in Germany between 2010 and 2016, the effects of financial and non-financial (sustainable) performance on SOP voting likelihood and voting results are tested.
On 25 October 2016, the European Commission presented a proposal for a directive on a Common Corporate Tax Base (CCTB Proposal), which contains a comprehensive concept for the harmonisation of profit calculation regulations within the EU. Against this current background, the objective of the present work is to contribute to the implementation of the CCTB by identifying ambiguities and conceptual weaknesses in the design of the profit determination system of the CCTB Proposal and developing concrete recommendations for action for adjustments in the course of the further legislative procedure. In the first article, selected profit calculation rules of the CCTB Proposal will be analysed in detail and compared with the provisions on profit calculation under German commercial and tax law and the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) recognised across member states. Based on the legal comparison, questions of interpretation and inadequacies of the profit calculation system will be considered and proposals for adjustments to various regulatory areas will be submitted. Furthermore, in the second article, within the framework of a holistic study, expert interviews will be used as an empirical-qualitative research design to generate reliable assessments on the part of the various stakeholder groups affected by the implementation of the future directive or involved in its elaboration. The results show the extent to which the profit determination rules of the CCTB Proposal in their current form are suitable for national and EU-wide implementation and in which areas the various expert groups still see concrete need for adaptation. Based on these expert assessments, the third article finally develops a proposal to reduce the threat of legal uncertainty in interpretation issues criticised by the experts. Based on economic maxims developed by the European Commission and existing accounting principles of the current CCTB Proposal, the EU Accounting Directive and IFRS, a system of specific European tax principles will be developed which could be implemented within the framework of the CCTB Proposal.
Eine der Hauptaufgaben von Vorgesetzten ist die Feedbackgabe an Arbeitnehmer. Das gegebene Feedback hat dabei einen maßgeblichen Einfluss auf das Wohlbefinden und das Arbeitsengagement von Arbeitnehmern. Neben dem direkten Feedback im Arbeitsalltag, das häufig verbal vermittelt wird und spezifische Bewertungen enthält, kommunizieren Vorgesetzte darüber hinaus zu jeder Zeit über ihr Verhalten. In der vorliegenden Arbeit wurden zwei Ziele verfolgt: Zum einen wurde mithilfe umfangreicher qualitativer sowie quantitativer Skalenentwicklungsschritte befriedigend reliable Messinstrumente zur Erfassung sowohl direkten als auch indirekten und jeweils negativen als auch positiven Feedbacks entwickelt. "Indirektes Feedback" wurde hierbei erstmals als eigenständiges Konstrukt definiert und messbar gemacht. Insbesondere die Skalenentwicklung zur Erfassung indirekten Feedbacks u.a. mithilfe von N = 20 Interviews mit Arbeitnehmern stand im Fokus der Arbeit. Zum anderen wurden Wirkzusammenhänge von direktem und indirektem negativem Feedback zu Beanspruchungsfolgen (Irritation, psychosomatische Beschwerden) sowie von direktem und indirektem positivem Feedback zu Arbeitsengagement unter Einbezug personaler Einflussfaktoren untersucht. Den theoretischen Rahmen bietet die "Job-Demands-Resources Theory" (JDR-Theorie), die nach kritischer Betrachtung differenziert und um die "Stress-as-Offense-to-Self-Theory" (SOS-Theorie) erweitert wurde. Zur Berechnung der Wirkzusammenhänge wurde eine Onlinestudie mit zwei Messzeitpunkten durchgeführt. Die Stichprobe umfasst N = 224 Arbeitnehmer mit 62.9% weiblichen Teilnehmern und einem Altersdurchschnitt von X = 44.5 Jahren (SD = 10.50). Es konnte in den längsschnittlichen Designs gezeigt werden, dass sowohl direktes als auch indirektes negatives Feedback entsprechend der SOS-Theorie mit einer Selbstwertbedrohung in Zusammenhang stehen. Die Mediationen der Zusammenhänge von direktem negativem und indirektem negativem Feedback und Beanspruchungsfolgen über die Selbstwertbedrohung konnten im Quer- aber nicht im Längsschnitt bestätigt werden. Ergänzend wurden die Moderationen, d.h. das "Abpuffern" der Selbstwertbedrohung durch den Selbstwert von Personen getestet. Es zeigten sich signifikante Moderationen der Zusammenhänge von direktem negativem Feedback und Selbstwertbedrohung durch den Selbstwert in ersten Querschnittsergebnissen und signifikante Moderationen der Zusammenhänge von indirektem negativem Feedback und Selbstwertbedrohung durch den Selbstwert in den Längsschnittmodellen. Weiterhin konnten entgegen der Annahmen des motivational process der JDR-Theorie keine längsschnittlichen Effekte von direktem positivem und indirektem positivem Feedback auf Arbeitsengagement ermittelt und auch die Zielorientierung nicht als Moderator bestätigt werden. Es zeigte sich jedoch eine zusätzliche Varianzaufklärung bei der Hinzunahme von direktem positivem Feedback zu relevanten Kontrollvariablen jeweils zu beiden Messzeitpunkten. Insgesamt werden inhaltliche und methodische Gründe für die hier nicht nachweisbaren Längsschnitteffekte diskutiert und Empfehlungen für die weitere Forschung abgeleitet. Als Forschungserkenntnis lässt sich festhalten, dass die vier Faktoren, d.h. direktes und indirektes mit jeweils negativem und positivem Feedback, trennbar sind und indirektes Feedback einen zusätzlichen Erklärungswert zu direktem Feedback bietet. Zudem weisen erste Ergebnisse darauf hin, dass Feedback nicht per se wie bislang als Arbeitsressource in der JDR-Theorie, sondern direktes negatives und indirektes negatives Feedback als Arbeitsanforderung im health-impairment-process verortet werden kann. Des Weiteren ergaben sich erste bestätigende Hinweise, dass die JDR-Theorie im health-impairment-process um die SOS-Theorie erweitert werden kann und damit direktes negatives und indirektes negatives Feedback mit Beanspruchungsfolgen über den Mediator Selbstwertbedrohung in Zusammenhang stehen. Der Selbstwert als Moderator konnte in ersten Teilergebnissen bestätigt werden.
Increasingly, researchers are expected to work in collaborative interdisciplinary teams to tackle more complex and interrelated problems. However, the prospect of collaborating with others, from different disciplines, exerts countervailing forces on researchers. There is the lure of transcending the limitations of one's own knowledge, methods and conventions, belonging to diverse intellectual communities and tackling, together, ambitious research topics. On the other hand, there is the risk that collaborating across disciplinary boundaries will be taxing, confounding at times, with no guarantee of success. This thesis is about collaborative interdisciplinary research from the perspective of a formative accompanying researcher. The author accompanied an interdisciplinary research team in the field of sustainability over three years for the duration of a collaborative project. Formative accompanying research (FAR) is an approach to "research into research" that learns about, with and for a collaborative interdisciplinary team. The author found - through immersion in the literature, her own daily experiences of collaborating, and her observations – that interdisciplinary collaboration is very difficult. It requires a basic understanding and appreciation of other disciplines and methods, as well as the skills to integrate research inquiries and findings across diverse epistemologies. It also requires awareness that collaborative interdisciplinary research is more than an intellectual task of knowledge creation. Other factors matter, such as interpersonal relationships, power differentials, different research tempos and a sense of belonging. And these factors have an impact on processes and outcomes of collaborative knowledge creation. Knowing this implies a willingness to keep learning and to tolerate discomfort so as to cultivate deeper levels of collaborative capacity. The author discovered that in these deeper levels lie skills for staying with inevitable tensions, for talking and listening to generate new understanding together, and for applying a researcher's frank curiosity to oneself too. A formative accompanying researcher, who is part of the team she is researching, has to navigate delicate terrain. In this thesis, the author develops a FAR methodology that takes seriously the questions of positionality and relationality, and reflects on the experiences of putting these into practice. A FAR practice involves remaining in dynamic movement between observing and participating, between exercising curiosity and care, and between the researchers' own sense of impartiality and investment in relation to the issues at hand. There is merit in furthering the methodology and practice of FAR on its own terms. This includes attending to the skills required by a formative accompanying researcher to remain oriented within the concentric circles of research, relationship and loyalty that make up a collaborative team. There is also the question of how FAR, and other forms of research into research, can help to advance collaborative interdisciplinary research. The author argues for creating the conditions in research teams that would enable treating collaboration as a capacity to develop, and that would facilitate team members' receptivity to learning with FAR. Furthermore, she explores dilemmas of intervening as a formative accompanying researcher and of sustaining dynamic positionality over the long-term.
Fostering sustainable urban mobility at neighborhood-based mobility stations with cargo bikes
(2019)
When Libet and colleagues published their results on the temporal order of movement preparation and the reported time of conscious will to move in 1983, they shed some doubt on the existence of free will. This marked the beginning of a controversial and still ongoing debate, not only about the existence of free will, but also about the appropriateness of methods and validity of results from research on free will. Belief in free will was also discovered as psychological research topic. Literature on belief in free will shows some evidence that most laypersons across different cultural backgrounds believe that they have free will and that a person's belief in free will might have an impact on cognition and behavior, tending to positive outcomes with a greater belief in free will. Empirical findings from the German-speaking area are sparse, probably due to a lack of validated measurements assessing belief in free will available in the German language. The aim of this dissertation is to critically examine some aspects in psychological research on free will and the belief in free will. Two studies are reported that aim to generalize the Libet paradigm for a free and voluntary decision with consequences for the acting person, as this was never reported to have been researched in literature before, and to test the critical objection that the measurement of reporting the conscious intention to move has a direct effect on the result in the Libet paradigm. Furthermore, the construction of the first inventory measuring belief in free will in the German language is described. This inventory was also created with the aim of overcoming some methodological problems in the existing instruments in English language. Furthermore, studies on the experimental manipulability of the belief in free will are reported. These findings provide implications in view of the current state of research on free will and belief in free will and its reliability.
Die in dieser Sammlung zusammengetragenen Texte reichte der Autor als kumulative Habilitationsleistung bei der Fakultät Kulturwissenschaften der Leuphana Universität Lüneburg zum Zwecke des Erwerbs der Lehrbefugnis für die Fachrichtung „Medien- und Kulturwissenschaften“ ein. Als Einzelveröffentlichungen behandeln die Buchkapitel und Journalbeiträge jeweils unterschiedliche Themen, sind aber alle den Fragestellungen der Game Studies und insbesondere dem Phänomen der Gamification verpflichtet. Seit dem Zeitpunkt der ersten hier zusammengestellten Publikation hat sich das Fachgebiet der Gamification Forschung gewaltig weiterentwickelt. Von verschiedenen Autoren wird das Jahr 2010 als die Geburtsstunde der Gamification Forschung angegeben Yongwen Xu (2011) bezieht sich auf einen Vortrag Jesse Schells aus dem Jahr 2010 auf der D.I.C.E.- Konferenz in Las Vegas. Fast zeitgleich erschien Sebastian Deterdings Vortrag „Pawned. Gamification and its Discontents“ (2010). Der Zeitraum von 2010 bis zum gegenwärtigen Zeitpunkt ist daher bedeutsam für das Verständnis digitaler Formen von lediglich ludisch drapierten oder vollständig ins Spiel implementierten Praxen. Ich möchte allerdings mit den hier vorgelegten Schriften die Behauptung ausführen, dass vordigitale Formen von Gamification entscheidend für das Verständnis zeitgenössischer Verschiebungen ins Ludische sind und den kulturwissenschaftlichen Hintergrund dafür auffächern, wie das Gegenwartsphänomen aus seinen kulturhistorischen, medienwissenschaftlichen, politischen und ästhetischen Rahmenbedingungen heraus begriffen werden kann.
Der Wandel des Energiesystems ist eine der zentralen Nachhaltigkeitstransformationen, denen sich die Forschung widmet. Wie für die Transition-Forschung verschiedentlich festgestellt, besteht allerdings eine gewisse Lücke bei der Frage, wie Nachhaltigkeitstransformationen organisiert und finanziert werden. Insbesondere fehlt es an einer Ausdifferenzierung und vertieften Analyse einzelner institutionell-organisatorischer Lösungen und an einer Darstellung im Zusammenhang der komplexen sozio-ökologisch-technischen Systeme, in die konkrete Organisationslösungen für eine nachhaltige Energieversorgung eingebunden sind. In der vorliegenden Arbeit werden mit genossenschaftlichen Ansätzen, also Organisationslösungen mit (Teil-)Eigentum der Bürger an den Anlagen, spezifische hybride finanzielle Arrangements im Energiesektor in den Fokus gerückt. Dem institutionenanalytischen Ansatz der Bloomington School folgend wird im Rahmenpapier und insgesamt sechs Fachartikeln der Frage nachgegangen, welche Formen genossenschaftlicher Ansätze im Globalen Norden und Globalen Süden anzutreffen sind und welche Rolle diesen in den Transformationsprozessen des jeweiligen Energiesystems zukommt. Für die Analyse wird auf das Social-Ecological Systems Framework zurückgegriffen, das für die einzelnen Untersuchungen modifiziert bzw. konkretisiert wird. Im Einzelnen wird in den Fachartikeln ein Überblick über die Erkenntnisse zu genossenschaftlichen Ansätzen im Globalen Süden gegeben, auf der Makroebene den wechselnden politischen Prozessen von Koordination und Contestation nachgegangen, auf der Mesoebene die Entwicklungen von Windenergiegenossenschaften in Belgien, Dänemark, Deutschland und dem Vereinigten Königreich vergleichend analysiert, der Zusammenhang von Finanz- und Energiesystem untersucht und für diesen Kontext Gerechtigkeitsnormen konkretisiert und schließlich auf der Mikroebene die Inklusivität von Bürgerenergieinitiativen näher betrachtet und Unterschiede in den Investitionsmotiven verschiedener Bürgerenergieakteure herausgearbeitet.
Climate change and atmospheric deposition of nitrogen affect biodiversity patterns and functions of forest ecosystems worldwide. Many studies have quantified tree growth responses to single global change drivers, but less is known about the interaction effects of these drivers at the plant and ecosystem level. In the present study, the authors conducted a full-factorial greenhouse experiment to analyse single and combined effects of nitrogen fertilization (N treatment) and drought (D treatment) on 16 morphological and chemical response variables of one-year-old Fagus sylvatica seedlings originating from eight different seed families from the Cantabrian Mountains (NW Spain). Drought exerted the strongest effect on response variables, reflected by decreasing biomass production. However, D and N treatments interacted for some of the response variables, indicating that N fertilization has the potential to strengthen the negative effects of drought (with both antagonistic and amplifying interactions). For example, combined effects of N and D treatments caused a sevenfold increase of necrotic leaf biomass. The authors hypothesize that increasing drought sensitivity was mainly attributable to a significant reduction of the root biomass in combined N and D treatments, limiting the plants' capability to satisfy their water demands. Significant seed family effects and interactions of seed family with N and D treatments across response variables suggest a high within-population genetic variability. In conclusion, the findings indicated a high drought sensitivity of Cantabrian beech populations, but also interaction effects of N and D on growth responses of beech seedlings.
A central aspect of sustainability governance is collaboration, which has been lauded for its benefits but also criticized for its challenges. The potential benefits of collaboration have apparently been recognized also in the context of EU agriculture. Yet, there has been a lack of holistic consideration of how collaboration can be systematically integrated and promoted in the governance of EU agriculture. Sustainable agriculture cannot only be encouraged through changes in the overall governance system but also through the support of existing and emerging small-scale collaborative initiatives for sustainable agriculture. Indeed, there has been substantial research on the conditions that influence success of similar collaborative initiatives. However, the knowledge resulting from this research remains rather scattered and does not allow for the identification of overall patterns. Additionally, little of this research specifically focuses on sustainable agriculture. What is more, the promotion of collaboration for sustainable agriculture is further complicated by the lack of clarity of the meaning of sustainable agriculture, which is an inherently ambiguous and contested concept. This cumulative dissertation aims to address these gaps by contributing to a better understanding of how collaboration can be facilitated and designed as a means to govern for and advance sustainable agriculture. For this purpose, the dissertation addresses three sub-aims: 1) Advancing the understanding of the concept of sustainable agriculture; 2) scrutinizing the current governance system regarding its potential to facilitate or hamper collaboration; 3) assessing conceptually and empirically how actor collaboration can be facilitated as a means to govern for sustainable agriculture, both from a top-down and a bottom-up perspective. In doing so, this dissertation focuses on EU agriculture and applies a mix of methods, ranging from qualitative to quantitative dominant. The findings of this dissertation highlight that collaboration has been underappreciated and even hampered as an approach to governing for sustainable agriculture. In contrast, this dissertation argues that collaboration offers one promising way to promoting and realizing agriculture and emphasizes the need to integrate different approaches to collaboration and to sustainable agriculture.
Ensuring food security and halting biodiversity loss are two of the most pressing global sustainability challenges. Attempts to identify pathways have been dominated with a biophysical-technical focus that provides technical solutions to the integration of food security and biodiversity conservation. The social-political dimension, however, including equity, governance, and empowerment received little to no attention. By focusing on the poorly investigated social-political dimension, this dissertation aimed to identify governance properties that facilitate and impede the integration of food security and biodiversity conservation through an empirical case study conducted in a multi-level governance setting of southwestern Ethiopia. To address the overarching goal of this dissertation, first the author examined how the existing widely discussed food security approaches and agricultural land use framework, land sparing versus land sharing unfold in the local context of southwestern Ethiopia. The finding in this dissertation indicated that the existing global framing of food security approaches as well as frameworks around agricultural land use has limited applicability in on-the-ground realities mainly because landscapes are complex systems that consist of stakeholders with multiple and (often) conflicting interests. This was evident from the finding that local land use preference was not a matter of "either/or", but instead involved mixed features exhibiting properties of both land sparing and land sharing. Moreover, in addition to the biophysical factors embedded in the existing food security approaches and land use frameworks, stakeholders preference involved social factors such as the compatibility of land use strategy with local values and traditions, which are mainly unaccounted in the existing global frameworks. Findings in this dissertation revealed that the existing reductionist analytical framings to the issues of food security and biodiversity conservation seldom address the complexity inherent within and between food security and biodiversity conservation sectors. Second, this dissertation identified governance structural and process related challenges that influence individual as well as integrated achievements of food security and biodiversity conservation goals. The result of the study showed that the governance of food security and biodiversity conservation was characterized by a strongly hierarchical system with mainly linear vertical linkages, lacking horizontal linkages between stakeholders that would transcend administrative boundaries. Furthermore, with regard to the governance process, three key and interdependent categories of governance process challenges namely, institutional misfit, the problem of interplay, and policy incoherence influenced the achievement of individual and integrated goals of food security and were identified. Given the interdependence of these governance challenges, coupled with the complexity inherent in the food security and biodiversity conservation, attempts to achieve the dual goals thus needs an integrative, flexible and adaptive governance system Third, to understand how food security and biodiversity conservation unfold in the future, the author explored future development trajectories for southwestern Ethiopia. Iterative scenario planning process produced four plausible future scenarios that distinctly differed with regard to dominating land use strategies and crops grown, actor constellations and governance mechanisms, and outcomes for food security and biodiversity conservation. Three out of the four scenarios focused on increasing economic gains through intensive and commercial agricultural production. In contrast, one scenario involved features that are widely considered as beneficial to food security and biodiversity conservation, such as agroecological production, diversification practices, and increased social-ecological resilience. In smallholder landscapes such as the one studied here, such a pathway that promises benefits for both food security and biodiversity conservation may need to be given greater emphasis. In order to ensure the integration of food security and biodiversity conservation, recognizing their interdependence and addressing the challenges in a way that fits with the local dynamics is essential. In addition, addressing the food security-biodiversity nexus requires a holistic analytical lens. Moreover, this dissertation indicated that there is a clear need to pay attention to the governance structure that accommodates the diversity of perspectives, enable participation and strong coordination across geographical boundaries, policy domains and governance levels. Finally, this dissertation revealed opportunities to integrate food security and biodiversity through the pro-active management of social-ecological interactions that produce a win-win outcome. The win-win outcome could be achieved in a system that involve properties such as diversification and modern agroecological techniques, smallholders empowerment, emphasize adaptive governance of social-ecological systems, value local knowledge, culture and traditions, and ensure smallholders participation.
Gesundheitlich riskanter Alkoholkonsum und Depressionen führen in Deutschland und weltweit zu großen Lebenseinschränkungen und hohen ökonomischen Kosten. Mit internetbasierten Gesundheitsinterventionen wird ein in Deutschland neuer Ansatz zur Prävention alkoholbezogener Erkrankungen vorgestellt und in einer dreiarmigen randomisiert-kontrollierten Studie mit 428 Erwachsenen mit riskantem Alkoholkonsum erprobt (Studie I). Auf Grundlage der vorhandenen Evidenz für die Wirksamkeit internetbasierter Interventionen gegen depressive Beschwerden wird zudem ein Online-Training zur Bewältigung von Depressionen entwickelt und anhand von 131 Personen evaluiert (Studie II). Aufgrund des relativ neuen Interventionsansatzes beschränkten sich bisherige Evaluationsstudien weitgehend auf die klinische Wirksamkeit als Ergebnismaß. Mit zunehmender Evidenz spielen weitere Evaluationskriterien wie die Nutzerzufriedenheit eine wichtige Rolle für die Etablierung dieses Ansatzes. In der Vergangenheit mangelte es jedoch an validierten Messinstrumenten. Zu diesem Zweck wurde in einer dritten Studie (Studie III) die psychometrische Qualität eines Fragebogens zur Messung der Zufriedenheit mit internetbasierten Gesundheitstrainings anhand von zwei unabhängigen Stichproben im Umfang von 174 (Stichprobe 1) und 111 Personen (Stichprobe 2) untersucht. In Studie I konnte gezeigt werden, dass das entwickelte Online-Training "Clever weniger trinken" nach sechs Wochen zu einem Rückgang des wöchentlichen Alkoholkonsums und damit zu einer signifikant stärkeren Reduktion führte als die Wartebedingung. Selbst nach sechs Monaten konnte noch ein signifikanter Trainingseffekt nachgewiesen werden. Darüber hinaus führte das Training zu Verbesserungen des allgemeinen und des arbeitsbezogenen Wohlbefindens. In Studie II konnte gezeigt werden, dass sowohl das entwickelte Online-Training "GET.ON Mood Enhancer" als auch eine kurze Online-Psychoedukation zur Reduktion depressiver Beschwerden bei Personen mit Depression führte. Das Online-Training zeigte sich der Psychoedukation zumindest kurzfristig signifikant überlegen. Die Ergebnisse weisen darauf hin, dass Personen ohne Psychotherapieerfahrung vom Online-Training, nicht aber von reiner Psychoedukation profitieren. Das Online-Training erwies sich zudem im Vergleich zur Psychoedukation als nebenwirkungsarm. Die psychometrische Analyse des Fragebogens zur Zufriedenheit mit internetbasierten Gesundheitstrainings in Studie III bestätigte die Einfachstruktur des Fragebogens, die sich über zwei unabhängige Stichproben hinweg als messinvariant erwies. Die hohe Reliabilität des Fragebogens zeigte sich in McDonald's Omegas von 0,95 in Stichprobe 1 und 0,93 in Stichprobe 2. Die erwarteten mittleren Korrelationen zwischen der Zufriedenheit mit dem Training und den primären Zielkriterien der jeweiligen Trainings (die Reduktion der Depressivität in Stichprobe 1 und die Stressreduktion in Stichprobe 2) weisen auf die gute Validität des Fragebogens hin. Mit dieser Arbeit konnte erstmals gezeigt werden, dass eine internetbasierte Intervention zur Reduktion des Alkoholkonsums sowohl als Selbsthilfevariante als auch mit Begleitung durch einen Online-Coach wirksam ist. Weiter belegt die Arbeit die kurzfristige Überlegenheit einer internetbasierten Intervention zur Bewältigung von Depressionen gegenüber Psychoedukation, die zudem nebenwirkungsarm ist. Mit dem Fragebogen zur Zufriedenheit mit internetbasierten Gesundheitstrainings liegt nun ein validiertes, ökonomisches Instrument zur Ergänzung klinischer Evaluationskriterien um die Nutzerperspektive vor.
The research presented here examines the ways the products and practices of digital game-based language learning (DGBLL) shape access to foreign language learning. Three different studies with different methodologies and foci were carried out to examine the affordances of various aspects of DGBLL. The emphasis in all three cases, two of which are empirical and one of which is a theoretical investigation, is on developing a better understanding of the affordances of DGBLL to derive implications for English Foreign Language (EFL) teacher education. In the first study, the focus is on constructing and implementing an evaluative framework to examine the pedagogical, linguistic, and ludic affordances of DGBLL tools. Analysis reveals that many dedicated DGBLL applications incorporate content, pedagogy, and game elements that are limited in their ability to reflect contemporary understandings of foreign language learning or generate motivation to pursue game-related goals. As such, they call into question existing typologies of DGBLL and emphasize the need for competent educators who can effectively align the selection of specific DGBLL tools with given language learning objectives. In order to understand the preexisting knowledge and attitudes that need to be addressed to develop such competence, the second study examines pre-service English foreign language (EFL) teachers’ beliefs and behaviors regarding DGBLL. The quantitative analysis reveals positive correlations between gameplaying and EFL skills and language learning strategies, and between gaming behaviors and beliefs about DGBLL. At the same time, low rates of gameplaying behaviors and negative correlations between prior digital media usage and attitudes towards DGBLL suggest the need for substantial theoretical and practical teacher preparation that takes into account underlying assumptions about gameplaying and foreign language learning. The third study examines the basis of these assumptions, relying on Bourdieu's notion of habitus to illuminate the foundation of these beliefs and his notion of linguistic capital to consider the potential impact of a non-gameplaying habitus on some language learners. Such differential acceptance of efficacious DGBLL in formal school settings may inhibit access to significant forms of capital, and requisite linguistic and digital competencies. While all three studies are limited in their scope, they hold important implications for teacher education. Given the nature of the applications analyzed, it becomes clear that, not only are particular applications appropriate for specific objectives; it must also be the role of teacher education to enhance pre-service teachers' (PST) abilities to understand these nuances and select media accordingly. This can only take place when PSTs' situated existing beliefs and behaviors, as illuminated by this research, are taken into account and addressed accordingly. Finally, this education must necessarily include initiatives to develop an understanding of issues of equity in access, participation, and outcomes as regards DGBLL.
Kausalitätsnachweise aus baubetrieblicher Sicht anhand konkreter bauablaufbezogener Darstellungen
(2019)
Im Baugewerbe sind auf Grund hoher Kosten im Falle von Bauunterbrechungen eine genaue Bauablaufplanung sowie auch die Sicherstellung der Ansprüche daraus von großer Wichtigkeit. Die aus dieser Situation heraus folgende Diskussion der Vertragspartner über die Vergütung und die Fristverlängerung führt in einigen Fällen zu einer gerichtlichen Auseinandersetzung. Hierbei hat der Bundesgerichtshof (BGH) aufgezeigt, dass eine konkrete bauablaufbezogene Darstellung zum Nachweis der Kausalität notwendig ist. Es ist hierbei nicht eindeutig klar, wie eine vom BGH geforderte Darstellung auszusehen hat. Bei den Baufirmen wiederum liegt der Fokus häufig auf der Ausarbeitung eines monetären Anspruchs. Dabei wird den Kausalzusammenhängen wenig Beachtung geschenkt. Deshalb werden in dieser Arbeit die Kausalitätsnachweise anhand der konkreten bauablaufbezogenen Darstellung untersucht - mit besonderem Augenmerk auf der pluralen Kausalität. Insgesamt liegt der Schwerpunkt der Arbeit auf der baubetrieblichen Sichtweise und juristischen Einordnungen. Dabei werden insbesondere Terminpläne genauer untersucht. Für Ansprüche aus Bauzeitverlängerung werden hier ausschließlich Fristverlängerungen betrachtet. Die monetären Auswirkungen werden nicht bearbeitet.
Das Ziel dieser Arbeit besteht darin, an den im Ursprung der Vergabe- und Vertragsordnung für Bauleistungen (VOB) zugrundeliegenden Kooperationsgedanken anzuknüpfen und eine möglichst für alle an Bauvorhaben Beteiligten nachhaltige und akzeptable Lösung für eine gemeinsame Behebung der nicht vermeidbar auftretenden Bauablaufstörungen herauszuarbeiten. Im Rahmen dieser Lösung soll gewährleistet werden, dass die in der Regel notwendigen, baubegleitenden Fehlerkorrekturen effektiv und unkompliziert auf der operativen Ebene gemeinsam durchgeführt werden. Der sofortige Handlungs- und Entscheidungswille vor Ort soll durch die vereinbarten Vertragsordnungen begünstigt, unterstützt, gefördert und erleichtert werden. Dabei soll sichergestellt werden, dass eine gemeinsame Handlung oder Entscheidung vor Ort immer als grundsätzlich richtig eingestuft wird und durch die allgemeinen Vertragsordnungen im Gegensatz zu einer einseitigen Anordnung präferiert wird. Es muss sichergestellt werden, dass einerseits wieder die Zusammenarbeit und Kooperation im Fokus der Interessen aller Beteiligten stehen und andererseits klare gesetzliche oder vertragliche Regelungen existieren, die eine solche Mitarbeit fördern. Der Raum für eine potenzielle Konfliktentstehung soll maximal verringert werden. Als Ergebnis soll ein Formulierungsvorschlag für den § 19 VOB/B mit der Überschrift “Kooperationspflichten“ herausgearbeitet werden. Aus diesen Pflichten sollen auch Rechte und damit verbundene Vorteile ableitet werden, welche eine Kooperation fördern.
Decoding the psychological dimensions of human odor perception has long been a central issue of olfactory research. As odor percepts could not be linked to a few measurable physicochemical features of odorous compounds or physiological characteristics of the olfactory system, odor qualities have often been assessed by perception–based ratings. Although these approaches have been promising, none of the proposed system has sustained empirical validation. In a review of 28 studies, the authors assessed how basic characteristics of study design have been biasing perception–based classification systems: (1) interindividual differences in perceptual and verbal abilities of subjects, (2) stimuli characteristics, (3) approaches of data collection, and (4) methods of data analysis. Remarkably, many of the difficulties in establishing these systems have been rooted in one underlying issue: the puzzling relationship between language and olfaction in general. While the reference from odors to language is weak, the reverse impact of verbal processing on olfaction seems powerful. Odor perception is biased by verbal–semantic processes when cues of an odor's source are readily available from the context. At the same time, olfaction has been characterized as basically sensation driven when this information is absent. The authors examined whether language effects occur when verbal cues are absent and how expectations about an odor's identity shape odor evaluations. Subjects were asked to rate 20 unlabeled odor samples on perceptual dimensions as well as quality attributes and to eventually provide an odor source name. In a subsequent session, they performed the same rating tasks on a set of written odor labels that was compiled individually for each participant. It included both the 20 correct odor names (true labels) and – in any case of incorrect odor naming in the first session – the self–generated labels (identified labels). The authors compared odor ratings to ratings of both types of labels and found higher consistencies between the evaluation of an odor and its identified label than between the description of an odor and its true (yet not associated) label. These results indicate that basic perceptual as well as quality ratings are affected by semantic information about an odor's source – even in absence of source cues. That is, odor sensation may activate a semantic mental representation of an odorous object that affects odor processing and may in turn relate to further multimodal properties. That means, associations between odors and stimuli from other sensory modalities should not only be stable, but these mappings should be mediated by an odor’s identity. The authors asked subjects to visualize their odor associations on a drawing tablet, freely deciding on color and shape. Additionally, they provided a verbal label for each sample. Color mappings were odor-specific, they reflected the imagery of a natural source and seemed to change with assumed odor identity. Shape mappings changed with odor identifications as well, as drawings frequently displayed concrete objects that reflected visual features of an odor's source. The influence of verbal identity codes on quality ratings or crossmodal mappings is rooted in the very same problem that perception–based classification systems have tried to solve – a terminology that relates to abstract mental categories. The less specific we communicate, the more we need to resort to source–related analogies – in scientific endeavors and everyday life alike.
Im Zuge der Einführung inklusiver Schulen verändern sich berufliche Anforderungen. Lehrkräfte sehen sich durch inklusionsspezifische Tätigkeiten zusätzlichen Belastungen ausgesetzt. Diese Belastungen sind häufig negativ konnotiert, weil nicht alle Lehrkräfte über die notwendige Expertise zur Bewältigung derer verfügen. Neue Arbeitsroutinen müssen aufgebaut und etabliert werden. Da sich die Belastungen auch auf das Gesundheitserleben der Lehrkräfte niederschlagen können, ist es wichtig Ressourcen in den Blick zu nehmen, die zur Bewältigung der beruflichen Anforderungen benötigt werden. Ziel der vorliegenden Arbeit ist die Analyse der Gesundheitswahrnehmung von Lehrkräften in Bezug auf inklusionsspezifische Tätigkeiten. Dabei ist von Interesse, wie sich das Konstrukt Gesundheit mit Blick auf konkrete Tätigkeiten empirisch abbilden lässt und wovon das inklusionsspezifische Gesundheitserleben beeinflusst wird (Teilstudie 1). In welchem Zusammenhang die Häufigkeit der Ausführung inklusionsspezifischer Tätigkeiten (Erfahrung) mit dem Gesundheitserleben steht (Teilstudie 2) und inwiefern sich das Gesundheitserleben von Lehrkräften unterschiedlicher Schulformen unterscheidet (Teilstudie 3). Die Arbeit leistet einen Forschungsbeitrag durch die Prüfung eines Instruments zur tätigkeitsbezogenen Gesundheitserfassung sowie in Bezug auf das Desiderat an Daten zur Gesundheitswahrnehmung von Lehrkräften im Kontext schulischer Inklusion.
This dissertation examines how smallholder farming livelihoods may be more effectively leveraged to address food security. It is based on empirical research in three woredas (districts) in the Jimma Zone of southwestern Ethiopia. Findings in the chapters that follow draw on quantitative and qualitative data. In this research, the author focuses on local actors to investigate how they can be better supported in their roles as agents who have the ability to improve their livelihoods and achieve food security. This general aim is operationalized through three research questions: (i) How do livelihood strategies influence food security?; (ii) What livelihood challenges are common and how do households cope with these?; and (iii) How do social institutions, in which livelihoods are embedded, influence people's abilities to undertake livelihoods and be food secure? Using quantitative data from a survey of randomly selected households, the author applied a number of multivariate statistical analysis to determine types of livelihood strategies and to establish how these strategies are associated with capital assets and food security. Here she views livelihood strategies as a portfolio of livelihood activities that households undertake to make a living. The predominant livelihood in the study area was diversified smallholder farming involving mainly the production of crops. Based on their analyses, the authors found five types of livelihood strategies to be present along a gradient of crop diversity. Food security generally decreased with less crops being part of the livelihood strategy. The livelihood strategies were associated with households' capital assets. The status of food (in)security of each household during the lean season was measured using the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS). A generalized linear model established that the type of livelihood strategy a household undertook significantly influenced their food security. Other significant variables were educational attainment and gender of household head. The findings contribute evidence to the benefits of diversified livelihoods for food security. Smallholder farming in southwest Ethiopia is beset with process-related and outcome-related challenges. Here, a process-related challenge pertains to the lack of different types of capital assets that people need to be able to undertake their livelihoods, while an outcome-related challenge pertains to lack of food. The most frequently mentioned process-related challenges were associated with the natural capital either as lack in necessary ecosystem services or high levels of ecosystem disservices. Farming households typically faced the combined challenges of decreasing soil fertility, land scarcity, die-off of oxen due to diseases, and wild animal pests. Lack of cash was also common. The findings indicate that when households liquidate a physical asset in order to gain cash, the common outcome is an erosion of their capital asset base. On the other hand, when households drew on their social capital, they tended to maintain their capital asset base. Human capital, for example, in the form of available labor was also important for coping. Protecting and enhancing natural capital is needed to strengthen the basis of livelihoods in the study area, and maintaining social and human capitals is important to enable farming households to cope with challenges without eroding their capital asset base. Smallholder farming in southwest Ethiopia is embedded in a social context that creates differentiated challenges and opportunities. Gender is an axis of social differentiation on which many of the differences are based. The currently ruling Ethiopian political coalition has put important policy reforms in place to empower women. Local residents reported notable changes related to gender in the last ten years. To make sense of the changes, the authors adapted the leverage points concept. Using this concept, the authors classified the reported changes as belonging to the domains of visible gaps, social structures, and attitudes. Importantly, changes within these domains interacted. The most prominent driver of the changes observed was the government's emphasis on empowering women and government-organized interventions including gender sensitization trainings. The changes toward more egalitarian relationships at the household level were perceived by local residents to lead to better implementation of livelihoods, and better ability to be food secure. The study offers the insight that while changing deep, underlying drivers (e. g. attitudes) of systemic inequalities is critical, other leverage points such as formal institutional change and closing of certain visible gaps can facilitate deeper changes (e. g. attitudes) through interaction between different leverage points. This can inform gender transformative approaches. While positive gender-related changes have been observed, highly unequal gender norms still persist that lead to women as well as poor men being disadvantaged. Social norms which provide the basis for collective understanding of acceptable attitudes and behaviors are entrenched in people's ways of being and doing and can therefore significantly lag behind formal institutional changes. Norms influenced practices around access and control of capital assets, decision-making, and allocation of activities with important implications for who gets to participate, how, and who gets to benefit. To more effectively leverage smallholder farming for a food secure future, this dissertation closes with four key insights namely: (1) Diversified livelihoods combining food and cash crops result in better food security; (2) Enhancing natural and social capital is a requisite for viable smallholder farming; (3) Social and gender equality are strategically important in improving livelihoods and food security; and (4) Institutions particularly social norms are key to achieving gender and social equality.