The 10 most recently published documents
In study 1, we explored the validity (internal structure) of the “Fragebogen zur Erfassung der Motivation für die Wahl des Lehramtsstudiums” (FEMOLA) that is often applied to assess the motivation to become a student of teaching. To this end, data from N = 1467 students were analyzed in order to compare two factor structures that had been proposed in the literature. Results indicated that the structure assuming seven factors fitted the data better than the structure assuming the six factors that had originally been proposed. Subsequently, measurement invariance was explored across the four school types the students strived to teach in (elementary school, special school, secondary school, and high school). Thereby, metric measurement invariance (equal factor loadings) was supported. In Study 2, data from N = 442 students of teaching assessed at different time points were used to examine whether self-reported and objective performance measures at later semesters could be predicted by the motivation to become a teacher, and by goal orientations (learning goals, performance-approach goals, performance-avoidance goals, and work avoidance) beyond variance explainable by intelligence. Using structural equation modelling, the assumption was tested that effects of the motivation to become a teacher on performance measures were mediated by goal orientations. In line with our expectations, intrinsic motivation to become a teacher was positively related to later learning goals and negatively related to work avoidance. Extrinsic motivation was positively related to later performance-approach and -avoidance goals, and work avoidance. Indirect effects of motivation on performance measures mediated by goal orientations, however, were mostly not significant. The two performance measures (a performanceest and a self-assessment) were only marginally correlated and for intelligence, only the relationship with the performance test was significant. Reasons for these results, which are contrary to other studies, will be discussed.
A Computer-Assisted Writing Tool for an Extended Variety of Leichte Sprache (Easy-to-Read German)
(2021)
Leichte Sprache (LS; easy-to-read German) defines a variety of German characterized by simplified syntactic constructions and a small vocabulary. It provides barrier-free information for a wide spectrum of people with cognitive impairments, learning difficulties, and/or a low level of literacy in the German language. The levels of difficulty of a range of syntactic constructions were systematically evaluated with LS readers as part of the recent LeiSA project (). That study identified a number of constructions that were evaluated as being easy to comprehend but which fell beyond the definition of LS. We therefore want to broaden the scope of LS to include further constructions that LS readers can easily manage and that they might find useful for putting their thoughts into words. For constructions not considered in the LeiSA study, we performed a comparative treebank study of constructions attested to in a collection of 245 LS documents from a variety of sources. Employing the treebanks TüBa-D/S (also called VERBMOBIL) and TüBa-D/Z, we compared the frequency of such constructions in those texts with their incidence in spoken and written German sources produced without the explicit goal of facilitating comprehensibility. The resulting extension is called Extended Leichte Sprache (ELS). To date, text in LS has generally been produced by authors proficient in standard German. In order to enable text production by LS readers themselves, we developed a computational linguistic system, dubbed ExtendedEasyTalk. This system supports LS readers in formulating grammatically correct and semantically coherent texts covering constructions in ELS. This paper outlines the principal components: (1) a natural-language paraphrase generator that supports fast and correct text production while taking readership-design aspects into account, and (2) explicit coherence specifications based on Rhetorical Structure Theory (RST) to express the communicative function of sentences. The system’s writing-workshop mode controls the options in (1) and (2). Mandatory questions generated by the system aim to teach the user when and how to consider audience-design concepts. Accordingly, users are trained in text production in a similar way to elementary school students, who also tend to omit audience-design cues. Importantly, we illustrate in this paper how to make the dialogues of these components intuitive and easy to use to avoid overtaxing the user. We also report the results of our evaluation of the software with different user groups.
Spatial ability, particularly mental rotation, has been widely studied in relation to gender differences. Ensuring equitable assessment of spatial skills is especially relevant for sustainability-related STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) domains, where early educational experiences may shape later participation patterns. This study examined gender differences using a newly developed computerised Mental Rotation Test (nMRT) measuring accuracy and response time across 28 items varying in stimulus type and difficulty. To enhance inclusivity in task design, the test included concrete objects (e.g., cars, dolls, animals) and abstract figures (cubes, pellets, polyhedra), comprising male-stereotyped, female-stereotyped, and neutral objects. Stimuli were presented in two test parts, with rotations in picture plane followed by rotations in depth. Participants were 279 German primary school children ( Mage = 8.66 years; 134 girls, 145 boys), tested in classroom settings. Reliability analyses indicated high overall internal consistency of the nMRT ( α = 0.86). Multivariate analyses revealed no overall gender differences in accuracy or response time ( ps > 0.05), indicating broadly comparable performance across the full test. A small but reliable accuracy advantage for girls emerged only for picture-plane rotations of animals and letters ( ηp 2 = 0.03). Although boys demonstrated a small advantage for female-stereotyped stimuli rotated in depth, this effect did not remain statistically significant following correction for multiple comparisons. Controlling for age did not substantially alter the overall pattern of findings. Improved performance on some abstract stimuli across test parts was consistent with the effects of task familiarity. Overall, the findings suggest that gender differences in childhood mental rotation performance are sensitive to contextual and task-related factors, including stimulus content and rotation format, rather than emerging uniformly across spatial tasks.
Agricultural intensification, driven by increasing food demand, is one of the main drivers of global biodiversity loss. Pesticides, including fungicides, may increase crop yield but pose substantial threats to the environment. However, our current knowledge on the effects of fungicides on biodiversity suffers from less research interest compared to other pesticides and a neglect of insect herbivores. We here investigate the effects of a commercially available, ready-to-use difenoconazole fungicide on a non-target insect, the butterfly Pieris napi , under controlled laboratory conditions. When being fed with fungicide-treated host plants, butterfly larvae showed a strongly reduced survival (15%) compared to controls (60%). Survival in larvae treated with the fungicide plus an insecticide was only 1%. Sublethal effects of the fungicide included prolonged development and reduced adult size. Our results indicate a surprisingly high toxicity of the tested fungicide formulation on P. napi . Based on the available literature, we speculate that triazole fungicides may be in general toxic to Lepidoptera and potentially other herbivorous insects. This study contributes to the growing evidence that fungicides may well be involved in the loss of insect biodiversity in agricultural landscapes at the global scale.
Die Inszenierung von Empörung. Eine Untersuchung der Körpersprache bei Politikerinnen und Politikern
(2026)
Die vorliegende Dissertation untersucht die mimische Inszenierung von Empörung bei Politikerinnen und Politikern. Ausgangspunkt ist die Beobachtung, dass Empörung in politischen Auseinandersetzungen eine zentrale Rolle spielt, ihre mimische Ausdrucksform jedoch bislang nur unzureichend empirisch erschlossen ist. Während die sozialwissenschaftliche Forschung Empörung größtenteils als sprachlich artikulierte moralische Bewertung oder als individuelle emotionale Reaktion behandelt, bleibt ihre mimische Darstellung in konkreten Interaktionssituationen weitgehend unbeachtet. Vor diesem Hintergrund zielt die Arbeit darauf, Empörung als beobachtbare und intersubjektiv verstehbare Ausdruckshandlung zu rekonstruieren. Die leitende Forschungsfrage lautet: Wie wird Empörung von politischen Akteurinnen und Akteuren mimisch inszeniert?
Empörung wird als moralische Emotion gefasst, deren soziologische Relevanz nicht in einem inneren Zustand, sondern in ihrer öffentlichen Inszenierung liegt. Sie wird als soziale Handlung begriffen, die in mimischen Ausdrucksformen hervorgebracht wird und a intersubjektiv verstehbar ist. In dieser Perspektive fungiert Empörung als Form öffentlicher Bewertung, durch die normative Grenzen markiert und politische Positionierungen vorgenommen werden. Die empirische Untersuchung basiert auf der Analyse audiovisuellen Aufnahmen parlamentarischer Debatten des Deutschen Bundestages sowie eines politischen Statements. Zur systematischen Erfassung mimischer Ausdrucksbewegungen wird das Facial Action Coding System (FACS) in einen soziologischen Untersuchungsrahmen integriert und methodisch angepasst, um mimische Ausdrucksformen in ihrer konkreten Struktur empirisch rekonstruieren zu können und soziologisch nutzbar zu machen.
Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die mimische Inszenierung von Empörung durch einen stabilen Ausdruckskern gekennzeichnet ist, der ihre intersubjektive Verstehbarkeit gewährleistet. Dieser wird situativ durch weitere emotionale und gestische Elemente variiert und eingebettet in szenische Interaktionsverläufe. Zugleich ist Empörung maßgeblich durch Debattenlogiken und Darstellungsbedingungen strukturiert. Empörung ist demnach eine kontextgebundene und strategisch einsetzbare Ausdruckshandlung Die Arbeit trägt zur soziologischen Emotionsforschung bei, indem sie Empörung als mimisch sichtbare Inszenierungsform politischer Kommunikation rekonstruiert und mit der Integration des FACS einen methodischen Zugang zur Analyse mimischer Ausdrucksformen etabliert.
This data paper presents a dataset, of 12,361 observations compiled from the Happiness Meanders project, which explores cultural variations in individual and family well-being, ideal and actual happiness, emotional experiences and expressions, and cultural models of selfhood across 48 countries. Participants were recruited through academic networks. Data were collected using standardised scales, including the Satisfaction with Life Scale, the Interdependent Happiness Scale, the Cultural Models of Selfhood Scale, and the Emotional Experience and Expression inspired by Affect Valuation Index. The dataset underwent thorough technical validation, including checks for variable consistency, handling missing data, and identifying potential response biases. A filter for data quality was applied, with potentially unreliable data flagged for exclusion. This dataset offers a valuable resource for examining cultural influences on emotional dynamics (frequence of experience and expression), individual and family oriented evaluations of happiness, ideal and actual evaluation of happiness, cultural models of selfhood, and can support further research in cross-cultural psychology and related social sciences.
Bean leaf beetles (Ootheca spp.) (Insecta: Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) are one of Africa’s most destructive pests of common bean and other leguminous crops. The beetles are widely distributed in Africa where they are estimated to cause annual crop yield losses of 116,400 tons of crop yields in sub-Saharan Africa. Despite their importance, little is known about the distribution, relative abundance and damage caused by bean leaf beetles in Uganda. As a result, the development of effective management methods has been hampered. We conducted surveys in six key Ugandan agro-ecological zones to determine the species distribution and relative abundance of bean leaf beetles. Findings indicate that leaf beetles belonging to 12 genera are present, including members of the genera Afrophthalma Medvedev, 1980, Buphonella Jacoby, 1903, Chrysochrus Chevrolat in Dejean, 1836, Diacantha Dejean, 1845, Exosoma Jacoby, 1903, Lamprocopa Hincks, 1949, Lema Fabricius, 1798, Nisotra Baly, 1864, Neobarombiella Bolz and Wagner, 2012, Ootheca Dejean, 1935, Parasbecesta Laboissière, 1940, and Plagiodera Dejean, 1835. We identified only three species belonging to the genus Ootheca: O. mutabilis, O. proteus, and O. orientalis. Seventy percent of all the beetles collected were O. mutabilis and these were present in all agro-ecological zones studied. The Northern Moist Farmlands (21.9%), West Nile Farmlands (12.9%), Central Wooded Savanna (4.4%) and Southern and Eastern Lake Kyoga Basin (1.4%) were the only agro-ecological zones where O. proteus was found. Only one specimen of O. orientalis was found at a single site in the Central Wooded Savanna. The Northern Moist Farmlands had a significantly (p < 0.05) higher bean leaf beetle density than the West Nile Farmlands and Southwestern Highlands. Similarly, the Northern Moist Farmlands had the highest beetle foliar damage per plant (1.15 ± 0.05), while the Southwestern Highlands had the lowest (0.03 ± 0.02). We provide the first information on Ootheca species distribution, abundance and damage in Uganda. Our findings provide a foundation for assessing the importance of Ootheca spp. as common bean pests in Uganda.
Cultured orchards, that remain for many years, are able to become a great value for insects and spiders, if the negative influences of cultivation will be minimized by specific measures.
In our project we made on four integrated cultured orchards and one orchard meadow as reference an intensive recording of the insects and arachnids, based on individual numbers, distribution to large groups, number of species (beetles, bugs), their biodiversity (Shannon), Red Data Book species and their influencing factors. By an evaluation form, created in project, the effects of five clusters of factors: separate structures, orchard structures, shading, mowing and application of pesticides. The visual presentation of the influencing factors with star-plot shows restricting effects on biodiversity and offers possibilities to rise the biodiversity. The proposed measures are aimed at increasing the biodiversity and decrease the negative effects of cultivation in cultured orchards. The largest structural diversity, adapted to cultivation, increases the availability of nesting sites, food, and wintering quarters for insects and spiders significant and develop stable populations.
