Nicolaus Cusanus presents a subtle theory of alterity. We will show why Cusanus does not consistently assign humans a position superior to other living beings, even when strong anthropocentric arguments seem to be present. Kazuhiko Yamaki (2017: 280), e.g., has recently pointed out that the attribution of a privileged position to humans in the world already fails logically, because the complicatio-explicatio scheme applies to all creatures. I would like to follow up on Yamaki’s argument that Cusanus at this point is rather concerned with describing a specific relationship between God and the creatures or the world. If this argument is extended to the question of humans and animals in Cusanus as a whole, the way in which these relations are to be figured becomes the focus of consideration. Just as Cusanus, in cosmology and anthropology, examines the perspectivity of knowledge and the decentralization of the Earth (as a noble star among other stars) without falling into pure perspectivism or decentralism, so traits of this reflective and (figuratively) ‘living’ thinking must also apply to the description of the relationship of living beings to one another or in relation to their Creator.

This article argues that Nicholas of Cusa, in contrast to the scholastic tradition and in consensus with the humanists of his time, develops a high esteem for Artes Me chanicae, placing it on an equal level with Artes Liberales. A close reading of the relevant passages in Cusa’s work reveals that although his early philosophical writings present the old scholastic position, in the Idiota-writings (1450), he shifts his stance toward the Artes Mechanicae and significantly elevates it. Influenced by his encounter with the Italian humanists in Rome, he maintains this approach throughout his late works and late sermons. This positive reweighting of Artes Mechanicae is consistent with Cusanus’ view of the immanence of God and leads him to revaluate his world view.

The concept of art is a lens through which one can explore the thought of Nicho las of Cusa. He uses this notion throughout his work in order to address the pro ductive dynamism of the divine mind as well as the human mind. With a focus on the human arts as likenesses of the divine art, this paper studies the relationship between the art of the word and the illiterate manual arts. Firstly, we examine the ars coniecturalis as a human art form that Cusanus presents for the first time in extenso in “De coniecturis”. Secondly, we address the power of the art of the word through the production of its most precious form, the spoken word. Thirdly, and finally, we inquire into the power of the manual arts through the example of the idiota’s making of wooden spoons in the “De mente” in order to show the relationship between this art and the art of the word.

Alongside the relationship between philosophy and painting, in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, a speculative interest emerged in the concept of three-dimensional vision in Cusa, Jan van Eyck, Marsilio Ficino, and Giorgione da Castelfranco. The visio circularis theme becomes a central metaphor for a new way of thinking and seeing the world, which culminates in Leonardo da Vinci’s studies on perspective. In this context, the mirror forms a dominant theme in the development of the studies and applications of perspective, which becomes increasingly sensitive to sculptural relief.

“Art and Technology in Nicholas of Cusa” discusses a basic assumption of the Central European ‘Weltanschauung’ since the early modern period. The two terms and their relationship to each other represent formative parameters that extend up to the present, in the so-called Anthropocene. An exemplary relevance of these terms can be found in Nicholas of Cusa. It comes to light in the development of art and technique between Cusanus and Leonardo da Vinci (G. Cuzzo). In Cusa’s philosophy, conjectural thinking forms the systematic core of this approach (C. D'Amico and J. González Rios). This thinking points in two directions, in that art and thought in Cusanus’ reception of Neoplatonism and its independent appropriation lead to scientia aenigmatica , which at the same time manifests itself in technical images. (W.C. Schneider). Thereby, the liberal and the mechanical arts experience the same high esteem (K. Yamaki). For Nicholas, technology proves to be a form of expression of the “viva imago Dei” and its creative art; thus, Cusa characterizes two different forms of consciousness: the reflexive self-consciousness of science and technology as well as the creative consciousness of spiritual self-development (H. Schwaetzer). Cusa applied this concept also to humans and animals, and hence to nature in general (K. Zeyer).  The present volume not only contributes to research on Cusanus but also provides a specimen for comparative studies of different forms of consciousness.

This essay applies a Cultural Studies-approach to the multi-facetted relationship between poetry and advertisement as it emerged in the first half of the 20th century in the United States and as it became visible on billboards by the roadside. Somewhat paradoxically, public poetry in advertising appeared all across the United States (predominantly along highways in rural areas) around the time that much of modernist American poetry was being declared a highly elitist and urban centric affair in the orbit of new criticism-scholarship at universities. My first case study addresses the iconic Burma-Shave Billboard Poetry Campaign (1929-1963) and its long-lasting influence on American (popular) culture – in literature, music, visual art. Prior to this campaign as well as on the heels of it, billboards and billboard poetry were taken up to a minor extent in poetry circles and literary criticism (where they continued to be mostly viewed with disdain) and to a larger extent by conceptual artists who used billboard aesthetics, slogans, and short (poetic) texts in installations mimicking and critiquing consumer culture. One of the most aesthetically innovative recent ‘returns’ of billboard poetry, however, is the one employed intra-diegetically in the Hollywood film “Three Billboards Outside of Ebbing, Missouri” (2017), my second case study. Here, the writing on the billboard-walls make those aspects explicit that have been submerged in the earlier rhymes by the roadside: While the playful, optimistic lines of advertisement imply, time and again, a happy white middle-class American family with a sober and well-shaved patriarch behind the wheel and thus gloss over the disavowed underside of mobility, the film makes the latent manifest and points to systemic / structural violence, such as a pervasive American rape ‘culture’ which is linked to the car and the mobility it offers. The film uses the billboard and its inscription as foil and as catalyst to address and to protest this and other forms of violence and thus presents an activist intervention in order to ask for more than merely poetic justice.

Internet poetry clips are a multimedial hybrid form that comingles features of different literary genres, such as lyric, epic, and drama; different modal categories, such as spoken language, writing, gestures, and facial expressions; and medial modes, such as text, performance, video clip, and documentary. This paper deals with the central features of three selected internet poetry clips: “A Brown Girl’s Guide to Gender” by Aranya Johar, “Water” by Koleka Putuma, and „Ohne mich“ by Sandra Da Vina. The focus is on the media-specific forms of personal union between author and performer in each of these works.

In the article, I will discuss the relationship between ‘book poetry’ and ‘digital poetry.’ I examine the differences, as well as the similarities, between poetry as presented in these two media. Research on the transition from book poetry to digital poetry has mainly focussed on the significant changes in genre and work concepts as well as in the author and reader roles. However, several trends within the tradition of poetry have intensified and have further developed since the emergence of the digital media. The focus in this paper will thus be on four key features, which were founded in book poetry as far back as early Modernism and the avant-garde movements, but, to a great extent, those features have unfolded in digital poetry. The four features are the multimodality, the montage form, the network structure, and the serial form. The artistic opportunities offered by digital poetry are not only due to technological opportunities in the new media. Such opportunities are just as much due to the innovations in multimodality, montages, network structures, and seriality realized by avant-garde and symbolist poets like Mallarmé, Apollinaire, Schwitters, Eliot, and Pound in early modernism. My article concludes with an example of how the four features form the basis for a work of digital poetry, namely Johannes Heldén’s “The Primary Directive” (2008).

This paper is focused on a relatively new phenomenon: joint performances by poets and avant-garde (primarily electronic) musicians in contemporary Russia. In part, these performances are reminiscent of performances by American and Western European poets with jazz ensembles in the 1960s and 1970s. At that time in the Soviet Union, this practice was almost unheard of: when intermedial experiments did take place, poets – particularly the so-called “official” poets – turned not to music but to theatre. The most important elements of these performances were their emphases on virtuosic improvisation, the theatrical immediacy of what was taking place, and creating a community around the performer. In contrast, contemporary collaborations between poets and musicians largely demonstrate the non-self-sufficiency of their respective media and, in doing so, deconstruct the. very premise of the poetic (lyric) subject. My contention is that intermediality as such – in this case, the interaction between music and poetry – could thus be the most important tool available for creating a “poetry without a subject.” Moreover, in practice, it has acquired a salient social and political meaning in modern Russia: depicting culture as a space of individualized dialogues and polylogues.

Starting from the imperative to not just read, but to speak lyric poems out loud, this paper considers ways in which poems change depending on who utters them. Beyond the familiar distinction between the poem’s author and the lyrical ‘I’ – the voice in which the poet chooses to utter the poem – any performer who speaks a poem also impersonates the text. Reading is the first act of interpretation; others follow. Sound is an indispensable constitutive aspect of the lyric poem, too often neglected. Each reading of a poem can turn into a momentary ec-stasis.

A new genre has emerged in contemporary literature: the ‘novel in poems.’ This genre hybridizes the novel and poetry in order to construct characters and a plot through relatively autonomous poems in series. The ‘novel in poems’ appears in different subtypes, which can be categorized according to the following criteria: (1) the presence of one speaker versus several speakers, (2) the presence of a speaker as lyric protagonist and/or narrator, and (3) the presence of a blend of distinct modes of lyric, narrative, and dramatic representation in various forms of combination. Specific characteristics of the ‘novel in poems’ are: 1) variation of constituent poetic forms with different degrees of semantic autonomy and brevity; 2) hyper-structuring through symmetries, holism, and equivalences; 3) a tendency to differentiate mediating instances within the text; 4) the reduction or elimination of the narrator or of narrative principles and the use of an omnipresent textual subject; 5) the presence of metapoetic reflections on topics such as poetry and creativity; 6) an emphasis on voice, person, and subjectivity; 7) episodic plot construction through montage techniques and a tendency toward chronological order; 8) the predominance of present speech and action; 9) contradictions between the speaker as subject and addresser, via the lyric fiction of performativity, and the function of narration; 10) a necessity imposed upon the reader to reconstruct the plot and characters. This essay establishes three subtypes within the proposed genre: a lyric ‘novel in poems’ with one speaker (Irina Ermakova), a polyphonically narrative ‘novel in poems’ that combines third-person narration with several alterior speakers (Lana Hechtman Ayers), and, finally, a dramatic ‘novel in poems’ with shifting primary speakers (Glyn Maxwell).

The work of Japanese-German writer Yoko Tawada (Tawada Yōko) stands out as an example of ‘in-between’ writing. Instead of simply ‘translating’ Japanese into German and vice versa, Tawada blends both languages and cultures, often self-reflexively. As a result, poetic in-between spaces emerge, in which creative work, cultural translation, and social criticism can take place. The texts also construct in-between spaces on a formal level. For instance, the verse novels “Kasa no shitai to watashi no tsuma” (『傘の死体とわたしの妻』, 2006) and “Ein Balkonplatz für flüchtige Abende” (2016) feature both narrative progression and poetic devices (vivid imagery, association, and wordplay), defying categorization either as volumes of poetry or as novels. In addition, the in-between space of genres becomes visible in Tawada’s self-translations, which often amount to rewritings and lead to a change in genre – travel essay to novella, novel to drama, or poem to prose text. An example of this genre-transcending bilingualism as entryway to an in-between space are the texts „Die Orangerie“ (1997) and “Orenji-en nite” (「オレンジ園にて」, 1997/1998), which initially appear as a poem and its (apparently) prose translation. However, a number of textual peculiarities of both pieces point to the mutual influences between versions. Thus, I read all four examples as hybrid forms of poetry, which perform the mixing of genres, languages, and cultures that occurs in today’s world. In their cultural hybridity especially, the poems point to underlying social issues of homo- and xenophobia.

More than any other literary form, contemporary poetry is in transition: interspersed with narrative and dramatic genres, combining prose and verse, and even incorporating other media, such as visual arts, music, film, and digital technology. It shifts the borders between public and private spheres, aesthetic and discursive approaches, and producer and recipient. On the basis of case studies, this issue addresses the challenges of poetry in transition and stimulates new approaches in lyric theory and methodology.

According to the “Ältestes Systemprogramm des deutschen Idealismus” philosophy resolves itself into poetics at the end. Hölderlin elaborates this idea in his poetic fragments. The article describes the systematic impact of Hölderlin’s concept of „Wechsel der Töne“ on the act of composing poems. On the example of the seven keywords of an unwritten poem „Ovids Rükkehr nach Rom“, the article focusses on a specific metamorphosis: the one from a pure intellectual and pre-lingual realm into the lingual sphere of a concrete poem. Thereby it becomes clear that the way of thinking (in its pre-lingual sense) is poetic; the process of thinking transforms itself into a genuine poetic progress, and vice versa the structure of a poem turns out to be part of a creative development of thinking. By contrast, the described transformative process elucidates an impact of contemporary poetics, because transformation as a core issue is mostly only referred to linguistic, social, or cultural aspects.

This paper characterizes several ways of transferring knowledge via lyric poetry. It is argued that conveying information via schemata is a prevalent mode of that kind. But there are also others like employing a concise use of language or pointing at other texts using intertextual references. Besides, many poetry books establish some sort of a lyric sequence to further elaborate a certain topic. As information in lyric poetry is not only schematized, but also sketchy, from a critical reception point of view it may also be highlighted that recipients can make use of it as some kind of a template that enables them to gain new insights related to their own living environment. The important role of schemata as well as the other kinds of knowledge transfer specified in this paper are exemplified with reference to the contemporary poetry of ageing and with a special focus on several poems by Harald Hartung. As ageing is a process that becomes more and more important to western societies due to demographic development, the poetry of ageing and of old age in particular may serve as a tool for gaining knowledge and especially knowledge of what-it-is-like regarding that topic. This adds even more authority to the question of how knowledge is transferred via literature and lyric poetry in particular.

The paper gives a survey on the German tradition of didactic poems and nature poems from the 18 th century to the immediate present. The early modern pattern of nature as a peaceful Arcadia, the enlightenment pattern of nature reflecting God in every detail, and the romanticist pattern of nature that is impenetrable but nevertheless a permanent object of longing (“Sehnsucht”) are proved to be models of nature poetry that are the most important reference points up to now. The poems about nature written in the early 21st century refer to these models as well as to their destruction and deconstruction by the modernists and avantgardes of the 20th century. The most convincing poets devoting their attention to nature today play with these traditions with artistic perfection and in an ironic manner at the same time. Often, annotations, essays, and talks on nature are accompanying the lyrical texts. In the present, female writers are the authors of some of the best poems about nature. In several poems, the relationship between love and nature appears under new perspectives. Other important subjects are the landscapes of far-away countries.

Literature and thus also historical poetry want “not only to convey factual truth and to exhort subjective truthfulness, but also to give orientation for the – in whatever respect – correct or appropriate world behavior” (Lamping 2013: 65f.). The question of this paper is to what extent and how the 9/11-poems of Thomas Kling and Durs Grünbein offer a specific counter-historiography beyond the dichotomies of truth and falsehood, fact and fiction, in order to achieve a different level of knowledge. Due to the exhibited self-relatedness Grünbein presents not only in his essayistic pretext but also in his poem „September-Elegien“ mainly a subjective truthfulness rather than any certain orientation-knowledge. Kling’s historiographical-wrapped and complex instrumented poem „Manhattan Mundraum Zwei“ offers over-temporal, metaphysical-existential (counter-)truths and gives orientation beyond media-presented “facts” about 9/11.

This article analyses the depiction of school as a place of knowledge in contemporary poetry in English. In dealing with the poetry of Jean Breeze (Jamaica/GB), Gillian Clarke (Wales/GB), Carol Ann Duffy (England/GB), Thabo Jijana (South Africa), Meena Kandasamy (Tamil Nadu/India), Claudia Rankine (USA) and Edwin Thumboo (Singapore), it does not only enable the reader to draw pedagogical conclusions from poetic evidence. The article differentiates further between a poem’s potential of knowledge and its process of knowledge developed during its reception; taking, additionally, into account how its reception might interfere with the poem’s potential of knowledge and even with its author’s intention. Eventually, each poem highlights an important anglophone region ranging from the United States, the Caribbean, India and South Africa to the British Isles and Singapore. Hence, each poem is also interpreted in its cultural and historical context. Last but not least, the article tries to undertake a comparative analysis of the role of contemporary German-language poetry within educational contexts in Germany.

Walter Benjamin developed his concept of the “aura” on the basis of the poetry of Baudelaire and applied this term to objects of art, nature, and man. Georg Picht transformed Benjamin’s aura-concept into a method of pre-rational knowledge forms, whose mediums includes foremost music, but also poetry and art. In modern nature poetry the varieties of aura cognition can be determined and described with the help of Benjamin’s and Picht’s concepts: Gennadij Ajgi creates poetic equivalents for the experience of nature-aura; Keijiro Suga makes a diagnosis of aura of areas of natural sites or landscapes and their historical transformation through war and nuclear catastrophe (Fukushima); Christian Lehnert translates auratic communication with nature in poetic conversations.

On account of its constitution as a temporally organized sequence of verbal utterances, typically presented from a speaker’s subjective perspective, lyric poetry is particularly suited to simulate mental processes and thereby mediate forms of cognition and insight. Indeed, the presentation of cognitive phenomena can be considered one of the prime functions of lyric poems throughout the history of poetry. For the analysis of such processes in poems a transgeneric narratological approach is here proposed, which is ultimately based on the anthropological fact that human existence is inescapably subject to temporality and change and that individuals are therefore permanently concerned with understanding, structuring, planning or preventing change. For this purpose, they employ the basic operation of narration in their communication both with others and themselves as well as in the production and reception of the various artistic genres, not only in fiction, drama and film, but also in lyric poetry. Poems employ narrative elements in a variety of modes which are specific to poetry, such as psycho-narration, mini-narratives, condensed, implicit or metaphorical narratives. A central device for structuring and interpreting a narrative sequence is the event, a transformation or decisive turn in the chain of changes, which then constitutes the moment of cognition or insight in the poem. The presentation of such a mental transformation from the speaker’s limited subjective perspective allows for a critical assessment of status and motivation of the process of cognition on the part of the reader. This transgeneric narratological approach to the cognitive dimension of lyric poetry will first be demonstrated with the analysis of an older prototypical example, W. B. Yeats’s “The Second Coming”, and then applied to three recent, complex British-Irish poems, Eavan Boland’s “The Making of an Irish Goddess”, Kathleen Jamie’s “The Way We Live” and Paul Muldoon’s “Why Brownlee Left”, exemplifying the range of variation in which lyric poetry can perform and mediate mental processes of cognition.

The problem of this volume is not so much ‚Lyrik‘ but rather ‚Erkenntnis‘ (knowledge, cognition). This paper, therefore, discusses a revision of the notion of ‚erkennen‘ (knowing, realizing, understanding), explaining it as a way of transforming our way of thinking things at the same time as understanding ourselves and other cognizant beings. In this way, the notion of knowledge / understanding is to be freed from the narrow restrictions of science, by which most of us have acquired the habit of limiting understanding to specific scientific methods. Beyond the bounds of established scientific standards, the practice of philosophical thinking reveals analogies to the practice of lyrical thinking. Both try to explore new ways of thinking beyond the limits of established methodological guidelines. Which characteristics do they share, which differences remain? But most of all, how can these nonscientific ways of searching for knowledge be protected from confusion and disorientation? How may their ways of thinking be legitimized? Where do they lead? A major thesis of the paper argues that both ways of searching for knowledge, poetry and philosophy, question the generally accepted distinction of analytical and synthetic judgements. This distinction is a constitutive element of any scientific discourse manifesting itself in the importance of the introductory definitions of its specific basic terms. They start from the common experience that seemingly evident words and notions, by being used in unaccustomed ways, may change their meanings, i.e. their relations to other words and notions. Both in their own traditions, experimental practices of thinking poetry as well as philosophy, may succeed in opening up new ways of perceiving of things as well as realizing the thinkers’ own position in the world while attempting to convince others to join them in doing so.

The relation between poetry and cognition has seldom been discussed theoretically due to the assumption that poetry has more to do with emotion than with cognition. The following article attempts to survey this field. It distinguishes between three types of cognition in poetry referring mostly to European and American poems of the 20th century: cognition that is caused by poems, cognition that is imparted in poems, and cognition that is formed in poems.

”Poetry and Cognition“ is a topic which could be regarded as paradigmatic for the objective of this journal: Exploring a phenomenon which primarily discloses itself to a transdisciplinary and polyperspectivic approach, extending across research areas defined by disciplines and subjects. The question of knowledge gained by and within poetry neither exclusively falls within the scope of a genuinely literary, philological or even lyricological research area, nor does it entirely belong into various fields of philosophy, such as aesthetics or epistemology, but requires for its discussion both, an approach from the perspective of specialised academic research on poetry as well as from an epistemological point of view.

Transnational protest movements continue to expose the enduring legacies of colonial exploitation and institutionalised racism within and beyond European cities. They foreground the systemic conditions under which Black lives are rendered disproportionately vulnerable to premature death. In doing so, they expose the enduring entanglements of racial capitalism, state violence and spatial exclusion. Through their ongoing political agitation these movements highlight the need for spatio-temporally situated and relationally embedded engagements with Black urban lives. My thesis responds to that call by examining place-making practices of enclosure and refusal throughout Black London’s post-World War II development. Grounded in the ethnographic narrative of “being halfway while shooting”, I explore how Black lives are enclosed by institutional racism, how this enclosure is spatialised and how Black and differently racialised Londoners refuse these spatial enclosures through everyday and collective place-making practices. At the intersection of structural constraint and the desire to enact Black freedom in London, I specifically foreground the emergence of fugitive place-making practices. Conceptually, I bring (critical) urban geography scholarship, Black studies and Black (British)Geographies scholarship into conversation. I develop “being halfway while shooting” as a relational concept that foregrounds the production of racialised urban knowledges, the multiplicity of Black enclosures, and the plurality of place-based strategies committed to refusal. I do so by stressing the relevance of Black fugitive thinking to account for the ongoing refusals that mark the relationship between Blackness and the British city. Methodologically, I adopt a research-activist ethnographic approach, grounded in my long-term engagement with a housing campaign in East London that organises around the housing needs of London’s racialised and gendered urban poor. Using qualitative methods - archival research, interviews, (non-)participant observations, document and media analysis - I embed contemporary struggles into long and ongoing histories of racial-capitalist urban development as well as Black and multi-ethnic refusal. The empirical chapters trace place-making practices of enclosure and refusal across London’s post-World War II urban development. By examining the aftermath of urban revolts and changing urban welfare regimes, I explore how racialised urban governance has been historically materialised in and through the city. At the same time, I foreground how within this racialised construction of the British city, Black and differently racialised Londoners continue to hold open the possibility of refusal through places in which communal care and self-determination can be enacted. I then turn to the struggle over housing in East London, showing how contemporary processes of racialised dehumanisation and ongoing displacement are both historically rooted and actively contested. In the final empirical chapter I accentuate the relevance of these findings for German-speaking critical urban geography debates. The research shows that racial capitalist urbanism reproduces enclosures through practices of value extraction, spatial displacement, and the policing of Black subjectivities. In response, Black and differently racialised Londoners engage in fugitive place-making. Rooted in communal care, political organisation, collective education and cultural affirmation, these practices reassert Black presence and belonging. They offer an enduring mode of place-based refusal and the ongoing possibility to stay in the city differently. These findings not only demonstrate the academic significance of my research but also underscore the urgent need to support the place-making practices of Black and differently racialised urban communities, who continue to refuse the racialised enclosure of the British city from within. From these empirical insights, I propose the concept of a fugitive sense of place - a theoretical lens that accounts for the racialised reproduction of urban space and the transformative place-making practices of those who refuse its logics. Rather than offering prescriptive policy recommendations, I call for a reorientation of urban geographical enquiry by centring Black spatial practices, knowledges and imaginations. Through the lens of “being halfway while shooting”, I argue for a rethinking of human habitation and urban theory through the lived experiences of Black survival and refusal. Attending to a fugitive sense of place, I propose new avenues for human geography research to explore how fugitive place-making practices reshape the meanings, conditions, and possibilities of urban life.

The role of implicit motives for affective, cognitive and behavioral processes has been a focal part of psychological research for decades. Yet, the majority of research in this field has been concentrated on processes involving implicit motives in adulthood. The systematic investigation of developmental correlates of implicit motives remains largely uncharted. The studies cumulated in this thesis aim to add to the sparse research on implicit motives in childhood and adolescence. Specifically, the development of the implicit power motive in the transition of middle to late childhood as a function of parenting behavior (Chapter 4), the predictive value of the implicit achievement motive for objective swimming performance in children and adolescents (Chapter 5) and the role of motive congruence for successful goal realization in adolescent samples across two cultures (Chapter 6) were investigated. Results of Study 1 (Chapter 4) indicate a negative longitudinal association of authoritarian parenting with the implicit power motive in children that is moderated by children’s perception of psychologically controlling parenting. Study 2 (Chapter 5) extends existing research on the assumed positive association of the implicit achievement motive and sports performance and demonstrates the moderating role of competitive anxiety on this association. Finally, Study 3 (Chapter 6) illustrates a moderating effect of implicit motives on the association of goal commitment and successful goal realization in German and Zambian adolescents, however, this effect was only observed in the domain of power motivation. Findings from all three studies are discussed in the context of the significance of implicit motives for psychological research.

This dissertation examines how individuals unlock their personal power by investigating individual differences in self-regulation, in particular, how situational conditions interact with the personality dispositions of action versus state orientation. Action-oriented individuals are well able to regulate their affective states and to bridge the intention–behavior gap, showing initiative, implementing demanding intentions, and resisting temptations. State-oriented individuals, by contrast, often struggle to regulate affect and experience difficulties enacting intentions, especially under demanding conditions, tending to hesitate and ruminate. While extensive research has highlighted the advantages of action orientation across various domains such as education and health, this thesis challenges the prevailing one-sided perspective that presents action orientation as inherently superior and frames state orientation negatively. Drawing on Personality Systems Interactions theory, the dissertation adopts a dynamic view that understands these dispositions as context-sensitive rather than fixed. The central assumption is that action and state orientation each require different kinds of situational conditions to fully unlock their potential. Across six empirical studies (overall N = 1,067) using a multimethod approach that combines experimental and survey-based research in diverse populations and contextual settings, this dissertation examines (1) action and state orientation as distinct dispositions, (2) their dynamic interaction with situational factors, and (3) ways to support each in mobilizing personal power. Overall, the findings show that each disposition offers unique advantages - they simply require different situational conditions for their potential to unfold.

Bilevel problems are optimization problems for which parts of the variables are constrained to be an optimal solution to another nested optimization problem. This structure renders bilevel problems particularly well-suited for modeling hierarchical decision-making processes. They are widely applicable in areas such as energy markets, transportation systems, security planning, and pricing. However, the hierarchical nature of these problems also makes them inherently challenging to solve, both in theory and in practice. In this thesis, we study different nonlinear problem settings for the nested optimization problem. First, we focus on nonlinear but convex bilevel problems with purely integer variables. We propose a solution algorithm that uses a branch-and-cut framework with tailored cutting planes. We prove correctness and finite termination of the method under suitable assumptions and put it into context of existing literature. Moreover, we provide an extensive numerical study to showcase the applicability of our method and we compare it to the state-of-the-art approach for a less general setting on suitable instances from the literature. Furthermore, we discuss challenges that arise when we try to generalize our approach to the mixed-integer setting. Next, we study mixed-integer bilevel problems for which the nested problem has a nonconvex and quadratic objective function, linear constraints, and continuous variables. We state and prove a complexity-theoretical hardness result for this problem class and develop a lower and upper bounding scheme to solve these problems. We prove correctness and finite termination of the proposed method under suitable assumptions and test its applicability in a numerical study. Finally, we consider bilevel problems with continuous variables, where the nested problem has a convex-quadratic objective function and linear constraints. We reformulate them as single-level optimization problems using necessary and sufficient optimality conditions for the nested problem. Then, we explore the family of so-called P-split reformulations for this single-level problem and test their applicability in a preliminary numerical study.

Extracellular enzymes in microbial communities play a central role in nutrient cycling and the degradation of (pollutant) substances in various natural and anthropogenic systems. Bound in aquatic biofilms, sludge aggregates, or even unbound at their interfaces, they are of great importance for both the environment and human health. In particular, in wastewater treatment plants and inland waters, hydrolytic activities influence the wide-reaching efficiency of nutrient removal and self-purification, thus contributing significantly to overall water quality. The main goal of this dissertation project was to investigate the factors that influence enzymatic activity and the health of microbial communities in activated sludge and river systems, particularly in relation to anthropogenic influences and natural environmental conditions. The aim was to contribute to a better understanding of the sensitivity of our freshwater ecosystems and to support the long-term preservation of water quality and ecological stability. The development and optimization of appropriate methods, as well as their testing and applicability, were the focal points. For this purpose, a fluorometric microplate assay was developed and adapted to determine both extracellular enzyme activities (EEAs) in activated sludge samples and in intact biofilms. Its suitability for field studies was subsequently tested. Inhibition and activity of selected hydrolases under different conditions were investigated to better understand the mechanisms and potential environmental risks posed by anthropogenic influences and seasonal fluctuations of hydrochemical and climatic parameters. The first phase of the doctoral thesis involved studies on the inhibition of alkaline phosphatase in activated sludge by oxyanions. Using the fluorometric microplate assay, the inhibitory effect was sensitively detected over a pH range of 7.0 to 8.5. IC50- and IC20-concentrations were calculated from modeled dose-response functions. It was found that vanadate and tungstate caused strong inhibitory effects, while molybdate moderately inhibited the enzyme. An increasing pH led to a reduction in the inhibitory effect of tungstate and molybdate. The inhibition effects of vanadate were not significantly affected by the pH. In municipal wastewater, the concentrations of such metal ions are usually low, but industrial wastewater may have pollutant loads that can significantly impact the removal of phosphorus-containing compounds, and thus the efficiency of treatment plants. In the second phase, an attempt was made to further adapt the developed methodology to investigate EEA and kinetics in intact freshwater biofilms. Four different types of bead materials (lava, glass, sintered quartz, and ceramics) fitting into a 96-well microplate were tested as carriers for biofilms on both the laboratory and field scale. The analysis included a total of seven hydrolases as representatives of key nutrient cycles such as phosphorus, carbon, and nitrogen: phosphatases, glucosidases, peptidases (two different types), and sulfatase. Experiments with increasing substrate concentrations led to classical kinetic profiles according to the Michaelis-Menten mechanism. This allowed for the prediction of the biofilm enzymes’ response to different substrate concentrations. Parameters such as Vmax and Km could be derived from the modeled curves. Ceramic beads are particularly suitable for long-term studies due to their high stability, while sintered quartz beads should be preferred for the use in stagnant media (material loss under turbulent conditions). Lava and glass beads, on the other and, proved suboptimal for uniform biofilm development due to their surface properties. The potential use of this fast and sensitive test for ecotoxicological or even human-toxicological studies was demonstrated by the effects of caffeine on the activity of PDE. The result of this part of the research represents a powerful tool for assessing environmental pollution and monitoring water quality. The high application potential was clearly highlighted in the final phase of the project. The goal here was to deepen the understanding of interactions between seasonal factors, anthropogenic influences, and biofilm processes in rivers by investigating EEA and biofilm parameters such as biomass and relating them to hydrochemical and climatic factors. Ceramic beads were exposed both upstream and downstream of a wastewater treatment plant discharge and sampled over a period of seven months. EEAs and biomass varied depending on the season and location, with higher microbial activity observed upstream in winter. Winter conditions led to the dilution of most nutrients as well as in an increse of dissolved oxygen. Nutrient concentrations analyzed downstream were significantly higher in the summer. Accumulation of nutrient or pollutants during the summer months cannot be excluded, which may have led to a general reduction in enzyme activities. Potential causes could be inhibitory effects on the enzymes, or a reduced enzyme activity due to a sufficiently high nutrient supply. In general, the sampling site upstream showed a more pronounced seasonal dynamics, with a significant proportion of the variance in biological parameters (activity and biomass) attributable to seasonal factors. A secondary component, likely reflecting the impact of the treatment plant discharge, explained another portion of the data variance. Regardless of the season, high correlations between biological parameters were observed upstream, while downstream the data were more decorrelated. This could be because the biofilms, under chronic stress, respond less dynamically to seasonal fluctuations. This dissertation illustrates that in addition to anthropogenic stress factors, seasonal fluctuations of hydrochemical and climatic parameters should also be considered in "stress downstream the pipe" studies. The selected methods are recommended for explaining and considering the data variance, as they highlight the complex interplay between microbial enzymatic activity, environmental factors, and pollutants in the activated sludge of wastewater treatment plants and also in aquatic systems. The novel bead assay could pave the way for the future standardization of effect-oriented studies on intact aquatic biofilms.

The application of machine learning and deep learning methods to hydrological modelling has advanced significantly in recent years, offering alternatives to traditional conceptual and physically based approaches. Within the numerous algorithms, long short-term memory (LSTM) networks have proven themselves particularly useful for the task of streamflow modelling. This thesis provides a collection of publications that investigate the capabilities, limitations and interpretability of LSTM for the purpose of streamflow modelling and climate change impact assessment within the lowland Ems catchment in Northwest Germany. Within a comparative performance evaluation, LSTM and its predecessor, the recurrent neural network, demonstrate superior accuracy compared to the conceptual HBV model across various statistical performance metrics. However, a decline in performance was observed during low-flow conditions in certain sub-catchments. The evaluation of the flow duration curve revealed that the ML models more effectively capture the water balance, while HBV better represents streamflow dynamics. To enhance the interpretability of LSTM, six explainable artificial intelligence techniques were applied. These methods consistently identified seasonal patterns in the temporal relevance of hydroclimatic input data. In combination with an observed correlation between the internal LSTM states and catchment-scale soil moisture dynamics, the findings suggest that LSTM models are capable of implicitly learning the relevant hydrological processes. Following, the capabilities of LSTM to model climate change impact scenarios, particularly when they extend beyond historically observed climate conditions, are addressed. An ensemble of climate change projections is provided as hydroclimatic input to evaluate the performance of LSTMs and conceptual models. While all models reveal heterogeneous alterations in streamflow under future climate conditions, significant differences emerge based on the model type. Results provide evidence that LSTMs, in combination with the temperature-based Haude formula for estimating potential evaporation, work inadequately under altered climatic regimes, raising concerns about their applicability in long-term projections. The study also indicates the potential need to incorporate physical constraints into LSTM architectures to ensure model robustness and hydrological plausibility beyond the historical training range. Collectively, this thesis contributes important insights into the applicability and interpretability of LSTM models in streamflow modelling. Despite the presence of a physically realistic representation of soil moisture dynamics of the Ems catchment, no robust change signals for streamflow under climate change can be derived. Those results underscore the potential of LSTM model approaches for accurate streamflow simulation, however, they require us to always critically question LSTM results, particularly when they are applied outside the training range.

Present-day air quality is known through dense monitoring and extensive pollu- tion control mechanisms. In contrast, knowledge of historical pollution, particularly before the industrial revolution, is accessible only through occasional reports of singular local events and through natural archives such as ice or sediment cores that record global-scale pollution. However, the regular local to regional pollution that most affects human life is hardly known. Historical sciences have argued both for and against significant air pollution in and around historic cities and manufacturing sites. For the Roman era, it has been hypothesized that air quality played a role in several patterns of action of the period. However, to the author's knowledge, there are no quantitative studies of Roman emissions. Using the results of modern experimental archaeology, this study attempts to quantify the emissions from Roman pottery kilns and their impact on surrounding human settlements. It is shown that although the pollution did not reach today's limits, it must have approached levels known to cause adverse health effects. A series of additional test simulations have been conducted to determine how these first results might be improved in the future.

Nel libro Dèi e Zangrèi il professor Pasquale Casile scandaglia con mirabile precisione scientifica e in tutta profondità gli abissi della memoria linguistica dei Greci di Calabria. Fornisce risposte valide ai quesiti: Chi sono gli Zangrèi? Sono gli ultimi Dionisiaci della storia e gli eredi diretti delle comunità orfico-pitagoriche della Magna Grecia? E perché vengono così chiamati anche i Catari di Sicilia?

The dissertation is devoted to the construction and justification of three-point difference schemes of high order of accuracy for solving the Sturm-Liouville problem. A new algorithmic realization of the exact three-point difference scheme on a non-uniform grid has been developed. We show that to compute the coefficients of the exact scheme in an arbitrary grid node, it is necessary to solve two auxiliary Cauchy problems for the system of three linear ordinary differential equations of the first order. The coefficient stability of the exact three-point difference scheme is proved. If the Cauchy problems are solved numerically using any one-step method, we obtain the truncated three-point difference scheme. The accuracy estimate of three-point difference schemes was obtained and the algorithm for finding their solution was developed. We also developed a new algorithmic realization of the exact three-point difference scheme for the Sturm-Liouville problem with singularities at the ends of the interval. As in the case of the classical Sturm-Liouville problem, to find the coefficients of the exact three-point difference scheme, it is necessary to solve two auxiliary Cauchy problems for each grid node. The coefficient stability of the exact three-point difference scheme is proved. Since the Cauchy problems for the first and last grid nodes are singular, the Taylor series method has been developed to solve them. The accuracy estimate of truncated three-point difference schemes was obtained. To solve the difference scheme, the Newton's iterative method is used. Numerical experiments are presented which confirm the efficiency of the proposed approach.

Biodiversity is threatened by a wide range of anthropogenic activities. Monitoring offers critical insights into how and why biodiversity is changing, helping to identify effective measures for maintaining biodiversity and its ecosystem services. However, conventional biodiversity monitoring methods are labor-intensive, and standardized long-term monitoring series are scarce. DNA-based approaches like metabarcoding environmental DNA (eDNA) promise rapid, cost-efficient, and highly resolved community data. At the same time, scientists are looking for alternative data sources that can compensate for the lack of long-term monitoring data to study past biodiversity changes. This work explores the potential of the German Environmental Specimen Bank (ESB), a pollution monitoring archive, which appears particularly promising for retrospective biodiversity monitoring. Biota samples from different ecosystems across the country are collected and archived at an exceptional level of standardization. Sampling species act as natural eDNA samplers, accumulating genetic traces from surrounding organisms. The cryogenic storage at the ESB preserves any eDNA in the samples in its original state. In this thesis, Chapter I serves as an introductory chapter, outlining the general chances and challenges of metabarcoding for assessing biodiversity. Chapter II focuses on primer design and testing the utility of ESB sampling species like mussels and macroalgae for characterizing the surrounding community. Both chapters form the basis for Chapters III to V, which report the use of ESB time series to uncover sample-associated communities and the changes they undergo. Chapter III illustrates the value of these time series by revealing the invasion trajectory of an alien barnacle into German coastal waters and linking the process to climate change. Chapter IV forms the core of this thesis by presenting an expanded measurement of biodiversity change in ESB time series across different taxonomic groups and ecosystem types. Here, a gradual compositional change (turnover) is reported from bacterial, fungal, microeukaryotic, and metazoan communities tending to either spatial homogenization or differentiation. Observed trends are tested for significance using a dynamic model of community ecology based on the equilibrium theory of island biogeography. The model reveals significantly accelerated turnover rates across all taxonomic groups and ecosystems investigated, suggesting a common, anthropogenically induced driver of biodiversity change. Since these analyses most likely include DNA derived from dead as well as from living organisms, Chapter V aims to separate both groups by metabarcoding both DNA and less stable ribosomal RNA from mussel samples. Contrary to the hypothesis, RNA is detectable from both living endobionts and dietary taxa. However, it outcompetes DNA in detecting microeukaryotic biodiversity. In summary, this thesis demonstrates the outstanding potential of archived ESB samples for retrospective biodiversity monitoring, a resource that offers many further untapped opportunities for future biodiversity research at multiple scales.

Social virtual environments allow their users to meet and collaborate in a shared three-dimensional space, even when far apart from each other in the real world. Within these spaces, the appearance and interaction capabilities of both users and environments can be adapted and changed in a myriad of ways. To enable virtual environments to fulfill their potential of supporting a wide variety of collaboration use-cases, both the impacts of basic interaction design decisions and the individual needs of specific usage areas need to be explored further. This thesis approaches this topic in two ways. First, the basic building blocks of collaboration in social virtual environments are explored by asking the question: "How can social virtual spaces that allow interaction beyond real-world constraints utilize the potential of mutual assistance and shared workflows between multiple users?". Going into further detail for a serious use-case in which direct collaborative interactions and their effect on the included users are especially important, it then explores the potential of collaborative virtual spaces in the therapy domain by asking "How can the potential of social virtual spaces be utilized to support and improve therapy encounters?" With regards to the first research question, the thesis presents two theoretical frameworks detailing different aspects of supporting smooth and varied collaboration processes. In addition, several user studies on the topic of collaborative virtual interaction are described, focusing on the role that different users can play during shared interaction and the effects that this distribution of roles and responsibilities has on both the performance and experience of the involved user pairs. The results presented for this first research question show that social virtual spaces have the potential to provide dedicated support for collaborative workflows. To enable users to adapt their working mode individually and as a team, interaction techniques should complement a team's natural interaction and communication. When presenting novel interactions to users, providing them with a way to support each other can ease their adaptation to these interactions. In these cases, the inclusion of all interested collaborators as active participators should be prioritized in order to let all users benefit from being immersed in a virtual environment. Addressing the combination of social virtual spaces with therapy in relation to the second research question, this thesis presents the result of a series of interviews with practicing physio- and psychotherapists. Motivated by the recorded expert feedback, it also reports on two more detailed explorations of specific areas of interest. The work presented for the second research question demonstrated the promise of using virtual environments in both exercise- and conversation-based therapy practice. Investigating the potential of shared interactions, the exploration of virtual recordings and the adaptation of virtual appearances, the presented work uncovered several topic areas that could be further explored regarding their possible use in the treatment of patients. Taken together, the six research articles presented in this thesis show both the value of supporting and understanding shared interactions in virtual spaces and their potential place in serious use-cases like the therapy domain. When introducing shared virtual environments to new user groups, the opportunity for mutual support through shared interaction techniques could be a crucial building block towards making virtual spaces both accessible and attractive to a variety of users.

The new millennium has been characterized by rising digitalization, the proliferation of shadow banking, and significant advancements in machine learning and natural language processing. These trends present both challenges and opportunities, which my dissertation addresses. This cumulative dissertation investigates critical aspects of financial stability, monetary policy, and the transition towards cashless economies through three distinct but interrelated studies. The first paper examines the risk-taking channel of monetary policy transmission within the euro area, focusing on shadow banks. Through vector autoregressive models, it assesses the impact of conventional and unconventional monetary policy shocks on shadow banks' asset growth and risk asset ratios. The results indicate that lower interest rates lead to a portfolio reallocation towards riskier assets and a general expansion of assets in shadow banks. In the case of conventional monetary policy shocks, both effects last three times as long as in the case of unconventional monetary policy shocks. Country-specific as well as sector-specific estimations confirm these findings. This study bridges gaps in the existing literature, especially in the eurozone, by highlighting the significant role shadow banks play in monetary policy transmission, suggesting implications for financial regulation and stability. The second paper explores the influence of financial stability considerations on US monetary policy, particularly during the Great Recession. Utilizing natural language processing and machine learning techniques on congressional hearings, this study constructs indicators for financial stability sentiment expressed by the Federal Reserve Chairs. Empirical analysis is conducted using Taylor-rule models, revealing that negative financial stability sentiment is associated with a more accommodative monetary policy stance, even before the Great Recession. This work provides new insights into the integration of financial stability concerns into monetary policy frameworks, demonstrating the need for a balanced approach to economic stability. The article suggests that under a dual mandate, such as that of the Federal Reserve, financial stability can, to some extent, already be factored into monetary policy deliberations. The third paper sheds new light on ``cash paradox'' by uncovering the factors of the cashless transition that has not been entirely understood so far. Using a comprehensive dataset across 65 countries, the study employs panel data models to explain the paradox (increasing demand for central bank money despite soaring digitalization), especially among technologically advanced countries, e.g., Japan. Empirical evidence suggests that digitalization is not significantly associated with higher reliance on physical cash. It uncovers a unique non-linear relationship between trust and cash usage (``Arch of Trust'') which holds after addressing potential endogeneity issues using 2SLS estimation. Opposed to the widespread misinterpretations of Keynes' (1937) reasons for holding cash, the findings highlight that distrust is the key factor unlocking two distinct puzzles in economics, linking cash hoarding with ``missing'' funds on capital markets and slower shift toward digital payments in low-trust societies. A key insight is the role of trust as a (social) insurance, cushion or safety net, dampening the perception of risk and reducing precautionary and transactionary demand for physical cash, while encouraging a shift towards riskier alternatives. This, in turn, is connected to the third puzzle, the ``paradox of prudence.'' A shift from riskier investments to safer assets, cash, may be prudent at the individual level but risky for the overall economy, a concern for macroprudential policymakers. Additionally, the research highlights the critical role of culture in driving the global movement towards cashless economies. Moreover, cultures that are more self-expression-oriented (which is the main cultural dimension) and culturally closer to Sweden are associated with less cash-intensive economies. These insights are vital for macroprudential regulators as well as for policymakers designing payment systems and CBDC in culturally diverse regions like the Eurozone. Collectively, these papers contribute to a deeper understanding of monetary policy, financial stability, and the transition from cash-based to (nearly) cashless societies, offering significant theoretical and practical implications for academics, regulators and central bankers.

The present study investigates the prosody of information-seeking (ISQs) and rhetorical questions (RQs) in Standard Chinese, in polar and wh-questions. Like in other languages, ISQs and RQs in Standard Chinese can have the same surface structure, allowing for a direct prosodic comparison between illocution types (ISQ vs RQ). Since Standard Chinese has lexical tone, the use of f0 as a cue to illocution type may be restricted. We investigate the prosodic differences between ISQs and RQs as well as the interplay of prosodic cues to RQs. In terms of f0, results showed that RQs were lower in f0, with the f0 range on the first word being expanded followed by f0 compression. RQs were further longer in duration and more often realized with non-modal voice quality (glottalized voice) as compared to ISQs. These prosodic cues were largely manipulated in tandem (illocutionary pairs with larger durational differences also showed larger differences in mean f0; voice quality, in turn, seemed to be an additional cue). We suggest three possible explanations (assertive force, focus, speaker attitude) that unite the present findings on RQs in Standard Chinese with the findings on RQs in other, non-tonal languages.

Entrepreneurship is recognized as an important discipline to achieve sustainable development and to address sustainability goals without losing sight of economic aspects. However, entrepreneurship rates are rather low in many industrialized countries with high income levels. Research clearly shows that there is a gap in the entrepreneurial process between intentions and subsequent actions. This means that not everyone with entrepreneurial ambitions also follows through and implements actions. This gap also exists for aspects of sustainability. As a result, there is a need to better understand the traditional and sustainability-focused entrepreneurial process in order to increase corresponding actions. This dissertation offers such a comprehensive perspective and sheds light on individual and contextual predictors for traditional and sustainability-focused behavior of entrepreneurs and self-employed across four studies. The first three studies focus on individual predictors. By providing a systematic literature review with 107 articles, Chapter 2 highlights the ambivalent role of religion for the entrepreneurial process. Relying on the theory of planned behavior (TPB) as theoretical basis, religion can have positive effects on entrepreneurial attitudes and behavioral control, but also negative consequences for other aspects of behavioral control and subjective norms due to religious restrictions. The quantitative empirical study in Chapter 3 similarly relies on the TPB and sheds light on individual perceptual factors influencing the sustainability-related intention-action gap in entrepreneurship. Using data from the 2021 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) Adult Population Survey (APS) including 22,008 early-stage entrepreneurs from 44 countries worldwide, the results support our theoretical reasoning that sustainability-focused intentions are positively related to social entrepreneurial actions. In addition, it is demonstrated that positive perceptual moderators such as self-efficacy and knowing other entrepreneurs as role models strengthen this relationship while a negative perception such as fear of failure restricts social actions in early-stage entrepreneurship. The next quantitative empirical study in Chapter 4 examines the behavioral consequences of well-being at a sample of 6,955 German self-employed during COVID-19. This chapter builds on two complementary behavioral perspectives to predict how reductions in financial and non-financial well-being relate to investments in venture development. In this regard, reductions in financial well-being are positively related to time investments, supporting the performance feedback perspective in terms of higher search efforts under negative performance. In contrast, reductions in non-financial well-being are negatively related to time and monetary investments, yielding support for the broadening-and-build perspective indicating that negative psychological experiences narrow the thought-action repertoire and hinder resource deployment. The insights across these first three studies about individual predictors indicate that many different, subjective beliefs, perceptions and emotional states can influence the entrepreneurial process making entrepreneurship and self-employment highly individualized disciplines. The last quantitative empirical study provides an explorative view on a large number of contextual predictors for social and ecological considerations in entrepreneurial actions. Combining GEM data from 2021 on country level with further information from the World Bank and the OECD, a machine learning approach is employed on a sample of 84 countries worldwide. The results suggest that governmental and regulatory as well as cultural factors are relevant to predict social and ecological considerations. Moreover, market-related aspects are shown to be relevant predictors, especially socio-economic factors for social considerations and economic factors for ecological considerations. Overall, the four studies in this dissertation highlight the complexity of the entrepreneurial process being determined by many different individual and contextual factors. Due to the multitude of potential predictors, this dissertation can only give an initial overview of a selection of factors with many more aspects and interdependencies still to be examined by future research.

Der ökologische Zustand der Erde befindet sich infolge von Umweltverschmutzung, Abfallaufkommen und CO₂-bedingtem Klimawandel in einem kritischen Zustand. Mit rund 40 % trägt der Bau- und Gebäudesektor erheblich zu den globalen Treibhausgasemissionen bei. Holz gilt als klimafreundliche Alternative zu Beton und Stahl, bedarf jedoch ebenfalls einer nachhaltigen Nutzung. Die Kreislaufwirtschaft bietet mit der Wiederverwendung ein zukunftsweisendes Konzept: So sind etwa 45% des beim Rückbau von Gebäuden anfallenden Holzes potenziell als Rohstoff nutzbar. Dadurch werden alternative Rohstoffquellen erschlossen und das Abfallaufkommen reduziert. Trotz dieses Potenzials liegt der Zirkularitätsgrad der Weltwirtschaft derzeit nur bei 7,2 %. Vor diesem Hintergrund untersucht die Dissertation, welche Wettbewerbsstrategien und welche organisationalen Fähigkeiten die Entwicklung zirkulärer Geschäftsmodelle fördern. Der Fokus liegt auf der Holzindustrie der DACH-Region, die historisch durch forstwirtschaftliche Nachhaltigkeit geprägt ist, jedoch bislang überwiegend linearen Strukturen folgt. Die Arbeit kombiniert theoretische Fundierung, eine vierjährige Literaturrecherche, Experteninterviews sowie im Zentrum eine quantitative Unternehmensbefragung (n = 200). Daraus wurde eine aktivitätsorientierte Skala zur Bewertung der Zirkularität eines Geschäftsmodells entwickelt. Analysiert wurden drei Perspektiven: Fähigkeiten, Strategien und Stakeholder. Im Kontext der Fähigkeitsperspektive wurde ermittelt, dass die dynamischen Fähigkeiten positive Implikationen auf die Umsetzung von Zirkularität haben. Im Forschungsfeld der Strategieperspektive wurde deutlich, dass die Innovationsführerschaft positive Effekte auf die Umsetzung der Kreislaufwirtschaft besitzt. Zudem weisen sowohl die Innovationsführerschaft als auch die Qualitätsführerschaft einen positiven indirekten Effekt über die dynamischen Fähigkeiten auf die Entwicklung zirkulärer Geschäftsmodelle auf. Im Rahmen der Stakeholderperspektive wurde eruiert, dass der Stakeholder-Druck im Zusammenwirken mit einem grünen Unternehmensimage eine Katalysator-Wirkung besitzt. Der Einfluss der Interessengruppen führt dazu, dass die Unternehmen ein grünes Image in eine substanzielle Umsetzungsphase überführen. Darüber hinaus wurde ersichtlich, dass der Stakeholder-Druck als zentraler Veränderungsfaktor wirkt. Während die direkten Auswirkungen der dynamischen Fähigkeiten durch den Druck zurückgehen, nehmen die indirekten Effekte auf die Erreichung von Zirkularität zu. Abschließend werden Handlungsempfehlungen für Unternehmen sowie wissenschaftliche Implikationen und zukünftige Forschungsmöglichkeiten abgeleitet.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and mid-sized companies are vital contributors to the global economy, driving employment growth, fostering innovation, and enhancing international competiveness. However, in the aftermath of the Great Financial Crisis (GFC) and the collapse of the large finance company CIT Group, which provided 60% loans to US middle-market firms, banks reduced their lending activities. Thus, it became challenging for firms to obtain long-term loans. The financing gap has increased further due to high interest rates, the COVID-19 pandemic, the unstable situation in the real estate market as well as higher costs due to the adoption of digital infrastructure and sustainability goals. Therefore, the search for alternative financing solutions outside bank lending and public markets became unavoidable for SMEs and mid-sized companies. Private debt funds entered the market, and, since the GFC, they have played a crucial role in offering alternative financing for firms globally. Private debt fund managers raise capital commitments through closed-end funds (like private equity) and make senior loans (like banks) directly to, mostly, middlemarket firms. The private debt market has experienced rapid growth in recent decades. The private debt funds assets under management (AuM) increased by 380% from 2008 to 2022, reaching $1.5 trillion AuM in 2022 . The high growth of private debt shows great interest from investors in this alternative asset class and lucrative investment opportunities. Despite its substantial and growing size, the private debt market is relatively understudied. This dissertation introduces private debt as an important alternative financing source, provides an overview of private debt strategies, seniority, and structure, discusses the legal considerations concerning private debt, and briefly compares the two most mature private debt markets: Europe and the U.S. Moreover, it assesses the size of the European private debt market and compares its development in different European regions. Furthermore, it examines in detail the business model of private debt funds based on a survey of 191 European and U.S. private debt managers with private debt assets under management of over $390 billion. Finally, it delves deeper into the relationship between private debt and private equity funds and their role in buyouts. To sum up, this dissertation provides a basis and inspiration for future research to expand upon and dive deeper into the world of private debt funds, their business model, and their impact on portfolio companies and the economy as a whole.

Knapp 90 Jahre nach Erscheinen des Buchs von Paul Graindor zu den „Bustes et Statues-Portraits d'Egypte Romaine“ widmet sich mit der vorliegenden Dissertation erstmals wieder eine monographische Studie der marmornen Bildnisplastik der römischen Provinz Aegyptus von ihrer Gründung im Jahr 30 v. Chr. bis zum Ende des 3. Jhs. n. Chr. Basierend auf einer umfassenden Zusammenstellung bekannter, aber auch bislang unpublizierter Portraits sowie einer Neudokumentation zahlreicher Objekte gelingt erstmalig eine belastbare chronologische und typologische Auswertung dieser Bildnisse. Zwar bilden dabei die Darstellungen aus weißem Marmor die zentrale und auch quantitativ bei weitem größte Materialgruppe, doch es finden auch Bildnisse aus anderen Werkstoffen wie Bronze, Kalkstein, Gips oder Alabaster Berücksichtigung. Da die Provinz aufgrund geringer eigener Marmorvorkommen fast ausschließlich auf Importe angewiesen war, sind die Marmorbildnisse ein exzellentes Forschungsobjekt, um nicht nur den Handel von Marmor nach Ägypten und seine Distribution und Weiterverarbeitung in der Provinz zu untersuchen, sondern auch damit verbundene handwerkliche Besonderheiten, wie die häufig zu beobachtenden Ergänzungen mit Stuck- oder Steinelementen. Darüber hinaus werden auch Überlegungen zur Semantik des Materials sowie der Herkunft und dem Selbstverständnis der dargestellten Personen angestellt.

Die Abteilung Kunstschutz der deutschen Wehrmacht im besetzten Griechenland (1941-1944) bestand aus wehrpflichtigen deutschen Archäologen. Sie waren zunächst Stipendiaten oder Mitarbeiter des Archäologischen Instituts des Deutschen Reiches (AIDR) unter den Bedingungen des Nationalsozialismus, bevor sie im Zweiten Weltkrieg in der Uniform der Wehrmacht zurückkehrten. Ihre Biografien im Kontext der Abteilung Athen, deren Direktor Georg Karo bis 1936 war, sowie der Zentrale der Instituts, unter dem von 1932 bis 1936 amtierenden Präsidenten Theodor Wiegand, sind ein Untersuchungsgegenstand. Die außenpolitische Legitimation des NS-Regimes durch die Olympischen Spiele und der wichtigste wissenschaftspolitische Erfolg des Institutes, die Wiederaufnahme der Olympiagrabung, die Wiegand und Karo seit 1933 anstrebten und durch ihre politischen Netzwerke 1936 erreichten, werden in der Dissertation in ihrer wechselseitigen Bedingtheit aufgezeigt. Diese Anpassungsleistungen an das NS-Regime prägten den eigenen archäologischen Nachwuchs aber auch die griechische Gesellschaft. Schutzmaßnahmen waren nur ein kleiner Tätigkeitsbereich der Kunstschützer aber ein wichtiger Teil der Wehrmachtspropaganda. Der Institutspräsident Martin Schede (1937 bis 1945) forderte Mitarbeitern vor allem für zwei AIDR-Projekte an: die Erstellung von Flugbildern von möglichst ganz Griechenland und Ausgrabungen auf Kreta. Bereits diese Zwischenergebnisse berechtigen zu dem Titel „Kunstschutz als Alibi“. Die Dissertation versucht, die Frage zu beantworten, warum der archäologische Kunstschutz nicht mehr als ein Alibi sein konnte. Dies geschieht vor allem unter Berücksichtigung der politischen aber auch der militärischen Traditionslinien deutscher Archäologie in Griechenland und Deutschland.

There is a wide range of methodologies for policy evaluation and socio-economic impact assessment. A fundamental distinction can be made between micro and macro approaches. In contrast to micro models, which focus on the micro-unit, macro models are used to analyze aggregate variables. The ability of microsimulation models to capture interactions occurring at the micro-level makes them particularly suitable for modeling complex real-world phenomena. The inclusion of a behavioral component into microsimulation models provides a framework for assessing the behavioral effects of policy changes. The labor market is a primary area of interest for both economists and policy makers. The projection of labor-related variables is particularly important for assessing economic and social development needs, as it provides insight into the potential trajectory of these variables and can be used to design effective policy responses. As a result, the analysis of labor market behavior is a primary area of application for behavioral microsimulation models. Behavioral microsimulation models allow for the study of second-round effects, including changes in hours worked and participation rates resulting from policy reforms. It is important to note, however, that most microsimulation models do not consider the demand side of the labor market. The combination of micro and macro models offers a possible solution as it constitutes a promising way to integrate the strengths of both models. Of particular relevance is the combination of microsimulation models with general equilibrium models, especially computable general equilibrium (CGE) models. CGE models are classified as structural macroeconomic models, which are defined by their basis in economic theory. Another important category of macroeconomic models are time series models. This thesis examines the potential for linking micro and macro models. The different types of microsimulation models are presented, with special emphasis on discrete-time dynamic microsimulation models. The concept of behavioral microsimulation is introduced to demonstrate the integration of a behavioral element into microsimulation models. For this reason, the concept of utility is introduced and the random utility approach is described in detail. In addition, a brief overview of macro models is given with a focus on general equilibrium models and time series models. Various approaches for linking micro and macro models, which can either be categorized as sequential approaches or integrated approaches, are presented. Furthermore, the concept of link variables is introduced, which play a central role in combining both models. The focus is on the most complex sequential approach, i.e., the bi-directional linking of behavioral microsimulation models with general equilibrium macro models.

Der Arbeits- und Fachkräftemangel ist ein breit diskutiertes Thema in Deutschland. Auch im Landkreis Bernkas-tel-Wittlich hat diese Herausforderung in den letzten Jahren zunehmend an Bedeutung gewonnen. Ziel dieses Forschungsberichtes ist es deshalb erstens einen Überblick über die Arbeits- und Fachkräftesituation im Land-kreis zu bieten. Aufbauend auf diese Forschungsergebnisse werden zweitens Handlungsfelder benannt, die ei-nen Rahmen zur Stärkung des Landkreises als produktiven Wirtschaftsstandort und attraktiven Arbeitsort geben sollen.

The cumulative and bidirectional groundwater-surface water (GW-SW) interaction along a stream is defined as hydrological turnover (HT) influencing solute transport and source water composition. However, HT proves to be highly variable, producing spatial exchange patterns influenced by local groundwater, geology, and topography. Hence, identifying factors controlling HT poses a challenge. We studied spatiotemporal HT variability at two reaches of a third order tributary of the river Mosel, Germany. Additionally, we sampled for silica concentrations in the stream and in the near-stream groundwater. Thus, creating snapshots of the boundary layer between ground- and surface water where HT occurs, driven by mixing processes in the hyporheic zone. We utilize an enhanced hydrograph separation method, unveiling reach differences in storage drainage based on aquifer dimension and connectivity. The data shows a site-specific negative correlation of HT with discharge, while hydraulic gradients correlate with HT only at the reach with faster catchment drainage behavior. Examining silica concentrations between stream and wells shows that silica variation increases significantly with the decrease of HT under low flow conditions at the slower draining reach. At the fast draining reach this relationship is seasonal. In Summary, our results show that stream discharge shapes the influence of HT on solute transport. Yet, reach drainage behavior shapes seasonal states of groundwater storages and can be an additional control of HT. Hence, concentration change of pollutants could be masked by HT. Thus, our findings contribute to the understanding of HT variability along streams and its ability of influencing physico-chemical stream water composition.

Background: Large language models (LLMs) are increasingly used in mental health, showing promise in assessing disorders. However, concerns exist regarding their accuracy, reliability, and fairness. Societal biases and underrepresentation of certain populations may impact LLMs. Because LLMs are already used for clinical practice, including decision support, it is important to investigate potential biases to ensure a responsible use of LLMs. Anorexia nervosa (AN) and bulimia nervosa (BN) show a lifetime prevalence of 1%-2%, affecting more women than men. Among men, homosexual men face a higher risk of eating disorders (EDs) than heterosexual men. However, men are underrepresented in ED research, and studies on gender, sexual orientation, and their impact on AN and BN prevalence, symptoms, and treatment outcomes remain limited. Objectives: We aimed to estimate the presence and size of bias related to gender and sexual orientation produced by a common LLM as well as a smaller LLM specifically trained for mental health analyses, exemplified in the context of ED symptomatology and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of patients with AN or BN. Methods: We extracted 30 case vignettes (22 AN and 8 BN) from scientific papers. We adapted each vignette to create 4 versions, describing a female versus male patient living with their female versus male partner (2 × 2 design), yielding 120 vignettes. We then fed each vignette into ChatGPT-4 and to “MentaLLaMA” based on the Large Language Model Meta AI (LLaMA) architecture thrice with the instruction to evaluate them by providing responses to 2 psychometric instruments, the RAND-36 questionnaire assessing HRQoL and the eating disorder examination questionnaire. With the resulting LLM-generated scores, we calculated multilevel models with a random intercept for gender and sexual orientation (accounting for within-vignette variance), nested in vignettes (accounting for between-vignette variance). Results: In ChatGPT-4, the multilevel model with 360 observations indicated a significant association with gender for the RAND-36 mental composite summary (conditional means: 12.8 for male and 15.1 for female cases; 95% CI of the effect –6.15 to -0.35; P=.04) but neither with sexual orientation (P=.71) nor with an interaction effect (P=.37). We found no indications for main effects of gender (conditional means: 5.65 for male and 5.61 for female cases; 95% CI –0.10 to 0.14; P=.88), sexual orientation (conditional means: 5.63 for heterosexual and 5.62 for homosexual cases; 95% CI –0.14 to 0.09; P=.67), or for an interaction effect (P=.61, 95% CI –0.11 to 0.19) for the eating disorder examination questionnaire overall score (conditional means 5.59-5.65 95% CIs 5.45 to 5.7). MentaLLaMA did not yield reliable results. Conclusions: LLM-generated mental HRQoL estimates for AN and BN case vignettes may be biased by gender, with male cases scoring lower despite no real-world evidence supporting this pattern. This highlights the risk of bias in generative artificial intelligence in the field of mental health. Understanding and mitigating biases related to gender and other factors, such as ethnicity, and socioeconomic status are crucial for responsible use in diagnostics and treatment recommendations.

Background: As digital mental health delivery becomes increasingly prominent, a solid evidence base regarding its efficacy is needed. Objective: This study aims to synthesize evidence on the comparative efficacy of systemic psychotherapy interventions provided via digital versus face-to-face delivery modalities. Methods: We followed PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines for searching PubMed, Embase, Cochrane CENTRAL, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and PSYNDEX and conducting a systematic review and meta-analysis. We included randomized controlled trials comparing mental, behavioral, and somatic outcomes of systemic psychotherapy interventions using self- and therapist-guided digital versus face-to-face delivery modalities. The risk of bias was assessed with the revised Cochrane Risk of Bias tool for randomized trials. Where appropriate, we calculated standardized mean differences and risk ratios. We calculated separate mean differences for nonaggregated analysis. Results: We screened 3633 references and included 12 articles reporting on 4 trials (N=754). Participants were youths with poor diabetic control, traumatic brain injuries, increased risk behavior likelihood, and parents of youths with anorexia nervosa. A total of 56 outcomes were identified. Two trials provided digital intervention delivery via videoconferencing: one via an interactive graphic interface and one via a web-based program. In total, 23% (14/60) of risk of bias judgments were high risk, 42% (25/60) were some concerns, and 35% (21/60) were low risk. Due to heterogeneity in the data, meta-analysis was deemed inappropriate for 96% (54/56) of outcomes, which were interpreted qualitatively instead. Nonaggregated analyses of mean differences and CIs between delivery modalities yielded mixed results, with superiority of the digital delivery modality for 18% (10/56) of outcomes, superiority of the face-to-face delivery modality for 5% (3/56) of outcomes, equivalence between delivery modalities for 2% (1/56) of outcomes, and neither superiority of one modality nor equivalence between modalities for 75% (42/56) of outcomes. Consequently, for most outcome measures, no indication of superiority or equivalence regarding the relative efficacy of either delivery modality can be made at this stage. We further meta-analytically compared digital versus face-to-face delivery modalities for attrition (risk ratio 1.03, 95% CI 0.52-2.03; P=.93) and number of sessions attended (standardized mean difference –0.11; 95% CI –1.13 to –0.91; P=.83), finding no significant differences between modalities, while CIs falling outside the range of the minimal important difference indicate that equivalence cannot be determined at this stage. Conclusions: Evidence on digital and face-to-face modalities for systemic psychotherapy interventions is largely heterogeneous, limiting conclusions regarding the differential efficacy of digital and face-to-face delivery. Nonaggregated and meta-analytic analyses did not indicate the superiority of either delivery condition. More research is needed to conclude if digital and face-to-face delivery modalities are generally equivalent or if—and in which contexts—one modality is superior to another.

In the face of uncontrollable complexity, the concept of a rational design of the organization is being replaced by the notion of an open future that is inherently unpredictable and unplanable. In rapidly changing environments, organizations and leaders are confronted with a constant stream of irritations and unexpected developments, that require ongoing attention. This prompts the question of whether the conceptualization of digital transformation as a paradigm shift also implies the need for new forms of leadership. The article analyzes the discourse on digital leadership and assesses the extent to which this concept relativizes leadership in the context of the evolution of leadership theory, which is characterized by a persistent process of modification and relativization of preceding concepts. Leadership concepts are not only responsive to general needs, but also vary according to specific contexts, such as non-profit leadership or leadership in social welfare organizations and meta-organizations. Results of a discourse analysis, which underscore the significance of adopting a complexity theory perspective on digital leadership, will therefore be contrasted with the initial findings of an empirical study on digitization in such meta-organizations. This allows for a discussion of the general findings on the revitalization of leadership, which will serve as a paradigmatic example of the previously developed context. The article concludes with implications for further theory development with the aim of making a specific contribution to organization-sensitive digitization research. The findings of the empirical study indicate the significance of employing informal structures and a heightened emphasis on subjectivity within meta-organizations, as opposed to the formal structures of organizations. The concept of digital leadership does not signify the obsolescence of traditional leadership; rather, it can be conceptualized as an advanced form of unheroic leadership within the context of external and internal complexity.

Attention in social interactions is directed by social cues such as the face or eye region of an interaction partner. Several factors that influence these attentional biases have been identified in the past. However, most findings are based on paradigms with static stimuli and no interaction potential. Therefore, the current study investigated the influence of one of these factors, namely facial affect in natural social interactions using an evaluated eye-tracking setup. In a sample of 35 female participants, we examined how individuals’ gaze behavior responds to changes in the facial affect of an interaction partner trained in affect modulation. Our goal was to analyze the effects on attention to facial features and to investigate their temporal dynamics in a natural social interaction. The study results, obtained from both aggregated and dynamic analyses, indicate that facial affect has only subtle influences on gaze behavior during social interactions. In a sample with high measurement precision, these findings highlight the difficulties of capturing the subtleties of social attention in more naturalistic settings. The methodology used in this study serves as a foundation for future research on social attention differences in more ecologically valid scenarios.

Aims: Fear of physical activity (PA) is discussed as a barrier to regular exercise in patients with heart failure (HF), but HF-specific theoretical concepts are lacking. This study examined associations of fear of PA, heart-focused anxiety and trait anxiety with clinical characteristics and self-reported PA in outpatients with chronic HF. It was also investigated whether personality-related coping styles for dealing with health threats impact fear of PA via symptom perception. Methods and results: This cross-sectional study enrolled 185 HF outpatients from five hospitals (mean age 62 ± 11 years, mean ejection fraction 36.0 ± 12%, 24% women). Avoidance of PA, sports/exercise participation (yes/no) and the psychological characteristics were assessed by self-reports. Fear of PA was assessed by the Fear of Activity in Situations–Heart Failure (FActS-HF15) questionnaire. In multivariable regression analyses higher NYHA class (b = 0.26, p = 0.036) and a higher number of HF drugs including antidepressants (b = 0.25, p = 0.017) were independently associated with higher fear of PA, but not with heart-focused fear and trait anxiety. Of the three anxiety scores only increased fear of PA was independently associated with more avoidance behavior regarding PA (b = 0.45, SE = 0.06, p < 0.001) and with increased odds of no sports/exercise participation (OR = 1.34, 95% CI 1.03–1.74, p = 0.028). Attention towards cardiac symptoms and symptom distress were positively associated with fear of PA (p < 0.001), which explained higher fear of PA in patients with a vigilant (directing attention towards health threats) coping style (p = 0.004). Conclusions: Fear of PA assessed by the FActS-HF15 is a specific type of anxiety in patients with HF. Attention towards and being distressed by HF symptoms appear to play a central role in fear of PA, particularly in vigilant patients who are used to direct their attention towards health threats. These findings provide approaches for tailored interventions to reduce fear of PA and to increase PA in patients with HF.

In the present study, we tested whether processing information in the context of an ancestral survival scenario enhances episodic memory performance in older adults and in stroke patients. In an online study (Experiment 1), healthy young and older adults rated words according to their relevance to an ancestral survival scenario, and subsequent free recall performance was compared to a pleasantness judgment task and a moving scenario task in a within-subject design. The typical survival processing effect was replicated: Recall rates were highest in the survival task, followed by the moving and the pleasantness judgment task. Although older adults showed overall lower recall rates, there was no evidence for differences between the age groups in the condition effects. Experiment 2 was conducted in a neurological rehabilitation clinic with a sample of patients who had suffered from a stroke within the past 5 months. On the group level, Experiment 2 revealed no significant difference in recall rates between the three conditions. However, when accounting for overall memory abilities and executive function, independently measured in standardized neuropsychological tests, patients showed a significant survival processing effect. Furthermore, only patients with high executive function scores benefitted from the scenario tasks, suggesting that intact executive function may be necessary for a mnemonic benefit. Taken together, our results support the idea that the survival processing task – a well-studied task in the field of experimental psychology – may be incorporated into a strategy to compensate for memory dysfunction.