Teaching and learning guide for: Imagined intergroup contact: Theory, paradigm, and practice

A goal shared enthusiastically amongst many social psychologists is the improvement of intergroup relations. Conflict between groups is usually related to distinct, and in many cases opposing, identities, based on (for example) ethnicity, nationality, and religion, but also gender, age, sexual orientation and political or individual preferences. Our research has developed a new intervention for improving intergroup relations based on an integration of theory and empirical work on social cognition and intergroup relations. We've called the technique Imagined Contact because it is based on the mental simulation of intergroup contact experiences. Collectively, our research has focused on refining and evaluating imagined contact as an effective tool for the enhancement of intergroup relations. Our article in Social and Personality Psychology Compass provides a summary of the basic theory underlying imagined contact, a review of empirical findings to date, and a framework for developing practical applications of the intervention (in particular as a school-based intervention). We wanted to offer a teaching and learning guide for this article because we believe that the imagined contact task provides a flexible, effective, and easy-to-use tool for teachers, seminar leaders, students, and practitioners. The task can be used as a basis for encouraging more positive and open attitudes towards other groups, a way of preparing people for future intergroup encounters, a stimulus for discussions about the value in experiencing social diversity, and a way of illustrating the power of mental processes in forming and challenging attitudes about others

Korpusbasierte Analyse der Semantik von Idiomen

Idioms are usually defined in semantic terms as non-compositional units whose meaning does not result from the meaning of their parts. This definition implies that idioms have exactly one meaning. But if we examine idioms in context in large electronic corpora, we observe that the meaning of idioms is contextually variable, like that of words. We observe uses that exceed the range of the conventionalized and (lexicographically) codified meaning. A case study (the German idiom ins Gras beißen, literally "to bite into the grass", 'to die, to bite the dust') is used as an illustration of the relation between core meaning and contextual variability or meaning extension in idioms and the underlying mechanisms of this process

Linguistische Komplexität - Ein Phantom? : Tagung auf Schloss Rauischholzhausen vom 30. September bis 2. Oktober 2015

Vom 30. September bis 2. Oktober 2015 fand die von Mathilde Hennig (Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen) organisierte Tagung zum Thema „linguistische Komplexität“ in Rauischholzhausen statt. Das Phänomen der Komplexität beschäftigt die linguistische Forschung bereits seit einiger Zeit, insbesondere die Begriffsbestimmung sowie die Operationalisierung des Begriffs. Das Ziel der Tagung war, „durch einen möglichst breiten Blick auf Detailfragen linguistischer Komplexität in ‚well-defined areas‘ eine Ausgangsbasis für übergreifende Diskussionen zu den Beziehungen zwischen Komplexitätsbefunden auf verschiedenen linguistischen Ebenen und unter verschiedenen Gesichtspunkten zu schaffen“ (Tagungsexposé M. Hennig). In insgesamt vierzehn Beiträgen beleuchteten die Vortragenden das Phänomen der linguistischen Komplexität aus unterschiedlichen Blickwinkeln. Mit Fragen der Begriffsbestimmung befassten sich explizit Fischer, Engelberg, Lobin, Warnke und Staffeldt. Die Möglichkeiten der Operationalisierung und der Anwendung wurden in allen Beiträgen angesprochen; fokussiert wurden dabei unterschiedliche linguistische Beschreibungsebenen sowie vielfältige Zusammenhänge mit anderen semiotischen Ressourcen

Does indoor environmental quality affect students' performance?

There is little knowledge on if and how indoor environmental quality influences students’ attendance and productivity. However, this issue has been of growing interest the recent years in the scientific community and results are showing that student learning performance is significantly affected by indoor environmental quality factors. In the present study the learning performance is examined through numerical test scores achieved by primary school students in their classrooms. The assessment of indoor environmental quality parameters such as thermal, visual, acoustic and air quality and the evaluation of Sick Building Syndrome (SBS) symptoms was conducted through questionnaires handed out to the same sample of students. Main objective of this paper is to investigate whether the degradation of the indoor environmental quality can impact the overall performance of students

Using intercultural videos of direct contact to implement vicarious contact: A school-based intervention that improves intergroup attitudes

We aimed to create an engaging and dynamic intervention for schools that uses videos of direct school peer contact to implement a vicarious contact intervention. Participants were ethnic majority (Italian) and minority (immigrant) high-school students (N = 485, age ranging from 14 to 22 years old, mean age = 17.24 years), who were asked to watch and evaluate videos created by peers from their school for a competition for the best video on intercultural friendships. Results revealed that vicarious contact, relative to a control condition where participants were not shown any videos, improved outgroup attitudes, reduced negative outgroup stereotypes, and increased willingness to engage in contact with the outgroup. These effects only emerged when intercultural friendships in the videos were salient. Inclusion of the other in the self, but neither intergroup anxiety nor fear of rejection by the outgroup, significantly mediated the effect of the videos on outcomes. We discuss theoretical and practical implications of the findings

Effects of Acetate on Cation Exchange Capacity of a Zn-Containing Montmorillonite:Physicochemical Significance and Metal Uptake

Fundamental properties such as cation exchange capacity (CEC), permanent charge, pH(PZC), and metal uptake of a Zn-containing montmorillonite are modified, in a predictable manner, by a mild chemical treatment using acetate. Acetate treatment allows a controllable increase of the CEC of montmorillonite up to 180 mequiv/100 g. The CEC of the clay is increasing for decreasing Zn content, with a slope of Delta[Zn/Delta[CEC] approximate to -2. X-ray powder diffraction analysis shows that the lamellar structure of the clay remains unaltered by the acetate treatment, while XPS substantiates the removal of Zn. H(+) uptake data show that the intrinsic protonation pK values and concentration of the variable charge sites ( SOH) are not modified by the acetate treatment. In contrast, the concentration of the permanent charge sites ( X(-)) increased linearly with Zn removal by acetate, leading to a significant H(+) and Cd(2+) uptake enhancement. A physical model is suggested where acetate removes Zn ions strongly bound in the clay, and this in turn modulates the permanent charge and the CEC of the clay

Objectively assessed physical activity and subsequent health service use of UK adults aged 70 and over:a four to five year follow up study

OBJECTIVES: To examine the associations between volume and intensity of older peoples' physical activity, with their subsequent health service usage over the following four to five years.STUDY DESIGN: A prospective cohort design using baseline participant characteristics, objectively assessed physical activity and lower limb function provided by Project OPAL (Older People and Active Living). OPAL-PLUS provided data on numbers of primary care consultations, prescriptions, unplanned hospital admissions, and secondary care referrals, extracted from medical records for up to five years following the baseline OPAL data collection.PARTICIPANTS AND DATA COLLECTION: OPAL participants were a diverse sample of 240 older adults with a mean age of 78 years. They were recruited from 12 General Practitioner surgeries from low, middle, and high areas of deprivation in a city in the West of England. Primary care consultations, secondary care referrals, unplanned hospital admissions, number of prescriptions and new disease diagnoses were assessed for 213 (104 females) of the original 240 OPAL participants who had either consented to participate in OPAL-PLUS or already died during the follow-up period.RESULTS: In regression modelling, adjusted for socio-economic variables, existing disease, weight status, minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) per day predicted subsequent numbers of prescriptions. Steps taken per day and MVPA also predicted unplanned hospital admissions, although the strength of the effect was reduced when further adjustment was made for lower limb function.CONCLUSIONS: Community-based programs are needed which are successful in engaging older adults in their late 70s and 80s in more walking, MVPA and activity that helps them avoid loss of physical function. There is a potential for cost savings to health services through reduced reliance on prescriptions and fewer unplanned hospital admissions.</p