Generation of continuous variable Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen entanglement via the Kerr nonlinearity in an optical fiber

We report on the generation of a continuous variable Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) entanglement using an optical fiber interferometer. The Kerr nonlinearity in the fiber is exploited for the generation of two independent squeezed beams. These interfere at a beam splitter and EPR entanglement is obtained between the output beams. The correlation of the amplitude (phase) quadratures is measured to be 4.0±0.2 (4.0±0.4)dB below the quantum noise limit. The sum criterion for these squeezing variances 0.80±0.03<2 verifies the nonseparability of the state. The product of the inferred uncertainties for one beam (0.64±0.08) is well below the EPR limit of unity

Psychosocial Effects of a Holistic Ayurvedic Approach to Well-being in Health and Wellness Courses.

BackgroundAs individuals are increasingly attending health and wellness courses outside of the conventional medical system, there is a need to obtain objective data on the effects of those programs on well-being.MethodsIn total, 154 men and women (mean age 54.7 years; range 25-83) participated in 3 different holistic wellness programs based on Ayurvedic Medicine principles (Seduction of Spirit, Journey into Healing, and Perfect Health) or a vacation control group. Psychosocial outcomes included spirituality (Delaney Spirituality Scale), mindful awareness (Mindful Attention Awareness Scale), psychological flexibility (Acceptance and Action Questionnaire), mood (Center for Epidemiology Studies-Depression), and anxiety (Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement System Anxiety Scale).ResultsParticipants in the Seduction of Spirit (P &lt; .004), Journey into Healing (P &lt; .05), and Perfect Health (P &lt; .004) courses showed significant increases in spirituality as compared to vacation controls. Participants in Seduction of Spirit (P &lt; .007) also showed significant increases in mindfulness as compared to vacation controls. Participants in the Seduction of Spirit (P &lt; .001) and Journey into Healing (P &lt; .05) courses showed significant decreases in depressed mood as compared to those in the Perfect Health and vacation control groups. All study participants showed similar increases in psychological flexibility (P &lt; .01) and decreases in anxiety (P &lt; .01).ConclusionParticipation in wellness courses that incorporate a mind-body-spirit approach to health improves multiple domains of psychosocial well-being, which persists even after course participation

a pilot study

Background Parents caring for a child with Cystic Fibrosis (CF) are at high risk for psychological distress and have limited access to psychological care. Therefore, a web-based psychological support program for severely distressed parents of children with CF (WEP-CARE) was developed and evaluated for its feasibility and efficacy. Methods A clinical expert panel developed WEP-CARE based on principles of cognitive-behavioral therapy. This web-based writing therapy comprises nine sessions, tailored for the specific needs of caregivers. The pilot study was conducted as a single-group intervention with pre-post-follow-up design. Out of 31 participants, 23 parents completed the intervention (21 female; mean age 37 years; SD = 6.2 years, range 25 – 48 years). Psychological symptoms and quality of life were assessed online by self-report measures at pre- and post-treatment and were followed up three months later. Results On average, the caregivers’ symptoms of anxiety decreased statistically significant and clinical relevant about five points from an elevated (M = 11.4; SD =2.6) to a normal level (M = 6.7; SD = 2.6; p < .001) between pre and post treatment. Fear of disease progression (p < .001) and symptoms of depression (p = .02) significantly decreased as well. Quality of life significantly improved (p = .01). The effects were maintained at the 3-months follow-up assessment. Conclusions WEP-CARE is feasible and promising regarding its efficacy to improve parental mental health and quality of life

Evaluating embodied conversational agents in multimodal interfaces

Based on cross-disciplinary approaches to Embodied Conversational Agents, evaluation methods for such human-computer interfaces are structured and presented. An introductory systematisation of evaluation topics from a conversational perspective is followed by an explanation of social-psychological phenomena studied in interaction with Embodied Conversational Agents, and how these can be used for evaluation purposes. Major evaluation concepts and appropriate assessment instruments – established and new ones – are presented, including questionnaires, annotations and log-files. An exemplary evaluation and guidelines provide hands-on information on planning and preparing such endeavours

No Two Courses Alike Yet All Basic Education. A plea for an open, nonhomogeneous and diverse basic education landscape modelled on basic education in practice at ISOP

In den letzten Jahren häuft sich das Angebot homogener Kurse für junge MigrantInnen, die in das hiesige Ausbildungssystem integriert werden sollen. Diese Kurse erinnern an Schule und haben – bis auf relevante Inhalte – wenig mit der klassischen, alltagsorientierten Basisbildung für Erwachsene in ihren vielfältigen Formen gemein. Die AutorInnen dieses Beitrages plädieren wider einem zu eng gesetzten Begriff von Basisbildung für Vielfalt in der Basisbildungslandschaft, für soziales Lernen, für offene Lernformate und inhomogene TeilnehmerInnengruppen. Hierfür legen sie die konkrete Basisbildungspraxis von ISOP – Innovative Sozialprojekte GmbH offen, einer Non-Profit Bildungsorganisation in der Steiermark, die auf 20 Jahre praktische Erfahrung zurückgreift. Wie sieht eine alltagsorientierte Basisbildungsarbeit mit und für eine inhomogene TeilnehmerInnengruppe aus? Welchen Herausforderungen stellen sich die TrainerInnen? Den Abschluss bilden mahnende Fragen: Wie lange wird es in Österreich noch Basisbildung mit freiem Zugang, unbestimmter Kursdauer, Alltagsverwertbarkeit, kleiner Gruppengröße, vielfältigen, inhomogenen Gruppen geben? Kann und will sich unsere Gesellschaft dieses Nischenangebot weiterhin leisten? (DIPF/Orig.)Recently there has been a boom in offerings of homogeneous courses for young migrants who should be integrated into the current educational system. These courses are reminiscent of school and – except for relevant content – have little in common with classic basic education for adults in it’s diverse forms that is oriented toward everyday life. Contrary to a too narrow concept of basic education, the authors of this article call for diversity in the basic education landscape, social learning, open forms of learning and nonhomogeneous groups of participants. They present the example of the specific practice of basic education at ISOP – Innovative Sozialprojekte GmbH, a non-profit educational organisation in Styria with 20 years of practical experience. What does basic education oriented toward everyday life with and for a nonhomogeneous group of participants look like? What challenges do the trainers face? The conclusion raises questions as a warning: How long will basic education with open access, indeterminate length of courses, applicability to everyday life, small groups, diverse, nonhomogeneous groups still be available in Austria? Can our society afford this niche offering and does it still want to? (DIPF/Orig.

Die US-amerikanische First Lady und die Inszenierung der Präsidentenehe in den Wahlkämpfen 1964 - 1996

Im Gegensatz zu vielen anderen Ländern findet in den USA kein Wahlkampf ohne die stete Präsenz der Familie der Kandidaten statt. Insbesondere die Ehefrau darf nie an seiner Seite fehlen, lächelt von Wahlplakaten, backt Plätzchen um die Wette und gibt intime Details aus dem Familienleben preis. Die Dissertation erklärte diese - für Nicht-Amerikaner erstaunliche - Instrumentalisierung der Familie und die Faszination der Öffentlichkeit für das Privatleben des Präsidenten. Nach einer historischen Rekonstruktion der Rolle der Präsidentenfrauen in den Wahlkämpfen 1964 bis 1996, die auf internen Strategiepapieren aus dem Weißen Haus basiert (Teil B), werden im systematischen und theoretisch unterfütterten Teil C, der sich auf politik- und sozialwissenschaftliche Ansätze stützt, Erklärungen auf vier Analyseebenen (Politisches System, Politische Kultur, Struktur des Mediensystems, journalistische Kultur) geboten. Damit erläutert die Autorin nicht nur die Omnipräsenz von First Ladys w! ie Hillary Clinton, sondern führt dem europäischen Beobachter einige Besonderheiten der politischen Kultur der USA vor Augen und bietet Einsichten in den amerikanischen Sonderweg in der modernen Mediendemokratie

Capturing the Usage of the German Car Fleet for a One Year Period to Evaluate the Suitability of Battery Electric Vehicles – A Model based Approach

AbstractThe low driving range of battery electric vehicles (BEV) is often considered as relevant reason for the low BEV sales. In order to verify this assumption, the usage of conventional cars in Germany needs to be analyzed. These analyses may help to make more reliable and realistic statements to what extent German cars could be replaced by BEVs without restrictions for their users. Most travel surveys do only consider a single day or a short period of time in the analysis. Longer time periods should be taken into consideration when analyzing the travel data since the daily car usage is not identical every day. Since there are no representative and detailed car usage surveys over longer periods available a hybrid car usage model was developed to close that gap. This model is mainly based on three mobility surveys: the German Mobility Panel (MOP), the car mileage and fuel consumption survey, and the long distance travel survey INVERMO. We show that 13% of the modeled German private car fleet never exceeds 100km per day during a full year and could be replaced by BEVs without any usage restrictions for their car owners. Another 16% of the modeled private car fleet is driven more than 100km on 1-4 days during a full year and can be substituted with slight adjustments. These cars are often second cars of a household and used less intensively (6,600km/year resp. 7600km/year) than cars not suited for BEV substitution (14,800km/year). Households that could replace their cars tend to have a lower disposable income. The crux of the matter, however, is that substitution of conventional cars is often not feasible since the mobility budget of BEV suited households tends to be too low or does not make economic sense due to the low annual mileage