Semiotische Aspekte in der Buch-Anzeigenwerbung

Kommunikationsbotschaften bestehen aus unterschiedlichen Zeichen, die bildlicher, schriftlicher oder auch gestischer Natur sein können und als Zeichensysteme auftreten. Das Verständnis von Zeichen ist die Grundvoraussetzung für Kommunikation. Werden Zeichen nicht verstanden oder falsch interpretiert, schlägt die Kommunikation fehl. Werbung als Form der Kommunikation dient der Vermittlung einer Botschaft. Diese Botschaft muss so konzipiert sein, dass sie die Aufmerksamkeit des Betrachters erlangt und in dessen Gedächtnis verankert werden kann. Dafür müssen ihm Verknüpfungsmöglichkeiten angeboten werden. Sowohl auf der verbalen als auch auf der visuellen Ebene analysiert die Semiotik diese Möglichkeiten und ist daher auch für die Werbung wichtig. Ziel der Arbeit ist es, semiotische Aspekte, die in der Buch-Anzeigenwerbung enthalten sind, zu verdeutlichen. Dazu werden neun unterschiedliche Buchanzeigen analysiert und die Bedeutungsansätze, die sie für den Rezipienten bereithalten, entschlüsselt. Das Ergebnis der Analyse zeigt, dass die Einbeziehung der Semiotik hinsichtlich der Gliederungs- und Darstellungsmöglichkeiten von Bild und Text sowie deren Relation zueinander einer Buchanzeige mehr Aufmerksamkeit verschaffen kann. Anzeigen, die rhetorische und stilistische Mittel einsetzen und im sprachlichen Kode variabel sind, sind attraktiver als Anzeigen, die diese Kodes nicht einsetzen. Anzeigen, die hinsichtlich ihrer Bildsemiotik einen größeren Spielraum bieten, wirken auf den Betrachter anders als Anzeigen, die Abbildungen aneinanderreihen. Dabei spielen kulturell-semiotische Eigenschaften ebenfalls eine wichtige Rolle.Communication messages consist of different signs: they can be visual, written or of a gestural nature and occur as sign systems. The comprehension of signs is the basic requirement for communication. If signs are not understood or misinterpreted, communication is bound to fail. Advertising as a form of communication serves to communicate a message. This message must be designed in such a way that the attention of the viewer is attracted and the message is anchored in the viewer‘s memory. For this, possibilities to link are necessary. Semiotics analyses these possibilities on a verbal as well as on a visual level and therefore plays an important role in advertising. The objective of this study is to explain semiotic aspects in book advertising. Nine different book advertisements were analysed and their meaning was decoded. The analyses show that making use of semiotics can be very helpful to attract more attention as different ways of structuring images and texts and how they are related to each other add more colour to the advertisment. Advertisements using rhetorical and stylistic means and which are variable as regards the linguistic code are more interesting than advertisements not using these codes. Advertisements offering a greater scope in terms of semiotics as they include pictures and images, have a greater impact on the viewer than advertisements only using pictures. Cultural-semiotic properties also play an important role and have to be taken into consideration

Effects of structured patient education in adults with atopic dermatitis: Multicenter randomized controlled trial

Background: Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic relapsing skin disease prevalent in 1% to 3% of adults in Western industrialized countries. Objective: We sought to investigate the effectiveness of educational training in an outpatient setting on coping with the disease, quality of life, symptoms, and severity in adults with AD. Methods: In this German prospective, randomized controlled multicenter study, adult patients with moderate-to-severe AD were educated by referring to a comprehensive 12-hour training manual consented by a multiprofessional study group from different centers (Arbeitsgemeinschaft Neurodermitisschulung fur Erwachsene [ARNE]). Patients were randomly allocated to the intervention or waiting control groups. Study visits were performed at baseline and after 1 year (1 year of follow-up). Primary outcomes were defined as a decrease in (1) "catastrophizing cognitions'' with respect to itching (Juckreiz-Kognitions-Fragebogen questionnaire), (2) "social anxiety'' (Marburger Hautfragebogen questionnaire), (3) subjective burden by symptoms of the disease (Skindex-29 questionnaire), and (4) improvement of disease signs and symptoms assessed by using the SCORAD index at 1 year of follow-up. Data were analyzed on an intention-to-treat basis. Results: At 1 year of follow-up, patients from the intervention group (n = 168) showed a significantly better improvement compared with the waiting group (n = 147) in the following defined primary study outcomes: coping behavior with respect to itching (P < .001), quality of life assessed by using the Skindex-29 questionnaire (P < .001), and the SCORAD index (P < .001). Conclusions: This is the first randomized, controlled multicenter study on patient education in adult AD. The ARNE training program shows significant beneficial effects on a variety of psychosocial parameters, as well as AD severity

Characteristics and treatment regimens across ERS SHARP severe asthma registries

Little is known about the characteristics and treatments of patients with severe asthma across Europe, but both are likely to vary. This is the first study in the European Respiratory Society Severe Heterogeneous Asthma Research collaboration, Patient-centred (SHARP) Clinical Research Collaboration and it is designed to explore these variations. Therefore, we aimed to compare characteristics of patients in European severe asthma registries and treatments before starting biologicals. This was a cross-sectional retrospective analysis of aggregated data from 11 national severe asthma registries that joined SHARP with established patient databases. Analysis of data from 3236 patients showed many differences in characteristics and lifestyle factors. Current smokers ranged from 0% (Poland and Sweden) to 9.5% (Belgium), mean body mass index ranged from 26.2 (Italy) to 30.6 kg\ub7m 122 (the UK) and the largest difference in mean pre-bronchodilator forced expiratory volume in 1 s % predicted was 20.9% (the Netherlands versus Hungary). Before starting biologicals patients were treated differently between countries: mean inhaled corticosteroid dose ranged from 700 to 1335 \ub5g\ub7day 121 between those from Slovenia versus Poland when starting anti-interleukin (IL)-5 antibody and from 772 to 1344 \ub5g\ub7day 121 in those starting anti-IgE (Slovenia versus Spain). Maintenance oral corticosteroid use ranged from 21.0% (Belgium) to 63.0% (Sweden) and from 9.1% (Denmark) to 56.1% (the UK) in patients starting anti-IL-5 and anti-IgE, respectively. The severe asthmatic population in Europe is heterogeneous and differs in both clinical characteristics and treatment, often appearing not to comply with the current European Respiratory Society/American Thoracic Society guidelines definition of severe asthma. Treatment regimens before starting biologicals were different from inclusion criteria in clinical trials and varied between countries