Journalistic narrations for deliberative ends : a country comparison of narrative news and its contribution to the deliberative quality of mediated debates on climate change

The dissertation investigates journalistic news narrations. It aims at assessing their deliberative qualities by applying a quantitative instrument for a content analysis of newspapers that focuses comparatively on climate change coverage in Brazil, Germany, and the United States. For this study, narrative news in the journalistic context is understood as a form of writing that differs from the conventional inverted pyramid style of traditional newspaper coverage by telling news stories in a sequential order, focusing on agents, their actions, and emotions as well as including additional details and hypothetical information. Narratives in a non-fictional media environment are a phenomenon about which the scholarly debate is ambiguous when it comes to an assessment of benefits and harms. Narratives in the context of so-called hard news have been evaluated differently, ranging from the negative assessments of intensified personalization and simplification to stressing the positive effects of increased accessibility to an issue and providing space for alternative and challenging interpretations. Nevertheless, extensive theoretical considerations regarding journalistic narratives and their specific impact on public deliberation, especially within the mass media context and mediated deliberation, are rare. This study deals with this gap from a theoretical and empirical perspective. It aims at assessing narrative news coverage against the discussion of news quality in times of increasing economic constraints, by reviewing their deliberative performance. The investigations systematically look at the fulfillment of deliberative ideals such as the inclusion of actors and ideas on the input dimension of the public sphere, the occurrence of opposing arguments on the throughput dimension, and the openness or closure of the debate on the output dimension. Context knowledge about the journalistic cultures, historical developments of journalism, and the political and media systems of the three countries Brazil, Germany and the US is used to describe under which conditions narrative news is more likely to fulfill positive functions of public deliberation. To investigate the deliberative quality of journalistic narratives in the coverage on climate change, a quantitative content analysis was conducted of German, Brazilian and US newspaper coverage on the UN climate change conferences of Cancun, Mexico (2010); Durban, South Africa (2011); Doha, Qatar (2012); and Warsaw, Poland (2013). The sample contains two widely read daily quality newspapers for each country. Narrative and deliberative elements were deduced theoretically for quantitative operationalization. Results reveal that there is no general relationship between narrativity and the deliberative quality. There is no indication that narrative news writing is either good or bad in deliberative terms; it is rather context dependent. The results show that the newspaper coverage of all three countries differs in the use of narrative elements, the application of different story types, and in their general deliberative quality. While the Brazilian coverage generally has a high degree of narrativity and mainly uses story types that emphasize the urgency of climate change, it has a rather low deliberative quality. The opposite is the case for the US, which has a lower degree of narrativity, mainly using unexcited story types, and provides a higher deliberative quality. In both cases, narrative writing compared to non-narrative writing accounts for higher or lower deliberative quality only on some dimensions, but no consistent pattern was found. The picture is more diverse in Germany, with a less unambiguous use of narratives and story types, and a mixed deliberative quality. However, the relationship between higher narrativity and deliberative quality is most salient in this case

Good bot vs. bad bot: Opportunities and consequences of using automated software in corporate communications

The paper attempts to lay a foundation for research on the use of bots in corporate communications. The first step is to identify opportunities and challenges that may offer starting points for future regulations. In this research project, expert interviews were conducted in the form of guideline-based telephone interviews. A total of ten experts from the scientific community and experts from the practical field were interviewed. Following this, a qualitative-reductive content analysis was conducted with the aim of building categories and hypotheses based on them. The results show that experts from the scientific community and practical field clearly see advantages for corporate communications, but also highlight hurdles and ethical challenges that are currently seen as a major barrier to the use of bots. In this context, experts mention, among other things, the assumption of structured routine tasks, ensuring efficiency and quality in corporate communications, cost efficiency and relieving employees. On the other hand, weaknesses, like the lack of transparency, data protection and loss of control arise. Results clearly show that the ethical perspective has to be taken into account. In this context, data protection, the question of responsibility and possible manipulation intentions are particularly worth mentioning

The universal functorial equivariant Lefschetz invariant

We introduce the universal functorial equivariant Lefschetz invariant for endomorphisms of finite proper G-CW-complexes, where G is a discrete group. We use K_0 of the category of "phi-endomorphisms of finitely generated free RPi(G,X)-modules". We derive results about fixed points of equivariant endomorphisms of cocompact proper smooth G-manifolds.Comment: 33 pages; shortened version of the author's PhD thesis, supervised by Wolfgang Lueck, Westfaelische Wilhelms-Universitaet Muenster, 200

Communication skills training in undergraduate medical education at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin.

Objective: The objective of this article is a description of the longitudinal communication curriculum in the Model Medicine Curriculum (MSM) at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin. The authors describe the planning and integration of the curriculum into the study program, outline how communicative competence is taught and evaluated in the MSM, and identify which challenges need to be mastered in the process. Project description: Starting with the introduction of the MSM in 2010, students have been spending 102 class hours, spread out over seven semesters, practicing social and communicative competences in the interactive small group format "Communication, Interaction & Teamwork (KIT)". The course contents are closely linked to the topics covered each semester and increase in complexity over the course of their studies. The contents are selected by the KIT planning group whose members continually check the curriculum's timeliness and determine any changes. Students as well as instructors have opportunities for evaluating KIT throughout, and their evaluations are taken into consideration as KIT continues to be updated. Instructors from different disciplines teach KIT courses. They participate in mandatory didactic trainings that prepare them to teach KIT. During their 4th and 9th semesters, respectively, students take summative exams that test their communicative competence. Results: According to the semester evaluations by students and instructors, students participating in KIT improved their conversation management skills (students: M=2.2, SD=1.1, instructors: M=1.9, SD=0.7, on a scale of 1-5). In addition, students and graduates rate KIT to be (very) relevant, consider the degree to which it is taught in the MSM to be (very) high, and consider KIT to be a meaningful part of the curriculum. Students taking the summative exams in their 4th and 9th semesters achieve a mean score of 75.9%, respectively 76.9%, in the purely communicative stations and 82.6%, respectively 83.3%, in the global evaluation of communicative competence in clinical-practical stations. Discussion: Survey and exam results alike indicate that the communication training is well accepted by students and instructors and that the training led to an improvement in general and specific communicative skills. Due to a lack of control groups or a pre-post design, it has thus far not been possible to unequivocally demonstrate a causal relationship between communicative competence trainings and good test results. Quality control measures, such as trainings for instructors and regular course evaluations, have been designed to address any challenges in the implementation of the communication curriculum at the faculty level. Conclusion: Building on the experience with the Charité's Reformed Medical Curriculum, a longitudinal, competence-based communication curriculum was integrated into the MSM's overall curriculum. This measure remedied a gap in the medical training that many graduates of regular study programs had previously bemoaned (Jansen 2010 [1])

Counterbalancing global media frames with nationally colored narratives: A comparative study of news narratives and news framing in the climate change coverage of five countries

This study disentangles national and transnational influences on international journalism by distinguishing convergent issue framing from nationally specific narrative in news texts. In a comparative quantitative content analysis of the newspaper coverage in five democratic countries (Brazil, Germany, India, South Africa, and United States) during four United Nations climate change conferences from 2010 to 2013, both textual-visual framing and narrative features were studied simultaneously for the first time. The narrative dimension consisted of variables that gauge (1) the degree of narrativity in an article, (2) the type of narrative (i.e. stories of catastrophe, conflict, success etc.), and (3) narrative roles of victims, villains, and heroes. Hierarchical cluster analysis was used to identify both the prevailing issue frame in an article and its dominant narrative. Results show that issue frames converge more strongly across countries while narratives are more closely related to the cultural context and political particularities of each country. Investigating issue frames and narratives concurrently helps to reveal country-specific patterns of narrative coloring even for the same issue frame

Global Multimodal News Frames on Climate Change: A Comparison of Five Democracies around the World

This paper presents the first fully integrated analysis of multimodal news frames. A standardized content analysis of text and images in newspaper articles from Brazil, Germany, India, South Africa, and the United States covering the United Nations (UN) Climate Change Conferences 2010–2013 was conducted using a subset of photo-illustrated articles (n = 432) as well as the entire conference coverage (n = 1,311). In the photo-illustrated articles, four overarching multimodal frames were identified: global warming victims, civil society demands, political negotiations, and sustainable energy frames. The distribution of these global frames across the five countries is relatively similar, and a comparison of frames emerging from the national subsets also reveals a strong element of cross-national frame convergence. This is explained by the news production context at global staged political events, which features uniform media access rules and similar information supplies, as well as strong interaction between journalists from different countries and between journalists and other actors. Event-related frame convergence across vastly different contexts is interpreted as one mechanism by which truly transnational media debate can be facilitated that can potentially serve to legitimize global political decisions. In conclusion, perspectives for future qualitative and quantitative multimodal framing research are discussed

Gemalte Normalität - gemalte Normen - gemalte Kultur: Was sagen Zeichnungen von Familien über familienbezogene Leitbilder aus?

Die hier dokumentierte Studie ist aus einem zu Lehrzwecken durchgeführten empirisch-methodischen Versuch heraus entstanden. Sie geht der Frage nach, inwieweit von Zeichnungen einer Familie, um die Probanden gebeten werden, auf die dahinterliegenden persönlichen oder kulturellen Leitbilder von Familie geschlossen werden kann und - falls dies zutrifft - was sich aus den 36 analysierten Zeichnungen konkret hinsichtlich der Familienleitbilder in Deutschland schließen lässt. Die Studie wurde 2013 im Rahmen eines Seminars an der Universität Mainz durchgeführt. Sie belegt, dass Zeichnungen sehr wohl ein wertvolles empirisches Material und ein methodischer Zugang zur Analyse von Familienleitbildern sein können. Allerdings sollte eine solche Analyse sich möglichst nicht auf eine reine Bildinterpretation stützen, sondern diese Interpretation durch nachträgliche auf die Zeichnung bezogene qualitative Interviews stützen. Das Leitbild der Familie in Deutschland erscheint im Lichte der Analysen stark auf die bürgerliche Kernfamilie fokussiert, bestehend aus einem verheirateten Paar aus Frau und Mann sowie etwa zwei minderjährigen Kindern, darunter ein Junge und ein Mädchen. Auch Großeltern und Haustiere sind zuweilen Teil der Vorstellung von Familie. Familienmitglieder halten eng zusammen und sind einander in Liebe verbunden. Familie bietet einen Schutzraum des Privaten gegen die Sorgen und Nöte, die in Beruf, Schule oder andernorts erfahren werden, und ermöglicht den Familienmitgliedern so Unbeschwertheit und glückliche gemeinsame Stunden. Familienleben findet zuhause im Eigenheim statt oder in der Natur - in jedem Fall an friedlichen und schönen Orten. Eine Vielfalt von Familienformen findet sich in den Familienleitbildern der Deutschen nur vereinzelt wieder.The study documented here is the result of an empirical-methodical experiment carried out for teaching purposes. It explores the extent to which drawings of a family, asked of study participants, can be used to draw conclusions regarding the underlying personal or cultural conceptions of family and - if this is the case - what can be concluded from the 36 drawings analysed with regard to family conceptions in Germany. The study was conducted in 2013 as part of a seminar at the University of Mainz. It proves that drawings can indeed be a valuable empirical material and a methodical approach to the analysis of family conceptions. However, such an analysis should not be based on a pure image interpretation alone, but ideally be supported by subsequent qualitative interviews related to the drawing. In the light of the analyses, the conception of family in Germany appears to be strongly focused on the middle-class nuclear family, consisting of a married couple of woman and man and about two minor children, including a boy and a girl. Grandparents and pets are also sometimes part of the association. Family members stick closely together and are united in love. Family offers a shelter of privacy from the worries and hardships experienced at work, school or elsewhere, allowing family members to enjoy carefree and happy hours together. Family life takes place at home in one‘s own home or in nature - in any case in peaceful and beautiful places. A variety of family forms can only be found sporadically in the family conceptions of the Germans

A randomized phase III study evaluating pegylated liposomal doxorubicin versus capecitabine as first-line therapy for metastatic breast cancer: results of the PELICAN study

The PELICAN trial evaluates for the first time efficacy and safety of pegylated liposomal doxorubicin (PLD) versus capecitabine as first-line treatment of metastatic breast cancer (MBC). This randomized, phase III, open-label, multicenter trial enrolled first-line MBC patients who were ineligible for endocrine or trastuzumab therapy. Cumulative adjuvant anthracyclines of 360 mg/m(2) doxorubicin or equivalent were allowed. Left ventricular ejection fraction of > 50 % was required. Patients received PLD 50 mg/m(2) every 28 days or capecitabine 1250 mg/m(2) twice daily for 14 days every 21 days. The primary endpoint was time-to-disease progression (TTP). 210 patients were randomized (n = 105, PLD and n = 105, capecitabine). Adjuvant anthracyclines were given to 37 % (PLD) and 36 % (capecitabine) of patients. No significant difference was observed in TTP [HR = 1.21 (95 % confidence interval, 0.838-1.750)]. Median TTP was 6.0 months for both PLD and capecitabine. Comparing patients with or without prior anthracyclines, no significant difference in TTP was observed in the PLD arm (log-rank P = 0.64). For PLD versus capecitabine, respectively, overall survival (median, 23.3 months vs. 26.8 months) and time-to-treatment failure (median, 4.6 months vs. 3.7 months) were not statistically significantly different. Compared to PLD, patients on capecitabine experienced more serious adverse events (P = 0.015) and more cardiac events among patients who had prior anthracycline exposure (18 vs. 8 %;P = 0.31). Both PLD and capecitabine are effective first-line agents for MBC

TaReCa – Cascade utilization of horticultural biomass for a resource efficient production of valuable bioactive substances

Viele pflanzliche Sekundärmetabolite haben antioxidative oder andere bioaktive Eigenschaften, weshalb sie einerseits wichtige Bestandteile der menschlichen Ernährung sind, andererseits aber auch als pharmazeutische Verbindungen oder als Substrat für die chemische Synthese von bioaktiven Substanzen verwendet werden. Pflanzen induzieren die Produktion solcher nutzbaren Sekundärmetabolite wie z.B. Flavonoiden als Reaktion auf abiotischen Stress. Die Produktion von Gemüse und Früchten in Gewächshäusern hinterlässt große Mengen an ungenutzter pflanzlicher Biomasse, welche eine potentielle Ressource für die Gewinnung wertvoller Metabolite darstellt. Durch eine kaskadenartige Verwendung von Gartenbaukulturen zur Produktion von Früchten und Gemüse mit einer anschließenden Gewinnung hochwertiger Substanzen aus der verbleibenden Restbiomasse würde ein erheblicher Mehrwert generiert. Das Projekt TaReCa bearbeitet die Entwicklung einer maßgeschneiderten Kaskadenverwertung von Paprikapflanzen-Restbiomasse aus dem Gartenbau. Dabei soll der pflanzliche Sekundärmetabolismus durch spezifische abiotische Stressbedingungen nach der Fruchternte gezielt induziert werden, um die Konzentrationen der Zielmetaboliten zu steigern. Durch umweltfreundliche und wirtschaftliche Extraktionsprozesse und eine anschließende Verwertung des verbleibenden Pflanzenmaterials in einer Bioraffinerie wird die Wertschöpfungskette erweitert. Eine Analyse der Anwendungsgebiete sowie Untersuchungen zur Akzeptanz der induzierten Inhaltsstoffe, Prozesse und Technologien werden helfen, das Marktpotenzial der Restbiomasse für die Nutzung in Kaskaden zu evaluieren. Die maßgeschneiderte Nutzung von Gartenbaubiomasse durch Lebensmittelproduktion, Extraktion bioaktiver Sekundärmetabolite und Bioraffinerien kann wirtschaftlich relevante, biobasierte Produkte für industrielle Anwendungen erzeugen und somit zur Entwicklung einer nachhaltigen, effizienten und integrierten Bioökonomie beitragen, ohne mit der Lebensmittelproduktion zu konkurrieren.Many plant secondary metabolites have antioxidant or pharmaceutically relevant properties, which makes them important components of the human diet, but also as pharmaceutical compounds or for the chemical synthesis of bioactive substances. Plants induce the production of secondary metabolites, e.g. flavonoids in response to environmental stress stimuli. The production of vegetables and fruits in greenhouses leaves huge amounts of so far under-utilized biomass after fruit harvest, which is a potential source for production of valuable metabolites. A cascade utilization of horticultural crops to produce fruits and vegetables with subsequent extraction of high quality compounds would generate significant added value. The project TaReCa is working on the development of a tailored cascade utilization of bell pepper plant residues from horticulture. The secondary metabolism will be induced by specific abiotic stress treatments after the last fruit harvest, in order to increase the concentrations of the target metabolites. Eco-friendly and economical extraction processes and subsequent utilization of the remaining plant material in a biorefinery will expand the value chain. An analysis of the application areas as well as studies on the acceptance of the induced ingredients, processes and technologies will help to evaluate the market potential of the residual biomass for the proposed cascaded use. The tailored utilization of horticultural biomass in food production, extraction of bioactive secondary metabolites and biorefineries can produce economically relevant bio-based products for industrial applications and thus contribute to the development of a sustainable, efficient and integrated bioeconomy without competing with food production