Interactivity - Hypertextuality - Transversality. A media-philosophical analysis of the Internet

My considerations are organized into three parts. In the first part I expand upon the influence of the Internet on our experience of space and time as well as our concept of personal identity. This takes place, on the one hand, in the example of text-based Internet services (IRC, MUDs, MOOs), and through the World Wide Web’s (WWW) graphical user-interface on the other. Interactivity, the constitution characteristic for the Internet, stands at the centre of this. In the second part I will show how the World Wide Web in particular sets in motion those semiotic demarcations customary until now. To this end I recapitulate, first of all, the way in which image, language and writing have been set in rela-tion to one another in the philosophical tradition. The multimedia hypertext-uality which characterizes the World Wide Web is then revealed against this background. In the third, and final, part I interpret the World Wide Web’s hypertextual structure as a mediative form of realization of a contemporary type of reason. This takes place on the basis of the philosophical concept of tranversality developed by the German philosopher Wolfgang Welsch

Kreativität fördern durch körperbasiertes Lernen

Vor dem Hintergrund des aktuellen Stands der internationalen Kreativitäts­forschung untersucht der Beitrag die Rolle des menschlichen Körpers als mehrdimensionales Medium innerhalb von Lehr- und Lernprozessen. Zu diesem Zweck wird aus pragmatistischer Perspektive ein integraler Ansatz körperbasierten Lernens skizziert. Darüber hinaus zeigen die Autoren am Beispiel von universitären Seminar­ver­anstaltungen, die sie in Deutschland und Dänemark durchgeführt haben, wie body-based learning in die Lehr- und Lernkultur an Schulen und Universitäten eingebettet werden kann

Mindfulness-Based Student Training Improves Vascular Variability Associated With Sustained Reductions in Physiological Stress Response

In today's fast-paced society, chronic stress has become an increasing problem, as it can lead to psycho-physiological health problems. University students are also faced with stress due to the demands of many courses and exams. The positive effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) on stress management and self-regulation have already been studied. We have developed a new mindfulness intervention tailored for students—the Mindfulness-Based Student Training (MBST). In this study, we present longitudinal results of the MBST evaluation. Biosignal analysis methods, including pulse wave variability (PWV), heart rate variability, and respiratory activity, were used to assess participants' state of autonomic regulation during the 12-week intervention and at follow-up. The progress of the intervention group (IGR, N = 31) up to 3 months after the end of MBST was compared with that of a control group (CON , N = 34). In addition, the long-term effect for IGR up to 1 year after intervention was examined. The analysis showed significant positive changes in PWV exclusively for IGR. This positive effect, particularly on vascular function, persists 1 year after the end of MBST. These results suggest a physiologically reduced stress level in MBST participants and a beneficial preventive health care program for University students