Gender differences in German compliment exchanges

Access to thesis permanently restricted to Ball State community only.From conversation analysis to discourse completion tasks and role plays, researchers have used a variety of methods to collect data on German compliments. However, most of these studies provide an insight into what the people think they say rather than what they actually say or resort to sample sizes that are too small to draw generalizable conclusions. In analogy to the countless studies on compliment behavior in American (e.g. Herbert 1990; Wolfson 1983) and New Zealand English (Holmes 1988), this study examined 400 German compliment exchanges gathered through field observation on and around a university campus. These exchanges were analyzed for prevalent syntactic patterns, topics, and response strategies with particular attention to gender differences. Results indicated that female compliments are more formulaic in nature and less likely to be accepted than compliments given by men. Building on Herbert (1990), I argue that German males and females tend to conceptualize complimenting differently: Among females, compliments are frequently used to establish solidarity. The preferred response to this kind of compliment is a mitigating or deflecting response, which serves as a counter-offer of solidarity. Among males and in opposite-sex interactions, compliments tend to be seen as more literal offers of praise, which often elicit Acceptance responses that acknowledge the interlocutor’s goodwill.Thesis (M.A.)Department of Englis

Die Rolle und Motivation Ehrenamtlicher in der Hospizarbeit und Palliativmedizin in Europa

Ehrenamtliche sind ein unentbehrlicher Bestandteil und konstituierendes Merkmal der Hospizarbeit und Palliativmedizin. Trotz der zentralen Position und der zunehmenden Relevanz des Ehrenamtes liegen jedoch aus den 53 Ländern Europas (WHO, 2013) bis jetzt nur sehr wenige Daten zu diesem Thema vor. Daher wurden in dieser Studie unter anderem Informationen zur Motivation, zum Rollenverständnis, zu den Aufgaben, Grenzen und Veränderungen der ehrenamtlichen Tätigkeit im europäischen Vergleich erfasst. Es wurden Fragebögen entwickelt und verschickt an Experten, Koordinatoren von Ehrenamtlichen und an Ehrenamtliche, die alle im Hospiz- oder im Palliativbereich tätig sind. Die Fragebögen wurden als Online-Survey und als Download im Word-Format zur Verfügung gestellt. Es wurden 200 Fragebögen ausgefüllt von Experten, sowie 44 Fragebögen von Koordinatoren und 122 Fragebögen von Ehrenamtlichen in insgesamt 36 verschiedenen Ländern Europas. Die gewonnenen Daten wurden mit Hilfe von SPSS ausgewertet. Die Motivation der Ehrenamtlichen ist meist Altruismus und gesellschaftliches Engagement, manchmal Freizeitgestaltung, selten Selbstdarstellung oder persönlicher Gewinn. Häufig üben die Ehrenamtlichen patientennahe Aufgaben aus, oft in Form von emotionaler Zuwendung und Gesprächen. Grenzen bei der Patientenbetreuung sind vor allem medizinische Aufgaben. Oft nehmen Ehrenamtliche dem Patienten gegenüber eine gesonderte und besondere Rolle ein, die mit vorgegebenen Begriffen zu unzureichend charakterisiert werden kann. In den letzten Jahren hat sich das Profil der Ehrenamtlichen verändert: Mehr Berufstätige mit weniger Zeit, jünger, mit mehr Anforderungen. Die Wichtigkeit und der Stellenwert des Ehrenamtes im Hospiz- und Palliativbereich sollte weiter herausgestellt werden. Wichtig ist die Erstellung einer Plattform zum europäischen bzw. internationalen Austausch im Bereich Ehrenamt im Hospiz- und Palliativbereich

First evidence of Proganochelys quenstedtii (Testudinata) from the Plateosaurus bonebeds (Norian, Late Triassic) of Frick, Canton Aargau, Switzerland

Proganochelys quenstedtii represents the best-known stem turtle from the Late Triassic, with gross anatomical and internal descriptions of the shell, postcranial bones and skull based on several well-preserved specimens from Central European fossil locations. We here report on the first specimen of P. quenstedtii from the Late Triassic (Klettgau Formation) Frickberg near the town of Frick, Canton Aargau, Switzerland. Similar to other Late Triassic ‘Plateosaurus-bearing bonebeds’, Proganochelys is considered to be a rare faunal element in the Swiss locality of Frick as well. The specimen, which is largely complete but was found only partially articulated and mixed with large Plateosaurus bones, overall resembles the morphology of the classical specimens from Germany. Despite being disarticulated, most skull bones could be identified and micro-computed tomography (CT) scanning of the posterior skull region reveals new insights into the braincase and neurovascular anatomy, as well as the inner ear region. These include the presence of a fenestra perilymphatica, potentially elongated cochlear ducts, and intense vascularization of small tubercles on the posterior end of the skull roof, which we interpret as horn cores. Other aspects of the skull in the braincase region, such as the presence or absence of a supratemporal remain ambiguous due to the fusion of individual bones and thus lack of visible sutures (externally and internally). Based on the size of the shell and fusion of individual elements, the specimen is interpreted as a skeletally mature animal

Correlation of cytomorphology and histopathology in the diagnostic process of myeloid malignancies

Bone marrow cytomorphology and histopathology are the cornerstones for the initial diagnosis of myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and other related myeloid disorders. They provide a rapid first insight into diagnostic categories and thus help in clinical decision making. However, difficulties in the morphologic assessment of MDS exist due to inter- and intra-observer variability. In this study, we directly compared the results of cytomorphology and histopathology obtained in a real-world diagnostic scenario in 90 patients with myeloid malignancies aiming to evaluate their validity for diagnosing and classifying various myeloid malignancies. While both techniques placed 80% of our bone marrow samples into the same diagnostic category and thus showed a good correlation, our study also demonstrates the limitations in correlating marrow cytomorphology and histopathology, even following stringent and repetitive diagnostic assessments. This was particularly true for CMML, where not only additional diagnostic tools such as molecular genetics or clinical evaluation but also the analysis of the peripheral blood smears aided in finding the correct diagnosis. Overall, our data emphasize the need for a comprehensive diagnostic review in a patient-for-patient setting when a myeloid malignancy is suspected or confirmed. We propose that the combination of cytomorphologic and histopathologic assessment with clinical, laboratory, and genetic parameters is essential in achieving high diagnostic accuracy in an interdisciplinary setting

Ageist Communication Experienced by Middle-Aged and Older Canadians

Ageism has been well-documented in the United States, but ageism experiences in Canada remain less well-known. To address this gap, in the current research middle-aged and older Canadians completed a conversational interview in which they described their ageism experiences. Their descriptions were coded for life domain, perpetrator, and type of ageist communication. The most common domain in which ageist communication occurred was the public sphere, with perpetrators most often being strangers. Ageist communication most often involved age-based social or physical assumptions about the participant. In combination, these findings detail how ageism manifests in the everyday lives of Canadians and contribute to understanding the nuances of the expression of ageism in North America

Variation in subject doubling in Homeland and Heritage Faetar

This paper investigates subject doubling in Faetar, an endangered and understudied variety of Francoprovençal. Comparing Homeland speakers (i.e., speakers who were born and raised in Faeto) and Heritage speakers of the language (i.e., speakers who emigrated to Toronto, Canada after age 18, and their children), we find some striking differences. Our results show that subject doubling is grammatically constrained in the source variety: Homeland speakers favor doubling in new information contexts, while Heritage speakers do not. There is also evidence for a change in progress among Homeland speakers, with younger speakers using more subject doubling than older speakers. This change is not mirrored by the Heritage speakers. We propose that this is because the Heritage speakers left the Homeland either before or around the time that the youngest Homeland speakers in our sample were born, resulting in them having missed out on this change. This highlights that both Homeland and Heritage varieties are dynamic and may develop in different directions. Additionally, this study helps complete the picture previously reported for variation between overt (single or doubled) and null subjects in these two varieties: an ongoing decrease in null subject rates in the Homeland variety and stability in the Heritage variety (Nagy et al. 2018)

Virus-associated activation of innate immunity induces rapid disruption of Peyer’s patches in mice

Early in the course of infection, detection of pathogen-associated molecular patterns by innate immune receptors can shape the subsequent adaptive immune response. Here we investigate the influence of virus-associated innate immune activation on lymphocyte distribution in secondary lymphoid organs. We show for the first time that virus infection of mice induces rapid disruption of the Peyer's patches but not of other secondary lymphoid organs. The observed effect was not dependent on an active infectious process but due to innate immune activation and could be mimicked by virus-associated molecular patterns such as the synthetic double-stranded RNA poly(I:C). Profound histomorphological changes in Peyer's patches were associated with depletion of organ cellularity, most prominent among the B cell subset. We demonstrate that the disruption is entirely dependent on type I interferon. At the cellular level, we show that virus-associated immune activation by IFN-α blocks B-cell trafficking to the Peyer's patches by downregulating expression of the homing molecule α4β7-integrin. In summary, our data identify a mechanism that results in type I IFN-dependent rapid but reversible disruption of intestinal lymphoid organs during systemic viral immune activation. We propose that such re-routed lymphocyte trafficking may impact the development of B cell immunity to systemic viral pathogens