Situating language register across the ages, languages, modalities, and cultural aspects: Evidence from complementary methods

In the present review paper by members of the collaborative research center “Register: Language Users' Knowledge of Situational-Functional Variation” (CRC 1412), we assess the pervasiveness of register phenomena across different time periods, languages, modalities, and cultures. We define “register” as recurring variation in language use depending on the function of language and on the social situation. Informed by rich data, we aim to better understand and model the knowledge involved in situation- and function-based use of language register. In order to achieve this goal, we are using complementary methods and measures. In the review, we start by clarifying the concept of “register”, by reviewing the state of the art, and by setting out our methods and modeling goals. Against this background, we discuss three key challenges, two at the methodological level and one at the theoretical level: (1) To better uncover registers in text and spoken corpora, we propose changes to established analytical approaches. (2) To tease apart between-subject variability from the linguistic variability at issue (intra-individual situation-based register variability), we use within-subject designs and the modeling of individuals' social, language, and educational background. (3) We highlight a gap in cognitive modeling, viz. modeling the mental representations of register (processing), and present our first attempts at filling this gap. We argue that the targeted use of multiple complementary methods and measures supports investigating the pervasiveness of register phenomena and yields comprehensive insights into the cross-methodological robustness of register-related language variability. These comprehensive insights in turn provide a solid foundation for associated cognitive modeling.Peer Reviewe

When failure fails to be productive

The current work builds on research demonstrating the effectiveness of Productive Failure (PF) for learning. While the effectiveness of PF has been demonstrated for STEM learning, it has not yet been investigated whether PF is also beneficial for learning in non-STEM domains. Given this need to test PF for learning in domains other than mathematics or science, and the assumption that features embodied in a PF design are domain-independent, we investigated the effect of PF on learning social science research methods. We conducted two quasi-experimental studies with 212 and 152 10th graders. Following the paradigm of typical PF studies, we implemented two conditions: PF, in which students try to solve a complex problem prior to instruction, and Direct Instruction (DI), in which students first receive instruction followed by problem solving. In PF, students usually learn from their failure. Failing to solve a complex problem is assumed to prepare students for deeper learning from subsequent instruction. In DI, students usually learn through practice. Practicing and applying a given problem-solving procedure is assumed to help students to learn from previous instruction. In contrast to several studies demonstrating beneficial effects of PF on learning mathematics and science, in the present two studies, PF students did not outperform DI students on learning social science research methods. Thus, the findings did not replicate the PF effect on learning in a non-STEM domain. The results are discussed in light of mechanisms assumed to underlie the benefits of PF

Changes in the user profiles of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) before and after PrEP reimbursement.

BACKGROUND: In Germany, oral HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) was licensed in 2016. Health insurances have been covering the costs since 09/2019. This study compares the sociodemographic profiles of PrEP users before and after PrEP re-imbursement. METHODS: Participants were recruited in a cross-sectoral sexual health centre in Germany. baseline data were compared for 139 vs 138 individuals starting PrEP from 10/2017-12/2018 (pre-reimbursement cohort) and 09/2019-3/2020; respectively. The pre-reimbursement cohort was further analysed with respect to sexual behaviour and incident sexually transmitted infections (STIs). RESULTS: There were no significant differences in the sociodemographic characteristics between the two cohorts. Almost all PrEP users were men-who-have-sex-with-men (MSM). Before reimbursement, fewer individuals used PrEP on a daily base, and more had used PrEP prior to enrolment. During follow-up (pre-reimbursement cohort), the number of sexual and condomless intercourse partners increased, so did the proportion engaging in Chemsex. Incidences of infections with C.trachomatis, N.gonorrhoeae, M.genitalium, and T.pallidum were 45.2; 36.8; 30.1; and 9.2, respectively, per 100 person-years. CONCLUSION: The goal to make PrEP available to a broader range of people with the covering of costs was only partially reached. Medically supervised use is important to detect and treat STIs

HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic

$\bf Aims:$ Since 2017, HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) care has been provided through an intersectoral collaboration at WIR (Walk-in-Ruhr, Center for Sexual Health and Medicine, Bochum, Germany). The aim of this study was to establish possible impact of COVID-restrictions on the sexual behavior of PrEP users in North Rhine-Westphalia. $\bf Methods:$ The current PrEP study collected data of individuals using PrEP, their sexual behavior and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) before (each quarter of year 2018) and during the COVID-19 pandemic (each quarter of year 2020). $\bf Results:$ During the first lockdown in Germany from mid-March until May 2020, PrEP-care appointments at WIR were postponed or canceled. Almost a third of PrEP users had discontinued their PrEP intake in the $2^{nd}$ quarter of 2020 due to alteration of their sexual behavior. The number of sexual partners decreased from a median of 14 partners in the previous 6 months in $1^{st}$ quarter of 2020, to 7 partners in $4^{th}$ quarter of 2020. Despite such a significant reduction in partner number during the pandemic in comparison to the pre-pandemic period, a steady rate of STIs was observed among PrEP users in 2020. \(\bf Conclusion:\9 The SARS-CoV-2-pandemic has impacted PrEP-using MSM in North Rhine-Westphalia with respect to their PrEP intake regimen and sexual behavior in 2020. Our study revealed a steady rate of STI among PrEP users even during the pandemic, thus highlighting the importance of ensuring appropriate HIV/STI prevention services in times of crisis