Physical and sexual violence in dating among adolescents: How effective are prevention programs?

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Studies show that physical and sexual violence often occurs in teen dating relationships: according to current data, the incidence is around 20 percent for physical violence and around 10 percent for sexual violence. A research team at the University of Klagenfurt has recently conducted a meta-analysis to investigate the extent to which prevention programs work. The results have now been presented in JAMA Pediatrics.

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Retracing the travel correspondence of Giovanni Comisso

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As a writer, he left many literary traces behind. Yet all too few readers have followed along his linguistic paths, argues Giacomo Carlesso. The doctoral student is preparing his doctoral thesis within the scope of the joint doctoral programme “Italian Studies” at the Università Ca’Foscari Venezia and at the University of Klagenfurt. He talks to us about his fascination with the Treviso author Giovanni Comisso.

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English idioms: Simplifying the acquisition of idioms for learners

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Idioms are regarded as particularly challenging when it comes to learning a second language. And yet, the comprehension and appropriate use of these expressions can serve to demonstrate greater linguistic proficiency. An Austrian-Russian project is now set to explore how English language learners from two different linguistic and cultural backgrounds approach the challenge of learning idioms. The project is funded by the Austrian Science Fund FWF.

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“The Internet has given us new narrative stages.”

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Stories have been told throughout the existence of humankind. While audiences were somewhat limited until the 2000s, thanks to the Internet, virtually the whole world is now available to practically anyone as a potential listener. In her research, Christina Schachtner, professor emeritus at the Department of Media and Communication Studies at the University of Klagenfurt, is particularly interested in the “narrative subject”. Now, her book bearing the same title has been published as an open access book in the English language. In an interview with her, we discuss the tragedies and comedies that are performed in virtual space.

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Immersed in a sea of words: Poetic metaphors

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It’s a familiar situation: We gaze at a poem and wonder – what was the author trying to express? What was his or her intention in using that specific metaphor? And how should we, as readers, interpret it? Over the next two years, Carina Rasse, holder of the DOC-scholarship awarded by the Austrian Academy of Sciences, and currently working at the Department of English, will explore how metaphors emerge and how they are deciphered by readers.

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Health consumption on the Internet and consulting Doctor Google

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Mediatisation has fundamentally transformed our interactions with medical professionals, our attitude to our own health, and our communication about health-related topics. In her research, Isabell Koinig deals with health communication. She addressed some of the phenomena which research has only taken up selectively, and whether she turns to Google herself when she feels a bit under the weather.

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Psychologically healthy children are more likely to grow into healthy adults

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Nearly half of all mental illnesses have their origins in the early childhood years of the affected persons. In adulthood, these often emerge as chronic illnesses with negative consequences for the individual’s social life, economic productivity, and quality of life.

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When will we (finally) choose a better world?

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The world appears to lie in ruins: Climate change is making itself felt in environmental disasters. People in need are heading north; politics responds with nationalism. The concept of “do-gooders” bears negative connotations, although what we do need is people doing “good”; people who put their actions at the service of a better world. We spoke to the cognitive psychologist Stephan Dickert and the philosopher Alice Pechriggl about why it is so difficult to implement a change of mind.

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The end of the West?

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Within the scope of an introductory seminar course, Johannes Dafinger and his students Anna Ogris and Julia Schator are studying Americanisation and Westernisation in the years following the Second World War and up to the early 1970s. Over the course of this quarter century, Austria and (Western) Germany were firmly integrated into the “Western” community of values. At the same time, the role model of the US-American “way of life” radiated across (Western) Europe and other parts of the world. Dafinger and his students explored the diverse manifestations of the Americanisation of culture, politics and economics and finally asked themselves the question: is the West at an end?

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Studying coincidence in literature and films

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A position as post-doctoral researcher at the Department of English and American Studies brought Matthias Klestil to Klagenfurt from Bayreuth. His research currently focuses on material from literature and films, which addresses versionality and coincidence. In our interview with Matthias Klestil, he tells us about the paths that led him to Klagenfurt, and he reveals what he finds fascinating about the USA.

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