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Objectives: Adolescent elite athletes are generally exposed to considerable stress. This study investigated the extent and intensity of burnout in adolescent athletes attending an elite Austrian sports school. Methods: The German version of the Athlete Burnout Questionnaire (ABQ) and additional questions on burnout-related risk factors were applied to a sample of 63 students. Results: The data show a substantial burden of burnout in the student sample, compared to a sample of adult endurance athletes. Burnout was negatively associated with training duration and with a perspective onto a professional sports career, and positively associated with thoughts about finalizing sports, with the number of injuries, and with high levels of success-related psychic pressure. Conclusions: Burnout in adolescent elite athletes at an Austrian sports school was evident in number and severity. Psychological factors like doubts on the career, perceiving a professional perspective in sports, self-efficacy, or sense-making may interact with contextual factors in a circular way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to examine the psychometric properties of the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) in two languages, German and English. Students from a university in Austria (N = 292; 55 males; mean age = 18.71 ± 1.71 years; 237 females; mean age = 18.24 ± 0.88 years) and a university in the US (N = 329; 128 males; mean age = 18.71 ± 0.88 years; 201 females; mean age = 21.59 ± 2.27 years) completed the ESS. An exploratory-factor analysis was completed to examine dimensionality of the ESS. Item response theory (IRT) analyses were used to provide information about the response rates on the items on the ESS and provide differential item functioning (DIF) analyses to examine whether the items were interpreted differently between the two languages. The factor analyses suggest that the ESS measures two distinct sleepiness constructs. These constructs indicate that the ESS is probing sleepiness in settings requiring active versus passive responding. The IRT analyses found that overall, the items on the ESS perform well as a measure of sleepiness. However, Item 8 and to a lesser extent Item 6 were being interpreted differently by respondents in comparison to the other items. In addition, the DIF analyses showed that the responses between German and English were very similar indicating that there are only minor measurement differences between the two language versions of the ESS. These findings suggest that the ESS provides a reliable measure of propensity to sleepiness; however, it does convey a two-factor approach to sleepiness. Researchers and clinicians can use the German and English versions of the ESS but may wish to exclude Item 8 when calculating a total sleepiness score. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the ready availability of new technologies, opportunities for the incidental as well as deliberate practice of English have multiplied and far exceed what can be done in more formal environments. Yet, despite the sizeable literature on the classroom-based use of specific digital resources, few studies have investigated how students evaluate increased exposure to English in terms of learning potential. This article argues that online informal learning of English deserves more attention, and presents an empirical study surveying Austrian university students' practices and preferences related to new media in independent settings. The participants' perceptions of the usefulness of a range of digital resources for the acquisition of language skills are analysed and juxtaposed with their opinions on in-class use of technology. Results indicate a clear preference for well-established, time-honoured media (film, online dictionaries, email) in self-regulated contexts, as well as diverging opinions on the use of technologies in classroom settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives Past research of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ) lacks clear results regarding its factorial validity, item fitting, mindfulness in the general population, and on the higher order structure of mindfulness. We derived an alternative two-factor higher order structure for the FFMQ, delineating the attentional and experiential aspects of mindfulness. Method Data of 640 persons from the Austrian community were used for primary analyses, and data of 333 Austrian students were used for cross-validation. Confirmatory analyses and exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM) were utilized to investigate psychometric and structural properties. Associations with related variables and indicators of mental health were examined. Results Confirmatory models fitted only poorly on the full 39-item FFMQ. Fit was acceptable in an abridged 20-item version in both samples. The Nonreact scale had only weak psychometric properties. ESEM analyses suggested a good fit of two higher order factors and revealed structural differences between the samples. Beneficial effects of mindfulness appeared to be uniquely associated with the experiential aspects of mindfulness. Strategies of emotion regulation showed differential associations with the two higher order factors in the two samples. Conclusions Our findings are relevant both with regard to conceptual issues on mindfulness and the assessment of mindfulness with the FFMQ. Replications in meditating samples and in patients are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study is to identify the key determinants of high-level mobile phone use in a highcoverage target group by replicating an Australian study conducted by Walsh and White. Factors predicting high-level mobile phone use and relations between self- and prototypical identity are investigated by using an extended version of the theory of planned behavior (TPB). A total of 215 Austrian university students participated by completing two questionnaires, 1 week apart. The first questionnaire assessed attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control (PBC), and intention as well as self- and prototypical identity variables. The second questionnaire assessed mobile phone use in the previous week. It was found that all three TPB variables significantly predicted intention. The addition of identity variables improved the model with self-identity becoming the second strongest overall predictor. In terms of predicting high-level mobile phone behavior, intention and subjective norm, but not PBC, were significant predictors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Mental health issues are of ever growing importance in modern society. While there are numerous studies on the attitude of the general public toward psychiatry in general, little research has been done concerning the specific field of psychotherapy. Methods: 231 Austrian students out of four different university branches of study (medicine, psychology, pedagogy, economy) were investigated concerning their direct and indirect (connotations and associations) attitudes toward psychotherapy. Results: Attitudes vary significantly between the groups with medical and economy students viewing psychotherapy distinctly less favourably than psychology and pedagogy students. Associations to psychotherapy are still heavily influenced by old stereotypes. Conclusions: The importance of attitudes and beliefs in the clinical process is discussed. We also call for a more open discussion of issues concerning mental health and psychotherapy in public to reduce still prevalent stereotypes. There is also need for further implementation of psychotherapy-related content in the medical curricula. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Research in interlanguage pragmatics and sociolinguistics has suggested that foreign language learners have difficulties in reaching higher levels of pragmatic and sociolinguistic competence without receiving specific instruction or without spending some time in the target speech community (Dewaele 2002; Warga 2004). The purpose of the current study is to investigate the effect of a period of immersion in the target language community on the pragmatic development of foreign language learners of French in the area of apologies. The study, thus, adds to the scarce body of literature on pragmatic development in general and on the pragmatics of French as an L2 in particular. The participants in this longitudinal study are seven Austrian learners of French who studied at the Université de Montréal in Quebec for a period of ten months. Base-line data elicited from native speakers (NSs) of Quebecois French and NSs of Austrian German are also analyzed. The methods of data collection include a four-item discourse completion task designed to elicit the speech act of apology and a questionnaire completed before and after the year abroad. The analysis reveals that while some aspects of apologetic behavior approximate the Quebecois French NS norm over time spent in the target language community (e.g., decrease of Justifications), other aspects remain unaffected by the exposure (e.g., frequency of IFIDs) or even shift away from the L2 norm (e.g., increase in the use of two upgraders). Overall, a coexistence of target-like and non-target-like developments was observed in the data. Moreover, many of the features investigated were found to develop in a non-linear—rather than linear—fashion. It is, therefore, suggested that future studies in the field take a more dynamic perspective in order to obtain a fuller understanding of the path of pragmatic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the anomalies in the mention of professor Julius Pokorny in the Irish historical fiction "Ulysses." There is a scene in which a character Buck Mulligan tells another character Haines, that Pokorny is going to write about his movement in ten years, and at that time Pokorny was a seventeen year old student in Austria and was unknown in Ireland. Another irregularity is related to a controversy about a passage, which was reportedly reproduced in the book.

Focuses on behavior patterns of students in relation to the repair-work in Austrian German with reference to cultural themes. Investigation of study patterns; Revelation of study findings; Limitations of data analysis results; Concluding remarks.

Considerable changes in the social and built environment contributed to alterations in physical activity, which potentially affect physical fitness. Long-term data on various components of physical fitness with multiple assessments in similar cohorts, however, remains limited. The present study, therefore, examined secular trends in physical fitness between 1975 and 2010 in adolescents living in a rural region in Tyrol, Austria. Data consisted of records from a physical education (PE) teacher that included a total of 2,998 cases of male adolescents between 11 and 18 years of age. Fitness assessments included sprint, long jump and an endurance run that were performed annually in 3 to 5 grades during regular PE classes. The results indicated three distinct eras during the observation period. There was an improvement in physical fitness until the mid to late 1980s with a subsequent decline until the mid-1990s and a final period of relatively consistent low physical fitness. Further, it was shown that aerobic fitness started to decline earlier and that the decline was more pronounced than the performance on anaerobic fitness tests. This is of particular concern due to the importance of aerobic fitness for general health and wellbeing. Accordingly, these results along with previous studies highlight the need to promote physical activities that contribute to an improvement of physical fitness in children and adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dealing with the great challenges of the 21st century requires far reaching changes in the lifestyle and perceptions of humans to ensure an appropriate quality of life for all, now and in the future. To provide people with the necessary competencies, the UN initiated the Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) program. The two-year research-education, cooperative project 'AustrIndia-4QOL' aims to contribute to the goals of ESD. It is based on a collaboration between students from schools in Austria and India on the topics of quality of life, sustainability and global justice. The purpose of this particular case study is to explore the effects of a weeklong face-to-face collaboration in the final part of the AustrIndia-4QOL project. Therefore, it is examined whether or not Austrian and Indian students' concepts regarding the Sustainable Development Goals 'Gender Equality' and 'Decent Work and Economic Growth' change as a consequence of encountering differing perspectives. Short texts written by the students at the beginning and at the end of this collaboration, according to guiding questions, form the basis for a qualitative content analysis. The findings illustrate that the students' awareness increased and their evaluation of topics related to the discussed sustainable development goals changed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the legal requirement for students in Austria to have health insurance. The author provides information about the types of students who are covered by national health insurance compared to those covered by private insurance. It is noted that nearly three-quarters of international students are uninsured. Information is provided about government subsidies for private health insurance for uninsured students.

The article reports that Hertha Zwerger will stay in the U.S. to study and observe true American life. She was chosen by the students of the American Peoples College to best represent the average European girl. Her transportation as well as other expenses are taken care by the students of the university as a voluntary movement.