65 The Birth of an Island Spiekeroog: A Living Laboratory - Uni Oldenburg
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2020/21 Issue
65
THE UNIVERSITY OF OLDENBURG'S RESEARCH MAGAZINE
Spiekeroog: A Living Laboratory
The Birth
of an Island
Dear readers,
“flattening the curve“ was also and old age. Special education expert Within a relatively short period, sand-
the goal at the University of Olden- Andrea Erdélyi, on the other hand, is banks just a few metres long can turn
burg when it reduced its operations researching ways to help the young: into wild landscapes. Geoscientists
to a minimum in March due to the she and her colleagues are developing Gudrun Massmann and Luise Giani
coronavirus pandemic. Buildings new career guidance concepts and are studying these transformative
were closed to the public, courses materials for young people with intel- processes. Back on the mainland,
were held online only, and laboratory lectual disabilities. management expert Jörn Hoppmann
activities had to be severely restricted. is investigating why ecological and
The implications for our academic Business informatics scientist economic interests don't have to be
staff were enormous: as teachers they Jorge Marx Gómez is connecting big mutually exclusive and how sustain-
had to reorganise their classes, as data and pig farming. His team is ability can be a successful business
researchers they had to cope without working on new data science meth- strategy.
important infrastructural resources. ods that can assist farmers, as well as
So when, after a few weeks, a certain bike couriers and many other busi- A 1980s stage production was
normality was restored on campus nesses. Hearing researcher Simon instrumental in creating the image
and laboratories were "rebooted", Doclo is an expert on signal process- of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart as the
everyone breathed a sigh of relief. ing: he is studying the “cocktail party rock star of Viennese classical music.
effect” – our ability to filter out back- Musicologist Anna Langenbruch
COVID-19 is still having a con- ground noise during a conversation – is researching this unique form of
siderable impact on university life. with the ultimate goal of improving historiography.
Nonetheless, research, in all its va- this effect in hearing aids and mobile
riety, continues. Einblicke shines its phones.
ANZEIGE spotlight on a number of current pro-
jects. An interview with geriatrician
Tania Zieschang and medical ethicist
The North Sea island of Spieker-
oog may seem like a quiet place, but
We wish you a stimulating read!
Yours truly,
Mark Schweda deals with ageing it’s actually bustling with activity. the EINBLICKE editorial team
2 EINBLICKE 2020/21 3
Contents
Assisted communication: giving young people a voice
8 18
Aspects of ageing: on care robots and the things that never fade
32
Pretty loud in here: improving hearing with smart algorithms
36
Big data: new knowledge for farming and cycling in traffic
7 IN NUMBERS 16 MUSIC HISTORY 28 LANDSCAPE ECOLOGY 40 UGO NEWS
A billionth of a billionth of a second In the spotlight The birth of an island
A laboratory for ultrafast light pulses Musicologist Anna Langenbruch focuses Geoscientists Gudrun Massmann
on a very special form of historiography and Luise Giani investigate how groundwater 41 NEW APPOINTMENTS
and soils develop on new land
8 SPECIAL EDUCATION 51 DOCTORATES
Having a say in career choices 18 HEALTHCARE RESEARCH
Andrea Erdélyi develops career guidance A mirror of society 32 HEARING RESEARCH
concepts and materials for young An interview about ageing and old Tracking down speech signals 53 HABILITATIONS / IMPRINT
people with intellectual disabilities age with geriatrician Tania Zieschang Background noise and reverberations often
and medical ethicist Mark Schweda make speech difficult to understand, especially for
people with hearing devices. Hearing researcher
Simon Doclo is looking for – and finding – solutions
10 RESEARCH IN BRIEF
24 MANAGEMENT
In the service of sustainability
Management expert Jörn Hoppmann 36 BUSINESS INFORMATICS
on sustainability as a good business strategy The power of data
Jorge Marx Gómez is researching how
businesses can extract new knowledge from
existing image and text information
4 EINBLICKE 2020/21 5
In Numbers
10x10 -18
of a second =
1 attosecond
Scientists from the Institute of Physics help of a beam of noble gas. This creates
are working in a new laboratory and using light waves with an integer multiple of the
cutting-edge laser technology to create original frequency in the extreme ultravi-
inconceivably short light pulses lasting olet part of the light spectrum. „The way
less than 150 attoseconds. One attosec- it works is similar to playing a stringed
ond is equal to a billionth of a billionth instrument that, as well as fundamental
of a second. With these ultra-fast light frequency, also produces higher tones,
flashes, the researchers plan to study and so-called overtones,“ explains Prof. Dr.
ultimately control the movement of elec- Matthias Wollenhaupt. With these light
trons in atoms. The goal is to gain a better pulses of less than 150 attoseconds, far
understanding of ultra-fast processes smaller structures can be captured than
ANZEIGE such as those involved in the generation
of charges in the nanostructured mate-
rials of future generations of solar cells.
would be possible with a light micro-
scope. The construction of the laboratory
cost around two million euros and was
funded by the German Research Foun-
To turn femtosecond pulses into the dation (DFG), the Lower Saxony Ministry
even shorter attosecond laser pulses, the of Science and Culture (MWK) and the
researchers focus the laser light with the university's own resources.
Light takes about one The main discharge of The blink of a human
attosecond to travel a a lightning flash du- eye lasts a tenth of a
distance that corres- ring a thunderstorm second, or about
ponds to the size of a lasts about 30 micro- 0.1 seconds – a long
hydrogen atom. seconds, or 0.00003 time by comparison.
seconds.
6 EINBLICKE 2020/21 7
Special Education
the concepts and tools to simplify mel. However, only a small proportion picture for “singing“ under the head-
communication are lacking, for ex- of young people receive the help they ing “I can do that“, for example.
ample during the transition from need – partly because teachers are not In TiT, their current research pro-
school to the workplace. This is where sufficiently familiar with the various ject, which like its predecessor is fund-
Erdélyi and her team come in: their communication tools. ed by the Federal Ministry of Labour
two projects TiT (“Participation in According to Erdélyi, these tools can and Social Affairs (BMAS), Erdélyi,
the Transition Process“) and STABIL be particularly helpful in the critical Thümmel and their team have expand-
(“Self-determination and Participa- phase of transition from special school ed and updated the OLBoT for young
tion for All in the Choice of Career and to workplace – for two reasons: firstly, people from the 10th grade upwards,
Education and Training“) develop young people often either don’t have a based on insights gained from their
concepts and materials – from work clear plan for their career or are unable preliminary studies. It now contains a
folders to apps – that are designed to to articulate it. And secondly, teach- Transition Protocol and picture-based
help young adults express their own ers in the new environment are often communication boards, as well as Bob-
ideas and choices in cases where par- not informed about whether a young bie – a Career Guidance Book for Edu-
ents and carers would normally de- person on their course needs AAC, or cational Institutions.
cide for them. which forms of communication they This is based on the earlier compo-
It is by no means standard procedure use. nents, which have been revised, but
for young people with intellectual dis- also contains additional components
abilities to be asked what sort of career Easing the that deal with gaining practical experi-
they might want to pursue: “In many ence and setting objectives. Pupils can
cases their lives are mapped out for transition use it to explain what their dream job
them,“ says Erdélyi. Even today, many is or to express areas of learning that
attend a special school right from the Erdélyi and Thümmel addressed the interest them. This is the second step,
beginning. Those who are schooled on issue in a previous project, develop- however, not the first, because young
Having a say
an inclusive basis usually switch to a ing a preliminary concept and work people are often not aware of what
special school after primary educa- materials called the Oldenburg Box they want and what their dreams are,
tion. After that, they complete a two of Tools (OLBoT). Designed to ease the Erdélyi explains. She refers to this as
or three-year vocational training pro- transition from school to workplace, “acquired helplessness“: “When young
in career choices
gramme in a workshop for people with the box contains a Future Folder, a people are used to others deciding for
disabilities and then continue working Me Book and a Transition Protocol. them, they don’t develop their own
there. According to a 2017 study by the The Transition Protocol is already a goals“. The researchers have therefore
German Economic Institute (“Institut well-established tool, used by teachers added information on a range of oc-
der deutschen Wirtschaft“, IW), only to describe their pupils’ skills at the cupations so that school leavers can
about one percent of all the German end of their school education. For this learn more about the typical activities
Straight from the special school to a sheltered workshop: for many young people with companies that provide training offer project, Erdélyi added the AAC aspect, involved in these jobs and assess their
intellectual disabilities this career trajectory seems preordained – yet their wishes and ideas apprenticeships for people with intel- allowing teachers to indicate whether suitability.
lectual disabilities. a young adult relies on signs, pictures
are not particularly taken into account. Special education professor Andrea Erdélyi wants Another reason why communica- or speech generation devices for com- Bobbie
to change this with the help of designated toolkits tion about career goals often fails for munication.
Y
these young people is the limitations The Future Folder contains work in practice
in their ability to express themselves. materials for teachers to use when
Yet under the generic term “Augmen- discussing career choices in class and From the early stages of their research,
tative and Alternative Communication to help young people to express their Erdélyi and her team sought to work
(AAC)“, there is a whole range of tried dreams, fears and aspirations. The Me closely with the teaching staff at a
ears ago, when Prof. the young woman’s motivation and for Pedagogy and Didactics for Intel- and tested communication tools that Book is a folder in which young people special school, who tested the mate-
Dr. Andrea Erdélyi passions with her and it turned out lectual Disabilities at the University can be used by people with intellec- can present themselves, their social en- rials for the scientists and reported
was still working as that her main ambition was to care for of Oldenburg. But in all the interven- tual disabilities to make themselves vironment, their interests, strengths, on their experiences. The researchers
a special education others in her work – just as she cared ing years, her motivation has never understood – not only via complicated weaknesses and goals. When they will continue to rely on this feedback
teacher at a school, a pupil with a learn- for her younger siblings. Together with changed: “I want people with intel- speech processors, but also using sim- fill out the work materials, the pu- in the future. After all, the main hur-
ing disability told her about her career her pupil, Erdélyi then set out to find lectual disabilities to be listened to, ple systems such as pictograms. More pils generally use METACOM, an es- dle in the development of new work
aspirations: she wanted to be a doctor – her a suitable occupation. and their ideas, wishes and goals to be than a quarter of the pupils at special tablished AAC symbol system of more materials is the transition from de-
an impossible goal for a young person Erdélyi has passed through many taken seriously.“ schools in Lower Saxony rely on AAC, than 10,000 symbols, most of which velopment to practice: “A study from
who would never obtain a higher edu- stages during her transition from spe- But how to achieve this with young according to the results of a state-wide are self-explanatory. The symbols are 1997 which was fundamental to our
cation entrance qualification, let alone cial education teacher at a Bavarian adults who have difficulties forming study jointly conducted by Erdélyi and printed on small cards which pupils work shows that ultimately, about 75
study at university. Erdélyi discussed school to her current post as Professor complete sentences? In many cases her colleague Prof. Dr. Ingeborg Thüm- stick onto a booklet. They can stick a percent of the innovations developed
8 EINBLICKE 2020/21 9
"Bobbie" helps young people with cognitive disabilities to learn In the STABIL project, Andrea Erdélyi develops career orientation apps for
more about themselves and their job options. young adults.
in research projects are not used in career orientation and training and The results of the first tests were very
schools. With Bobbie, we want to avoid on the development of digital work promising: many of the young people
this at all costs,“ says Erdélyi. She and materials. Oldenburg software com- were highly motivated and focused
her team now plan to test the mate- panies are working with Erdélyi and when working on individual app
rials at 50 schools and with around her colleague Prof. Dr. Rudolf Schröder, modules, and were able to fill in the
120 teachers across Germany. The test Oldenburg Professor of Economic Ed- questionnaire independently, Erdélyi
design splits the teachers into three ucation with a special emphasis on reports with satisfaction. This is also
groups: the first group will be given career orientation, to develop three because the apps combine different
Bobbie, along with explanations and
ideas for designing lessons. A second
group will receive additional support
interconnected apps, each with its own
particular focus. The apps are designed
to help teenagers and young adults –
means of communication, she ex-
plains: “Every statement is available
in writing and in simple language
ANZEIGE
via a designated website where teach- working together with their carers – and can be read out loud by the app“. A
ers can watch tutorials and exchange to provide clear answers to questions matching picture also appears for each
ideas with colleagues. The third group about individual qualities and skills question. At the end, the respondents
of teachers will also receive individu- that are relevant to the workplace. They receive feedback on their self-assess-
al support from the researchers. The can also be used to find suitable train- ment.
team plans to use the insights gained ing programmes. Erdélyi and her colleagues plan to
in this project to optimize the mate- To develop a list of appropriate ques- continue testing the apps in work-
rials for regular use in schools and, tions for their questionnaire, the re- shops and schools in 2021, to the extent
above all, identify effective strategies searchers in Erdélyi’s team analysed that this is possible under the restric-
for implementation. competence assessment procedures tions imposed due to the coronavirus
and curricula, while Schröder’s team pandemic. With this approach they
An app for choosing analysed training schemes for peo- hope to integrate parents, teachers,
ple with intellectual disabilities. They career advisers and trainers into the
the right profession worked out which qualities and skills project, so that they, too, can use the
are most relevant for the individual app to provide input about the young
Financed by the Federal Ministry of occupations and formulated simple adults under their supervision. After-
Education and Research (BMBF), the statements such as “I can take tele- wards, young adults and their carers
STABIL project also focuses on devel- phone calls“ or “I am very tidy“, togeth- can discuss the results. “The important
oping materials to help with choosing er with a few simple response options. thing is to take the different results se-
a career. Together with partners from The app aims to provide useful partial riously – not only the assessment of the
science and industry, Erdélyi focus- results, even if respondents don’t man- carers, but also the self-assessment of
es on school leavers or young adults age to answer all the questions. There- the young people“, Erdélyi emphasizes.
working in workshops for disabled fore, questions on the key competences “This is a good example of what the
people who want to plan the next required in a large number of occupa- projects as a whole stand for: listening
steps in their career. The emphasis tions were placed at the beginning of to what these young people have to
here is therefore on a later stage of the questionnaire. say.“ (isr)
10 EINBLICKE 2020/21 11
Research in Brief
Threshold values under scrutiny New method Looking
for EEG scans inside a battery
Tipping points have become a relevant tipping points. In an extensive analy- an ecosystem reacted, thresholds were
concept in environmental research. sis published in the scientific journal detectable in only three of 36 cases, the User-friendly, comfortable and in the Oldenburg chemists have developed a
The idea suggests that an ecosystem Nature Ecology and Evolution, the re- scientists found. Further simulations future almost invisible: Oldenburg new method to allow real-time observa-
tips into a different, often worse state, searchers indicate that tipping points showed that even small environmental brain researchers have presented a tion of previously inaccessible activity in
as soon as a particular stressor crosses are almost impossible to identify on the changes cause a variety of reactions in new method for long-term monitor- batteries on a microscopic level, accord-
a threshold. For example, the tiniest basis of environmental data. ecosystems. But existing data often ing of the brain’s electrical activity. ing to a paper published in the scientific Learning from
algae can cause reef damage by The team studied a total of 36 me- does not reflect these fluctuations – In the Journal of Neural Engineering journal ChemElectroChem by a team in
sea cucumbers
growing too quickly thereby super- ta-analyses, which statistically sum- and therefore provides no evidence of the team led by neuropsychologists the Chemistry Department led by Prof.
seding the corals when the amount of marize the findings from some 4,600 thresholds. Prof. Dr. Stefan Debener and Sarah Dr. Gunther Wittstock. The technique Sea cucumbers possess a
nutrients in the water is too high. This ecological field experiments on the The idea that ecosystems remain stable Blum reported that their f EEGrid they used is known as scanning elec- natural anti-fouling mech-
implies that if an ecosystem is to re- impact of environmental stressors. The within a clearly defined range must (flex-printed forehead EEG) device trochemical microscopy, or SECM. This anism, according to paper
main stable, environmental stressors study is thus the most comprehensive therefore be abandoned, the research- captured similar brain signals as con- involves slowly moving a measuring published in the science jour-
such as those resulting from glob- analysis of scientific literature on glob- ers conclude. The focus on tipping ventional EEGs yet causes almost no probe across the surface of a sample to nal Marine Drugs by a team
al change should not exceed these al change to date. The researchers used points risks overlooking smaller and inconvenience to users when worn collect chemical data at intervals of just of researchers led by Prof. Dr.
thresholds. the data to calculate how strongly a more gradual, but no less impactful over periods of eight hours in everyday a few micrometres (a few thousandths of Peter Schupp at the Institute
Now, however, an international team system reacts to a particular stressor. changes. Scientists and policy makers situations. The new, flexible measur- a millimetre). The researchers developed for Chemistry and Biology
led by Prof. Dr. Helmut Hillebrand, They then tested statistically whether should therefore pay close attention ing device would enable future EEG a special measuring cell in which they of the Marine Environment
director of the Helmholtz Institute greater stressors induce stronger re- to the size and duration of random scans to be conducted outside the lab- could directly obtain high-resolution (ICBM). The cylindrical
for Functional Marine Biodiversity at actions and whether any indicators of fluctuations and their possible con- oratory – and without the unpleas- information about the surface of metal- animals can prevent other
the University of Oldenburg, has cast thresholds could be inferred from this. sequences to be able to act according ant side effects often experienced by lic lithium electrodes during charging organisms from growing on
doubt on whether environmental pol- Although the degree of stress caused by to the precautionary principle in the patients undergoing long-term brain and discharging cycles. The team paid them by producing special
icies should be based on the concept of a stressor did influence how strongly future. wave measurement. For their study, particular attention to the extremely chemical compounds known
the team conducted tests with twenty thin layer that forms on the surface of as saponins. The researchers
healthy volunteers. The test subjects the electrodes. This new technique could studied various species of
wore the mobile EEG devices for a to- help speed up the search for suitable sea cucumbers off the coast
tal of eight hours as they went about materials for new generations of bat- of Indonesia and Guam.
their daily activities. teries, the researchers said. They discovered that the
As a result of environmental changes, ecosys-
tems such as coral reefs can suddenly be tipped anti-fouling effect of the
into a different, often worse state. However, substances varied according
such tipping points are often almost impossible to the sea cucumber species,
to pinpoint in advance. the concentration of the
saponins and their molecular
structure. The team was
able to identify saponins that
New ideas A boost for were particularly effective
for rural areas digital teaching in terms of anti-fouling. This
knowledge could be used
How to make post-school education Together with partners at the Universi- to develop environmentally
available outside urban areas? Re- ty of Vechta and the Osnabrück Univer- friendly paint that prevents
searchers at the University of Olden- sity of Applied Sciences, lecturers at the organisms from growing on
burg are investigating this question in University of Oldenburg are developing ships and marine measuring
a sub-project of the research project In- “Open Educational Resources“ for edu- devices, for example. The
DaLE (“Innovative Approaches to Pub- cation management and inclusive ed- anti-fouling paints currently
lic Services“), which is funded by the ucation in two new projects. These free in use are mostly not biode-
Federal Office of Agriculture and Food and open-access teaching and learning gradable and are toxic for
and coordinated by the University of resources will range from individual aquatic life.
Hannover. The Oldenburg team led by videos to entire online courses and are
Prof. Dr. Ingo Mose analyses examples aimed at education managers and stu-
of successful educational programmes dents in teacher training. Each of the
in European countries such as Sweden two projects has been awarded a grant
and Scotland. The aim is to find out from Lower-Saxony’s Ministry of Sci-
whether these approaches would also ence and Education of around 170,000
work in Germany. euros over a period of eighteen months.
12 EINBLICKE 2020/21 13
Research in Brief
A nanolaser made of gold and zinc oxide
Tiny particles made of metals and For the study, the physicists produced The resulting coated particles are capa-
semiconducting materials could be nano-materials that combine the opti- ble of changing the colour of incident
used as light sources in the compo- cal properties of metals and semicon- light. If red laser light is directed at
nents of future optical computers – ductors. First, they took sponge-like them, for example, they emit short-
thanks to their ability to dramatical- particles of gold with a diametre of wave blue laser light. The colour of the
ly concentrate and amplify incident just a few hundred nanometres (one light depends on the exact properties of
laser light. In the scientific journal nanometre is equal to one billionth the nanomaterial. These nanoparticles
Nature Communications, a team of of a metre) and pores approximately could function as tiny light sources –
researchers from Germany and Swe- ten nanometres in size. The team then nanolasers so to speak – in future op-
den led by Oldenburg physicists Prof. developed a procedure for coating the tical computers that compute using
Dr. Christoph Lienau and Dr. Jin-Hui particles with a thin layer of the sem- photons rather than electrons. Poten-
Zhong described how the process iconductor zinc oxide that penetrates tial sites of application are ultra-fast
works. the tiny pores of the gold particles. optical switches and transistors.
Measuring the wind upstream
Wind ramps are strong fluctua- led by Prof. Dr. Martin Kühn uses resolution of lidar devices. The
tions in wind speed and direction the laser-based remote sensing necessary data is being collect-
that take place within a period of technology lidar (light detec- ed in a two-year measuring
less than thirty minutes. To more tion and ranging) to calculate campaign at the Nordergründe
accurately forecast their occur- distances and wind speeds. These offshore wind farm northeast of
rence, scientists at the ForWind measurements will be used to Wangerooge. The “WindRamp”
Centre for Wind Energy Research develop an “observer-support- research project is being funded Students' research on the coronavirus pandemic
and their project partners aim ed wind energy forecast“ that by the German Federal Ministry
to measure wind speeds several can be integrated into existing for Economic Affairs and Energy Is social contact as important as we as varied as the students' prior knowl- offered a good opportunity for them
kilometres “upstream” of wind forecasting methods. Another with 2.75 million euros over three think it is? What new word combi- edge and academic backgrounds, to try out new or more ambitious re-
farms using lasers. The team goal is to improve the range and years. nations have emerged since the start which ranged from education- search methods. All the teams were
of the coronavirus pandemic? Which al sciences, social sciences, cultural assisted by one or two members of the
stress factors and problems have par- studies, German studies and histo- teaching staff who provided academic
ents had to deal with over the past few ry to the natural and health scienc- supervision.
months? Around 50 students from five es. The teams investigated questions “The topics and challenges that the
different faculties examined questions such as how the university's energy students dealt with in their projects
like these in independent research pro- use changed during lockdown, the varied greatly. What they all had in
Monitoring ship emissions more effectively jects between June and November. The potential of digital media for prac- common was the desire to link current
university provided 100,000 euros in tice-oriented music teaching, and developments with the knowledge ac-
Around 90 percent of global trade takes developing a new monitoring network sea surface and in the air. Drones and funding for these projects as part of its the consequences of pandemic-re- quired during their studies, and thus
place along the shipping routes of the as part of the EU joint research project equipment from research ships will be teaching approach forschen@studium lated restrictions, for international understand them better,“ explained
world’s oceans. Shipping emissions are MATE (“Maritime Traffic Emissions: A used in conjunction with a network of (research@curriculum). The money was students in particular. Several teams Dr. Susanne Haberstroh, Research-
not only harmful for the marine envi- monitoring network“). profiling floats. used to cover material costs and also from the international programme Based Learning Spokesperson. Pro-
ronment but also for the health of peo- One aim of the project is to better This measuring network will allow to hire students as student assistants “European Master in Migration moting the passion for research was
ple living in densely inhabited coastal calculate the precise dimensions of the researchers to meet the demand for the duration of the projects. A total Studies and Intercultural Relations“ one of the main objectives of the call
regions and near ports. To measure and contamination events such as those for new environmental monitoring of 27 teams applied in response to the (EMMIR) focused on the concept of for proposals. The teams presented the
track these emissions more effectively resulting from shipping collisions, for systems to ensure compliance with in- call for proposals, of which 19 were se- “home“ in their projects, examining results in a virtual poster session on
in the future, a German-French team example. Over the next three years ternational emissions regulations. The lected. Prof. Dr. Verena Pietzner, Vice how this has changed during the pan- 26 November to mark the annual
of researchers led by Oldenburg marine the team will work to develop novel German Federal Ministry for Economic President for Instruction and Interna- demic. Since many of the EMMIR stu- “Teaching and Learning Day“, which
chemist Prof. Dr. Oliver Wurl of the methods of automated, 24-hour track- Affairs and Energy is providing the tional Affairs, acted as patron for the dents have already carried out their aims at improving knowledge exchange
Institute for Chemistry and Biology ing of pollutants such as soot, oil, sul- German project partners with approx- initiative. own research projects in the course and experiences in higher education
of the Marine Environment (ICBM) is phur dioxide and plastic debris on the imately 1.6 million euros in funding. The topics of the funded projects were of their studies, the call for proposals teaching and learning approaches.
14 EINBLICKE 2020/21 15
W
Music History
olfgang Ama- foundations for the project when she of life. With Sylvester Levay’s 1999 mu-
deus Mozart as was a research assistant at the Music sical “Mozart!“ the transformation to
the rock star of Department, before becoming a Fellow rebel was complete: Mozart defies his
classical music in the German Research Foundation’s controlling father and attempts to es-
– many people have this image in their renowned Emmy Noether Programme cape the constrictive corset of his time.
heads. But Mozart’s superstar status is in 2016. With the funding from the The musical uses contemporary rock
a relatively new phenomenon – stem- programme she then set up her re- and pop music for its songs and fea-
ming primarily from Peter Shaffer’s search group, which currently has sev- tures only brief recordings of Mozart’s
play “Amadeus“ and Miloš Forman’s en members. music.
film of the same name from 1984. “This A further focus of the junior re-
shows how much theatre productions search group is to apply ethnographic
can influence our perception of his- “Historiography methods to the study of contemporary
torical figures,“ Dr. Anna Langenbruch becomes a choir productions. One area of research here
says. of voices.” is how particular gender roles or stere-
It is this unusual approach to his- otypes – for example Marlene Dietrich
toriography that Langenbruch and as femme fatale – developed. To gain
her research group “Music History on Since then she and her colleagues have insights into this process the research-
Stage“ are studying at the universi- continued to work diligently on the ers watch rehearsals and performances
ty’s Music Department. Their research database – it now contains informa- and conduct interviews with directors
covers everything from plays featuring tion on nearly a thousand productions, and performers.
music to musicals and operas about gathered from archives, libraries and A special feature of historiographi-
In the spotlight
musicians or events in the history of digital collections. It provides informa- cal music theatre that can be observed
music. Works such as “Les trois ages tion on themes, authors, genres, dates in all the research group’s projects is
de l’opéra”, an opera that dates back to and locations of productions as well as that it makes it possible to study how
1778 about the history of French opera, related sources. Painstaking detective people interpret history and argue over
as well as very recent productions such work is often needed to secure this it. Not only does it shed light on the
as Marina Abramović’s “7 Deaths of knowledge, because scripts and other views and attitudes of those directly
Maria Callas“, which only came out this original sources can be hard to track involved in the productions, both on
year (2020). down. and back stage, but also on those of
Langenbruch’s team is the first Using the data, the researchers can audiences and critics. They, too, discuss
to conduct comprehensive scholarly determine, for example, whether and historical content and correct, supple-
research on historiographical music how a musician has been “canonized“, ment or comment on it accordingly, as
theatre. The team’s objective is to study in other words, accepted into the ranks Langenbruch’s research has shown.
it as an independent historiograph- of the “great artists“ and idolized. His- “In this way historiography becomes
ical genre. After all, music history in toriographical music theatre certainly a choir of voices,“ the researcher says.
theatre functions differently to music has the power to do this, says Daniel And the music itself becomes an inter-
history in book form. “Our knowledge Samaga, a doctoral student in Lan- mediary of history. “Compositions are
about personalities or events in music genbruch’s research group. The music performed centuries after they were
History is not only something you read history is often based on contemporary historian is working on so-called “au- written, and in the process, they are
about; it can also be heard and felt. Together depictions such as in films or on stage. thentication strategies“ in productions rearranged to cater to shifts in listen-
In these formats, historiography be- about Mozart – in other words, he is ing habits.“
with her team, musicologist Anna Langenbruch
comes something that we can listen studying how historical credibility Thus, the creative, artistic approach
researches how music history is presented on to, see and feel,“ Langenbruch says. is communicated to the viewer. His of historiographical music theatre has
stage Such “audio-images“ are all the more analysis of the productions also shows just as powerful an influence on his-
interesting when they relate to music how much the theatrical portrayal of a toriography as other forms – and all
history, she notes. historical figure can change over time. of these forms should be taken into
A cornerstone of her research is an “Here we clearly see society’s influence account, Langenbruch continues. “Be-
extensive database – the only one in on this form of historiography,“ he em- cause our relationship to history partly
the world that brings together works of phasizes. determines our self-perception, it in-
historiographical music theatre from Whereas in the nineteenth century fluences how we see the world, and this
the eighteenth to the twenty-first cen- Mozart was portrayed as an introverted is something we discuss with others.
tury and makes them accessible for artist, a musical comedy from 1925 saw That has a direct impact on our lives
further research. Langenbruch laid the him seducing women from all walks today.” (kbo)
16 EINBLICKE 2020/21 17
Healthcare Research
A mirror
of society
Ageing and old age affect everyone and can be stu-
died from many different perspectives. Geriatrician
Tania Zieschang and philosopher Mark Schweda
discuss the focus on negative aspects and useful
resources, the protection of the elderly in the pande-
mic, robots in care – and what stays with us
Structured floor panels simulate natural surfaces in the university's Gait Laboratory, which is jointly run by the Institute of Sports
Science and the Division of Geriatrics. The panels can be used for motor training or analysis of the movement patterns that people use
to compensate for surface irregularities.
Professor Zieschang, like virtually marathons or learning new lan- athon runner – just aren’t what they A socially defined role. are themselves increasingly perceived capable of doing, and the potential that
all organisms, humans age. When guages, but at the same time there were in youth. It is this vulnerable and Schweda: Cultural ideas are key here – as diseases. is there. We also look at how the social
does this process begin? are 70-year-olds who are completely highly heterogeneous group that we the images we have in our minds. Quite Zieschang: In geriatrics and in medi- environment can be used as a resource
Zieschang: In some respects, it begins dependent on care. As a geriatrician, focus on. often these are very negative and focus cine in general, we are seeing a certain to help the patient in the future. That
at birth. By the time we’re 20, at the my focus is on people who need a high Schweda: Aging is indeed a complex only on deficits. Medicine is not entire- shift away from this purely pathol- changes a lot in people’s minds. How-
latest, changes can be detected at both level of support, whose independence and multidimensional phenomenon. ly blameless here. If you look at an ag- ogy-oriented deficit model and in- ever, I admit that we geriatricians also
the cellular and molecular levels. The is at risk or already restricted. This is First of all, it’s a basic calendar fact: ing person from a medical perspective, creased focus on the process of creating tend to relapse into the deficit mode
telomeres – the ends of our chromo- particularly the case among the over- as time goes by the years accumulate, the first thing you see are physiologi- and maintaining health, also known as of thinking. Medicine starts from the
somes – become shorter, cells undergo 80s, but there are also people in their and this changes – quite literally – our cal degradation processes, dwindling salutogenesis. This is a way of thinking premise that good health is the normal
changes, certain metabolic products seventies who are multimorbid – standpoint in life. So in addition to the reserves and declining performance. that I happily offer my patients: that state, and society from the premise of
accumulate. So we see signs of aging in in other words, those who suffer from already mentioned functional aspect, Yet from other perspectives, aging has it’s actually a miracle that our organ- the perfect face with smooth skin, in
young people too. It starts pretty early on. more than one chronic illness. aging is also a psychological and men- much more positive connotations. In ism regulates itself over decades de- which wrinkles are seen as flaws. A
tal process: something happens to us, the philosophical tradition, for ex- spite all the disruptive factors. A huge study has shown that people whose
Many disciplines, from biology and So your main criterion is the need our perception of things changes. And ample, aging is often associated with effort that we barely perceive goes into perception of old age is shaped by neg-
psychology to the social sciences, for support? finally, aging is also a social phenome- wisdom, with a life experience that achieving this balanced state known as ative stereotypes have shrinkage of
study the phenomenon of old age Zieschang: Precisely. Naturally we non. Whether we count as old or not is gives you a view of the bigger picture homeostasis. the hippocampus. This is the region of
and aging. How do you – a geriatri- can all suddenly be confronted with decided, not least, by others. In modern and more insight. The fact that nowa- the brain that first undergoes changes
cian and an ethicist – view old age? the loss of independence due to an industrial societies, the threshold to old days we perceive aging mainly from a So you deliberately focus on the re- in Alzheimer’s disease. Additionally, a
Zieschang: First of all, we have to accident or serious illness. However, age is retirement. In the past you were medical perspective is on the one hand sources. longitudinal observation study showed
be clear about how heterogeneous I’m talking about patients who can be given a golden watch and sent home to important, because a lot can now be Zieschang: We have integrated this that people with a negative attitude
the older generation is – far more so plunged into a downwards spiral by sit in your armchair and wait. For what? done about age-related impairments approach into our work in geriatrics. In towards old age have a significantly
than younger age groups. There are a minor infection or alteration. The For death! For a long time, this was the and diseases. On the other, however, team meetings we make a point of de- higher risk of dementia. So it seems to
80-year-olds who are still running reserves – even in an 80-year-old mar- role that older people were given. there is the risk that aspects of old age scribing all the things a patient is still be also up to us. One hypothesis: If, as
18 EINBLICKE 2020/21 19Prof. Dr. Mark Schweda Prof. Dr. Tania Zieschang
Mark Schweda has been teaching and researching medical ethics at the Since the beginning of 2019, Tania Zieschang holds the professorship for geriatrics at
Department of Health Services Research since 2018. He won the 2015 the Department of Health Services Research and has been director of the University
Habilitation Award at the University of Göttingen's medical faculty. Be- Clinic for Geriatrics at the Klinikum Oldenburg and of the Clinic for Geriatric Rehabi-
fore that, Schweda completed his doctorate at the Department of Phi- litation at the Rehazentrum Oldenburg. Before coming to Oldenburg, she comple-
losophy of the Humboldt University in Berlin and worked at the Institute ted her doctorate in Bochum and then worked for many years in Heidelberg at the
of Ethics and History of Medicine in Tübingen, and other institutions. In University Hospital and other institutions, and was Acting Medical Director of the
addition to the ethical aspects of ageing and old age, his research focuses Agaplesion Bethanien Hospital. Zieschang is a specialist in internal medicine, clinical
on the use of assistive technologies and the impact of digitalization in geriatrics and palliative care. Her research focuses on promoting physical activity,
healthcare. training and fall prevention in the elderly and dementia patients in particular.
a society, we focus more on the advan- isation, that the older generation is considered important, it by no means How do you see this from an ethical We have yet to see the after-effects in rality. Morality has to do with consid-
tages of aging, age-related cognitive heterogeneous, and a single standard plays a dominant role – aspects such as perspective? countries like Italy, France and Spain eration for others, with sensitivity for
decline could be considerably reduced. image of old age can’t do this. Aging participation, education and staying Schweda: In an uncertain situation, it that were struck hard in the first phase each individual’s need for protection
is an ambivalent process with both active are in the foreground. We must was right to take a cautious approach of the pandemic – perhaps in the form and help. In this respect, vulnerabil-
What’s your view on this, Professor positive and negative aspects that can therefore ask people what they actually and put comprehensive protective of post-traumatic stress disorders or ity is a fundamental characteristic of
Schweda? You did a research pro- have very different outcomes both at think, and not just rely on models for- measures in place. But now we have a in the form of emotional blunting in all human beings. And then there are
ject on the idea of “successful aging“ the individual and societal level. mulated by experts. better idea of the risks, and it is our duty increasingly streamlined healthcare particularly vulnerable groups, such
from a normative perspective … Zieschang: All over the world, social to examine what measures are really systems. All these effects will also need as those we focus on in research eth-
Schweda: The discussion about posi- structures and attitudes towards ag- Professor Zieschang, you mentioned necessary and effective. We must find to be evaluated in the future. ics: Do pregnant women need special
tive images of aging has been going on ing are changing. It is important not the importance of social resources – creative solutions, for example for care protection in medical studies? What
for five or six decades. “Successful Ag- to create pressure by making rules but in the coronavirus pandemic so- homes. This means constantly balanc- The term “vulnerability“ was just about children or the elderly, or people
ing“, by which we mean active, healthy for how everyone should age. What cial contacts have been considerably ing measures to contain the spread of mentioned. This is something you with cognitive impairments such as
and productive aging, is the buzzword “aging well“ means is determined in- reduced. What do you think about the virus with fundamental rights and investigated in a research project. dementia? We have an obligation to
that was used in the gerontological dividually and on the basis of one’s the restrictions for residents of care freedoms, quality of life and health. You examined the question of our take special protective measures with
and, later on, political debate. The idea own history. For patients born in the homes, for example? Zieschang: I think it’s good that in Ger- moral obligations vis-à-vis the vul- regard to people whose interests are
was to overcome the traditional, defi- 1920s, having attained a certain level Zieschang: That’s a controversial is- many a clear decision was made from nerability of the older generation. particularly at risk.
cit-oriented images of aging. But ulti- of security is often sufficient – a roof sue since these people can’t make the the outset: we will protect vulnerable Did you come up with an answer?
mately this has led to a new problem, over one’s head, having enough to eat, decision themselves, but are subject to groups, including older people, and Schweda: In moral philosophy there You just mentioned a vulnerable
namely that we now have one-sided, being well cared for and surrounded by rules made by the care home manage- we are prepared to pay a high social are schools of thought according to group, dementia patients, which you
positive images of aging that can put cherished mementos and the know- ment and politicians. For older people and economic price for this. It is a con- which vulnerability is ultimately the are both researching – potential-
us under tremendous pressure. Illness ledge that one’s children have made living at home, weighing up the pros siderable sacrifice on the part of the root of all morality. If we as human ly working together in the future.
and fragility are perceived as person- something of themselves. Those born and cons hasn’t been and isn’t easy community, which I also see as strong beings were not vulnerable, if we were What is your focus here?
al failures and a deviation from the in the 1930s, and certainly those born either. We are currently examining protection for us health care providers. made of stone, we would not need mo- Zieschang: The risk of developing de-
standard of the fit and active “silver in the 1940s, are generally less easily the impact of the restrictions in a re-
ager”. satisfied. search project conducted with people
Schweda: Ultimately, old age holds aged 60 and upwards. In care homes,
"If we were made of up a mirror to society. The baby boo- as in rehabilitation centres and hos-
mer generation, for whom the ideals pitals, extremely restrictive measures
stone, we would not need of self-realisation, staying active and were simply put in place without any
morality." youthfulness are key to a good life, is consultation. Patients perhaps had
Mark Schweda now reaching the retirement age. This the option of refusing rehabilitation
is likely to have a lasting impact on measures under these conditions, or
our perception of aging. However, we breaking off this or that treatment –
So one-sided concepts of aging are may well see a clash when these ide- but people in care homes have no other
not a solution? als come up against the inescapable home. Yet they weren’t adequately and
Schweda: The concept of “Success- realities of aging. I’m curious to see regularly involved in the discussion.
ful Aging“, which originated in the what happens. In the research pro- I find this problematic, particularly
U.S., reflects social values that have not ject mentioned above, we also worked because when it comes to rolling out a
been properly considered, and that’s a empirically and asked people who are vaccination programme, we’re talking
problem. The need for critical reflec- getting older – it affects us all – what about a period of time that may well
tion here is one finding of our research they consider to be a good, successful extend beyond the lifetime of many Aging is also the subject of univer-
project. We need more nuanced images life in old age. We observed that peo- care home residents. For some of them sity teaching: wearing an "ageing
of old age. We must take into account ple’s ideas on the subject vary greatly, this means restrictions for the rest of suit", medical students at the
that aging is a process of individual- and that while good health is certainly their life. university's Clinical Training Centre
gain first-hand experience of typical
symptoms of old age.
20 EINBLICKE 2020/21 21Robotic assistance systems for use in nursing care are tested and analysed in the Nurs- How to prevent falls in older persons? The team at the Division of Geriatrics is investigating this and related questions in a research
ing Laboratory at the Division of Assistance Systems and Medical Device Technology. project. A perturbation treadmill that simulates lurching movements (left) like those of a bus in traffic can be used to analyse dynamic
balancing. Depth-image cameras record and display reactions to perturbation (right).
mentia has decreased in recent dec- so-called key carers – “Bezugs- cognitively impaired, I may not even be Schweda: That appears to be a wide- Each positive interaction can help pa- Schweda: Unfortunately, as a society
ades. However, due to the increasing pflegekräfte“ in German – who don’t able to understand what is happening. spread view. Our project, on the oth- tients, also in the long term. we propagate an image of dementia
older population, the absolute num- work in shifts and who are only re- We currently have a project in which er hand, starts from the premise that as the worst thing that could happen.
bers are rising. Since nowadays hos- sponsible for dementia patients. These we are looking at the effects on patients people with dementia absolutely need The emotional dimension remains. According to this logic some people
pitals perform as many operations as patients seem to benefit greatly from and their relatives, particularly from privacy, and that we perhaps need to Schweda: And that is a perfect example would prefer to die rather than live
possible as outpatient procedures, the this system. In addition, we evaluate the point of view of privacy. review our understanding of this con- of what studying dementia can do for with dementia. We need to work on
proportion of particularly vulnerable how this impacts the rest of the care cept in order to adequately reflect this – us: it reveals certain dimensions of this. We don’t want to trivialise de-
and older patients in hospitals is grow- team on the ward. Although the extra You also plan to talk to this group even if the individuals in question per- human existence that we often ignore. mentia and the dramatic changes that
ing: today, 40 percent of acute care pa- staff on the ward cares for “difficult“ of potential users of such technolo- haps no longer realise that their priva- The American bioethicist Stephen Post accompany it, but this exaggerated
tients aged 65 and over have cognitive patients, this also requires addition- gies. Have you started the empirical cy is being violated. says that we live in a “hypercognitive doom-mongering that results from
impairment. I have been studying the al organisation, and it’s important to work? Zieschang: Or forget it immediately. society“ that places inordinate em- a one-dimensional self-image that is
special requirements of this group of make sure that there is someone who Schweda: Not yet, due to the pan- Schweda: So perhaps we need to revise phasis on people’s powers of rational also narcissistic …
patients ever since I started working in feels responsible for the patient at all demic. But my research also contains how we think about privacy. We must thinking and memory. This means that Zieschang: For example when celeb-
healthcare research. As a young doctor I hours of the day. The fact that these theoretical components – it’s about consider what it really means for us all many other aspects are disregarded: rities choose to commit suicide after
helped set up a special ward for demen- key carers have more flexible working formulating perspectives, categories to have a private sphere, beyond the embodiment, emotionality and affec- a dementia diagnosis, there appears
tia patients at the Bethanien Hospital hours and can focus more intensively and ethical principles, and applying protection of personal data. Particular- tivity. In the process of studying de- to be so much vanity in that decision –
in Heidelberg. This project was the first on caring for their patients can also them to a specific problem. And what ly when it comes to home care, where mentia, I personally am learning that they can’t bear the idea of the façade
of its kind to be published in Germany. provoke feelings of envy. is already clear is that although priva- there is very intimate contact between we also need to think about ethical crumbling.
cy is a major topic in the debate about patient and carer in a familiar envi- questions in a new way.
"Many dementia patients Are assistive technology systems an ethics, when it comes to constantly ronment, something changes when Zieschang: I have encountered many The loss of control.
alternative in care, Professor Schwe- monitoring and controlling certain technologies suddenly come into play. families in which a case of dementia Zieschang: Precisely.
nonetheless retain an da? vital functions, physiological parame- This is what we want to explore in our has added an entirely new emotional Schweda: What we can learn from
emotional memory." Schweda: Smart technologies that ters or daily activities in care, in cases interviews. depth to the relationships with the reflecting on aging and old age in gen-
Tania Zieschang assist with care are a growing trend. of dementia this category seems to Zieschang: What many people proba- patient. This is particularly evident eral is to accept that our possibilities
They are finding their way into the fade into the background. There is very bly don’t realise is that many patients with men born in the 1920s who may and capacities are limited. And to not
care of older people in general, and the little research in this area that deals with impaired short-term memo- have shown very little emotion over the narcissistically perceive our mortality
You recently launched a research care of people with dementia in par- systematically with the privacy of de- ry nonetheless retain an emotional course of their lives, but when suddenly and limitations as an insult, but to
project in which, although you have ticular. This raises a number of ethical mentia patients in general, or with memory of situations. That means that all the cognitive abilities start to fall recognise these things as part of our
not set up a new special ward in Old- questions about the quality of care, their privacy in the context of assistive although they may no longer be able to away, an inner core is revealed. Some human existence.
enburg, you are creating a new sys- questions such as: What impact does technologies in particular. remember an encounter on a cognitive families emerge stronger from this Zieschang: And also recognise that we
tem in this branch of care. Have you interacting with monitoring systems level, certain emotions remain im- experience, with the feeling that they can’t determine how our lives end. At
gained any new insights yet? or, for instance, a social robot actually So these patients supposedly don’t printed – whether I felt comfortable or, have at last come to know this person some point we have to let go.
Zieschang: In our project we have have on a patient? Particularly if I am need privacy? whether instead I felt misunderstood. properly. Interview: Deike Stolz
22 EINBLICKE 2020/21 23You can also read
