This thesis considers obstacles to the constitution of a new student movement in pursuit of a democratically organized university. The issue is construed in line with the classical problem of translating emancipatory theory into political practice and addressed from a Marxist and ideology-theoretical perspective with three focal points. Firstly, a common theme across various critical and Marxist accounts of pedagogy is theoretically reconstructed and explored, namely the conception of education as ambivalently conservative and emancipatory in character. This contradiction serves as a starting point for notions of revolutionary pedagogy, but also presents itself as a threat to the reproduction of existing economic and social relations to the ruling power-bloc. In other words, there is an interest in preventing emancipatory impulses from manifesting in political practice. Secondly, the resulting insights inform an ideology-theoretical analysis of concrete practice-forms in higher education, with an emphasis on practices of academic self-governance. It is established that under certain conditions, these forms may serve as obstacles to emancipatory practice while ideologically suggesting self-rule, thereby reinforcing the defunct state of academic democracy and student and staff organizing. The ideological is conceived as one dimension and modality of domination in a larger complex of repressive structures. Thirdly, some strategic conclusions are drawn in regards to strengthening the emancipatory element of education and overcoming these obstacles in pursuit of uniting theory and practice in the university context and beyond. The thesis mobilizes a practice-theoretical understanding of Marxism, deliberations from the ideology theory of Projekt Ideologietheorie, as well as some political guidance from the revolutionary Marxist tradition, against a background of Perry Anderson’s work on the historical theory-practice divorce.

Neuroplatform is a research platform created by FinalSpark which offers biological ‘minibrains’ or neurospheres built on top of multi-electrode-arrays to be used for Wetware Computing. This thesis explores strategies for reinforcement learning on a mini-brain using which it ‘learns’ to adapt itself towards a target. Several computation methods are therefore used to analyse the events in the mini-brain in order to develop a quantifiable learning algorithm.

Diese Masterarbeit untersucht (queer)feministische Perspektiven auf Care-Arbeit in einer commonistischen Gesellschaft und verknüpft diese Analyse mit der Debatte um demokratische Planwirtschaft. Ausgangspunkt ist die Feststellung, dass Care-Arbeit in utopischen Entwürfen nicht-kapitalistischer Gesellschaften, wie dem Commonismus von Sutterlütti und Meretz, oft vernachlässigt oder unzureichend thematisiert wird. Dies steht im Kontrast zur Bedeutung von Reproduktions- und Care-Arbeit als zentraler, lebenserhaltender Praxis. In dieser Arbeit wird der Utopie-Entwurf des Commonismus, der in der Tradition der Planwirtschaftsdebatte steht, anhand (queer)feministischer Perspektiven kritisch analysiert und erweitert. Die Untersuchung konzentriert sich auf drei zentrale Aspekte: queer und trans Care, Abhängigkeiten und Care, sowie häusliche Beziehungen und Familienstrukturen. Ziel ist es, eine Gesellschaft denkbar zu machen, in der Care-Arbeit demokratisch organisiert und kollektiv geplant wird. Die Analyse zeigt, dass alternative Care-Praktiken ein emanzipatorisches Potential besitzen und zur Überwindung kapitalistischer, patriarchaler und heteronormativer Strukturen beitragen können. Durch die Integration von Care in den Commonismus wird verdeutlicht, wie eine utopische Gesellschaft sowohl ökonomisch als auch reproduktiv demokratisch gestaltet werden kann.

Das Phänomen der Gabe bringt die Frage nach der Zirkulation mit sich - nach einer Art der Transaktion, einer Art des Tausches, die sich von der Warenzirkulation als gegenwärtig herrschendes Verhältnis unterscheidet. Um diese Frage zu bearbeiten, wird mit dem Zirkulationsverhältnis ein Begriff eingeführt, der es erlauben soll, die Geschichte der Zirkulation denkbar zu machen. Vorbild dafür ist die historisch-materialistsiche Entwicklung der Produktionsverhältnisse bei Marx. Die Gabenzirkulation wird dann konkretisiert durch eine Charakterisierung ihrer Strukturbeschaffenheiten. Abschließendes Resultat ist die Einsicht, dass die Gabe 1) die Beziehungen zwischen den Tauschpartnern sichtbar macht und verhandelt, 2) eine Präsenz des Anderen im Eigenen einrichtet, und dabei 3) auf Verbindlichkeit mit zeitlicher Struktur und 4) aktivierender Umkehrung von Schuldverhältnissen beruht. Gesellschaftstheoretisch zeigt sich, dass die Gabe den Tauschpartnern deren Verbindung in der Zirkulation und damit deren gesellschaftliches Sein vermittelt.

Die vorliegende Masterarbeit widmet sich Performances, die in ihrer Aufführung von Sex und Behinderung ein "Cripping" normierter Sexueller Skripte vornehmen, wie sie Gagnon und Simon beschrieben haben. Die Performanceanalysen ziehen Perspektiven aus der Crip Theory und der Queer Theory heran, um herauszuarbeiten, wie die Inszenierung von Sex und Behinderung im Allgemeinen eine Normkritik hervorbringt und welche den Sex betreffenden Unterthemen die drei ausgewählten Beispiele im Besonderen crippen, also aus Perspektive behinderter Menschen kritisieren und in Anspruch nehmen. Diese drei Themen sind: Körperlichkeit, Reproduktion/Crip Time sowie BDSM Praktiken. Damit leistet die Arbeit einen der ersten deutschsprachigen Beiträge an der Intersektion von Theaterwissenschaft, Sexuality Studies und Disability Studies.

The surfaces of atmosphereless bodies in the solar system endure constant bombardment from hypervelocity interplanetary micrometeoroids, alongside exposure to various forms of solar and cosmic radiation. Lacking a protective atmosphere the surfaces of these bodies are vulnerable to the impacts of such high-speed cosmic projectiles. Ejecta Dust clouds thus develop around these bodies as a consequence of these impacts that have been detected around the Galilean moons and around Earth’s moon. These dust clouds of ejected material may play a role in re-shaping the surfaces of atmosphereless moons. However, the precise mechanisms governing the formation and evolution of these dust clouds remain subjects of active research. This work investigates how surface topography in principle affects the spatial distribution of steady-state dust ejecta-clouds around atmosphereless moons. Surface topography may include craters, geological formations or elevation variations in general. In this project, we adapt an existing model for dust clouds, implemented in Fortran and apply it to simple prototype topography. We also develop a MATLAB caller routine for the Fortran code, enabling parallel computation utilizing MATLAB as a caller routine and for visualization, while Fortran processes carry out the CPU intensive computations. This work offers insights into the broader processes shaping atmosphereless moons within the solar system and carries implications for our understanding of the mechanisms underlying dust cloud formation in these unique environments. Additionally, this research is also relevant for SUDA onboard the NASA mission Europa Clipper, which will directly sample such dust ejecta from the surface of the Jupiter’s moon Europa, allowing it to measure the compositional variation on Europa’s surface.

DIe Fragestellung grenzt den Bereich der bisher recht wenig erforschten Verwendung von Nachrichten im Fremdsprachenunterricht dahingehend ein, dass eine Kindernachtrichtensendung (Arte Journal Junior) und deren Verwendung für Französischlernende der ersten beiden Lernjahre (innerhalb der Sek. I) untersucht werden. Die Sendung stellt eine authentische Ressource dar, deren Eigenschaften und Vorteile zu Beginn erläutert werden. Hierzu zählen eine Steigerung der Motivation, eine Gewöhnung an authentisches sprachliches Material und die Verwendung der Sprache in einem Kontext, der nicht an das Klassenzimmer gebunden ist. Charakteristika des Anfangsunterrichts werden ebenso erläutert wie der historische Hintergrund des ausgewählten Senders. Es schließt sich die Analyse der Sendung insgesamt und der einzelnen näher untersuchten Folgen an. Diese findet anhand der Untersuchungskriterien Inhalt, Bild, Ton und Bild-Ton-Zusammenspiel statt. Aus den ausgewählten Folgen des "Journal Junior" werden Einsatzmöglichkeiten für den Unterricht abgeleitet. Bei einer Nachrichtensendung bietet sich die Schulung des Hörsehverstehens mit allen zugehörigen Teilbereichen an (globales, detailliertes, selektives aber auch ästehtisches und inferierendes HSV). Des Weiteren lassen sich anhand der Sendung der Strategiengebrauch einüben sowie weitere fremdsprachenspezifische und fächerübergreifende Kompetenzen erwerben und erweitern: Interkulturelle kommunikative Kompetenz, Medienkompetenz sowie Sprachlernkompetenz in Form von Lernerautonomie.

This thesis explores the intra-action of sound, bodies and movement in performative works, focusing on Stefanie Egedy’s BODIES AND SUBWOOFERS (B.A.S.) and Doris Uhlich’s TANK. Drawing on critical dance studies, sound studies, and material culture theories, it examines how vibrant matter resonates in human and non-human bodies inside the performative apparatus. In B.A.S. Egedy creates site-specific subwoofer set-ups with sub-bass frequencies that set human and non-human bodies into vibration. Uhlich’s TANK is a solo performance within a glass tank in collaboration with Boris Kopeinig’s electronic music. It interrogates bodily transformations and their material-discursive interrelations. Through a mixed methodology combining discourse and phenomenological analysis, the thesis applies Jane Bennett’s Vibrant Matter and Karen Barad’s “Posthumanist Performativity: Toward an Understanding of How Matter Comes to Matter” to investigate how sound and movement intra-act with human and non-human bodies in space and create the audience’s experience. Field research, audience quotes, and a phenomenological analysis of B.A.S. and TANK enrich the analysis, revealing that both works challenge traditional boundaries between performer, sound, audience, and space. Ultimately, the research contributes to a deeper understanding of the relational dynamics in contemporary performative arts, showing how performative works can transform audience perception of bodies, space and sound.

Es gibt erste Ansätze, die politische Auseinandersetzung mit Computer- und Videospielen im Rahmen einzelner Themenbereiche zu betrachten, dennoch sind Games politikwissenschaftlich bisher kaum erforscht. Die vorliegende Arbeit entwickelt daher den Begriff „Games-Politik“ als umfassende und systematische Perspektive auf Politik über Games.

In einem explorativen Mixed-Methods Ansatz untersucht sie den parlamentarischen Diskurs auf Basis aller Äußerungen zum Thema Games im Deutschen Bundestag seit der ersten Erwähnung 1982 und in einem Großteil der Plenardebatten in den Landtagen ab 2000. Sie arbeitet die zentralen Argumentationslinien in Form von diskursiven Leitbildern in einer qualitativen Inhaltsanalyse heraus. Eine Diskursnetzwerkanalyse zeigt, wie sich Akteure auf Basis dieser Leitbilder zu Diskurskoalitionen zusammenschließen.

Die zentralen Ergebnisse machen deutlich, dass sich der parlamentarische Diskurs zu Games von einer anfänglich kritischen Haltung zu einer chancenorientierten Perspektive gewandelt hat. Ausschlaggebend dafür war eine Diskurskoalition, die sich in der Zeit der „Killerspiel“-Debatte in den 2000er Jahren mit dem Leitbild einer liberalen Me-dienpolitik diskursiv durchsetzen konnte. Die Arbeit kann so neue Erkenntnisse zur weiteren Forschung zur Games-Politik und der Herausbildung neuer Politikbereiche beitragen.

The Billiard Configuration Space was first introduced by Farber and Tabachnikov to explore the number of periodic billiard trajectories within a smooth, strictly convex domain in Euclidean space. Estimating the Lusternik–Schnirelmann category of the Billiard Configuration Space for a sphere is crucial for establishing bounds on the number of such periodic trajectories. A related concept—topological complexity—was introduced by Farber to address problems in motion planning. Farber, in collaboration with Yuzvinsky and later with Grant, computed the topological complexity of the (standard) Configuration Space in a series of papers. This thesis aims to extend these ideas by providing bounds on the topological complexity and calculating the Lusternik–Schnirelmann category of the Billiard Configuration Space using obstruction theory. Furthermore, we present two Salvetti-type cellular models: the first is applied to compute the fundamental group of the Billiard Configuration Space, while the second allows for the application of obstruction theory.

The first long-distance observations made by Perseverance from the Kodiak butte con- firmed Gilbert-type delta deposition within a closed-lake system in Jezero crater, Mars. Several outcrops at the delta proper were also imaged later during science campaign but their geology and potential relationship to Kodiak needed to be explored. In this thesis, Perseverance image data with a focus on Mastcam-Z and Supercam was used in digital outcrop modeling, applying the Structure-From-motion (SFM) photogram- metry software Agisoft Metashape and georeferenced with SPICE-derived position and orientation. The digital outcrop models (DOMs) were analyzed in the Pro3D software, extracting dip and strike measurements as well as scale bars for determining 2D-clast size-frequency distributions with the ImageJ software. Seven high-resolution, textured and accurate digital outcrop models were created. Evidence gathered from the DOMs shows sedimentary facies associated with Gilbert-type delta stratal architectures. Fore- set and lower foreset facies were identified at the outcrops Franklin Cliff, Whale Moun- tain, Kodiak and Scarp A. Topset facies were found at every outcrop, except Scarp D. “Whale Mountain“ also displays a prominent mouth bar deposit. Six clast samples were collected, all associated with a fluvial origin. Three samples were identified as channel base deposits in a topset environment, one interpreted as a foreset debrite, one debris flow, and one high-energy flood conglomerate. Topset-foreset boundaries differ in alti- tude between outcrops, suggesting different phases of delta progradation. Inferred paleo flows from Whale Mountain and Franklin Cliff link those to the delta strata found at Kodiak, further indicating that the butte was once part of the delta. This thesis demon- strates how digital outcrop models can be used to conduct virtual fieldwork also in the remote environment of Mars.

The relation between Charles Mills and the Enlightenment has often been overlooked or seen as antithetical. Yet Mills considered his philosophy a part of the (black) radical Enlightenment. The latter, he claimed, is true to the core principles of Enlightenment philosophy – objectivism, universalism, and rationalism – but radicalizes them with a focus on actual (racial) socio-political domination. In this paper, I argue that the principles of Enlightenment philosophy play a fundamental role in Mills’s project of locating real-world racial domination and the struggle against it at the center of philosophical reflection. I also show that, according to Mills, only the radical Enlightenment is able to substantively realize these principles. More generally, my discussion sheds light on Mills’s understanding of Enlightenment philosophy and the radical Enlightenment in particular.

A Chinese food network specializing in vegetable crops has existed since the onset of labor migration from southeast China to British Columbia in the 19th century. By 1940, the network achieved market prominence in the local production and distribution of vegetables. This thesis examines the socio-economic history of the network’s emergence and development during the historical period between 1880 and 1940 – the height of white supremacy and discriminatory policies. It seeks to explain how the economic success came about under structural disadvantages. Two theoretical concerns guide the methodologies and historical analysis: How do social relations bear on economic actions? How do migrants interact with the environment in which they find themselves? To deconstruct the narrative that Chinese market gardeners, peddlers, and greengrocers were victims simply pushed into the agri-food sector, this thesis reads for economic difference from data scattered across secondary literature, archival materials, and oral histories. Economic subjectivities and actions are re-aligned to present an alternative picture: small-business entrepreneurship in agriculture as a vehicle to a good life. Adopting mixed embeddedness approach, it traces the interplay between the actors within the network and the structural context of colonialism and capitalism. It identifies the ways in which they utilized resources and devised strategies to adapt to and transform societies. Furthermore, the multifaceted ways in which social relations, especially migrant networks, influenced the emergence and development of the Chinese food network are elaborated.

The biodiversity crisis of rapid species extinction is met with conservation measures on a global scale. The current thesis examines the case of German development cooperation as the biggest financier of biodiversity conservation in the Global South, focusing on the in-volvement of Indigenous Peoples and local communities (IP&LC) in the planning and imple-mentation of biodiversity projects in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. Based on inter-views with practitioners in German development cooperation and the protocol of a Bundes-tag hearing it is worked out how German conservation approaches often (still) follow a logic of ecological modernisation. On the other hand, the involvement of IP&LC is gaining sali-ence. By applying a post-colonial political ecology perspective, it is shown that on the imple-mentation level German development actors are aware of the importance of integrating the rights, worldviews and contributions of IP&LC into conservation. However, when it comes to policymaking, IP&LC are often still excluded due to structural obstacles. This bears the risk that IP&LC are merely included for the implementation of Western-designed conservation projects. Conversely, there is a chance that the growing awareness for IP&LC will translate into more participatory conservation that places human well-being at the centre.

Higher-order logic (HOL) offers a simple syntax and semantics for representing and reasoning about typed mathematical concepts. There are many state-of-the-art automated theorem provers for HOL. But the type system of HOL lacks advanced features where types may depend on terms. This is useful as many mathematical notions are inherently dependent typed. Dependent type theory offers such a rich type system but has rather substantial conceptual differences to HOL and isn’t supported as well by automated theorem provers. We introduce a dependently typed extension DHOLP of HOL that supports dependent types while retaining the style and conceptual framework of HOL. Moreover, we describe one translation from DHOLP and a second one from one of its fragments to HOL and prove the soundness and completeness of the translations. We implement both translations within the MMT system—a system for formalizing mathematics—where they are combined with a HOL prover into an automated theorem prover for DHOLP. Finally, we formalize basic set theory notions in DHOLP and outline how such a formalization can be combined with a recent translation of the language of the Mizar proof assistant to MMT to obtain an automated theorem prover for problems in the language of the Mizar proof assistant.