Rafael Moneo: la complessità del vuoto. Dalle matrici formali dell'opera di Oteiza e Chillida

The experience of void, essential to the production of forms and to make use them, can be considered as the base of the activities that attend to the formative processes. If void and matter constitutes the basic substances of architecture. Their role in the definition of form, the symbolic value and the constructive methods of it defines the quality of the space. This job inquires the character of space in the architecture of Moneo interpreting the meaning of the void in the Basque culture through the reading of the form matrices in the work of Jorge Oteiza and Eduardo Chillida. In the tie with the Basque culture a reading key is characterized by concurring to put in relation some of the theoretical principles expressed by Moneo on the relationship between place and time, in an unique and specific vision of the space. In the analysis of the process that determines the genesis of the architecture of Moneo emerges a trajectory whose direction is constructed on two pivos: on the one hand architecture like instrument of appropriation of the place, gushed from an acquaintance process who leans itself to the reading of the relations that define the place and of the resonances through which measuring it, on the other hand the architecture whose character is able to represent and to extend the time in which he is conceived, through the autonomy that is conferred to them from values. Following the trace characterized from this hypothesis, that is supported on the theories elaborated from Moneo, surveying deepens the reading of the principles that construct the sculptural work of Oteiza and Chillida, features from a search around the topic of the void and to its expression through the form. It is instrumental to the definition of a specific area that concurs to interpret the character of the space subtended to a vision of the place and the time, affine to the sensibility of Moneo and in some way not stranger to its cultural formation. The years of the academic formation, during which Moneo enters in contact with the Basque artistic culture, seem to be an important period in the birth of that knowledge that will leads him to the formulation of theories tied to the relationship between time, place and architecture. The values expressed through the experimental work of Oteiza and Chillida during years '50 are valid bases to the understanding of such relationships. In tracing a profile of the figures of Oteiza and Chillida, without the pretension that it is exhaustive for the reading of the complex historical period in which they are placed, but with the needs to put the work in a context, I want to be evidenced the important role carried out from the two artists from the Basque cultural area within which Moneo moves its first steps. The tie that approaches Moneo to the Basque culture following the personal trajectory of the formative experience interlaces to that one of important figures of the art and the Spanish architecture. One of the more meaningful relationships is born just during the years of his academic formation, from 1958 to the 1961, when he works like student in the professional office of the architect Francisco Sáenz de Oiza, who was teaching architectural design at the ETSAM. In these years many figures of Basque artists alternated at the professional office of Oiza that enjoys the important support of the manufacturer and maecenas Juan Huarte Beaumont, introduced to he from Oteiza. The tie between Huarte and Oteiza is solid and continuous in the years and it realizes in a contribution to many of the initiatives that makes of Oteiza a forwarder of the Basque culture. In the four years of collaboration with Oiza, Moneo has the opportunity to keep in contact with an atmosphere permeated by a constant search in the field of the plastic art and with figures directly connected to such atmosphere. It’s of a period of great intensity as in the production like in the promotion of the Basque art. The collective “Blanco y Negro”, than is held in 1959 at the Galería Darro to Madrid, is only one of the many times of an exhibition of the work of Oteiza and Chillida. The end of the Fifties is a period of international acknowledgment for Chillida that for Oteiza. The decade of the Fifties consecrates the hypotheses of a mythical past of the Basque people through the spread of the studies carried out in the antecedent years. The archaeological discoveries that join to a context already rich of signs of the prehistoric era, consolidate the knowledge of a strong cultural identity. Oteiza, like Chillida and other contemporary artists, believe in a cosmogonist conception belonging to the Basques, connected to their matriarchal mythological past. The void in its meaning of absence, in the Basque culture, thus as in various archaic and oriental religions, is equivalent to the spiritual fullness as essential condition to the revealing of essence. Retracing the archaic origins of the Basque culture emerges the deep meaning that the void assumes as key element in the religious interpretation of the passage from the life to the death. The symbology becomes rich of meaningful characters who derive from the fact that it is a chthonic cult. A representation of earth like place in which divine manifest itself but also like connection between divine and human, and this manipulation of the matter of which the earth it is composed is the tangible projection of the continuous search of the man towards God. The search of equilibrium between empty and full, that characterizes also the development of the form in architecture, in the Basque culture assumes therefore a peculiar value that returns like constant in great part of the plastic expressions, than in this context seem to be privileged regarding the other expressive forms. Oteiza and Chillida develop two original points of view in the representation of the void through the form. Both use of rigorous systems of rules sensitive to the physics principles and the characters of the matter. The last aim of the Oteiza’s construction is the void like limit of the knowledge, like border between known and unknown. It doesn’t means to reduce the sculptural object to an only allusive dimension because the void as physical and spiritual power is an active void, that possesses that value able to reveal the being through the trace of un-being. The void in its transcendental manifestation acts at the same time from universal and from particular, like in the atomic structure of the matter, in which on one side it constitutes the inner structure of every atom and on the other one it is necessary condition to the interaction between all the atoms. The void can be seen therefore as the action field that concurs the relations between the forms but is also the necessary condition to the same existence of the form. In the construction of Chillida the void represents that counterpart structuring the matter, inborn in it, the element in absence of which wouldn’t be variations neither distinctive characters to define the phenomenal variety of the world. The physics laws become the subject of the sculptural representation, the void are the instrument that concurs to catch up the equilibrium. Chillida dedicate himself to experience the space through the senses, to perceive of the qualities, to tell the physics laws which forge the matter in the form and the form arranges the places. From the artistic experience of the two sculptors they can be transposed, to the architectonic work of Moneo, those matrices on which they have constructed their original lyric expressions, where the void is absolute protagonist. An ambit is defined thus within which the matrices form them drafts from the work of Oteiza and Chillida can be traced in the definition of the process of birth and construction of the architecture of Moneo, but also in the relation that the architecture establishes with the place and in the time. The void becomes instrument to read the space constructed in its relationships that determine the proportions, rhythms, and relations. In this way the void concurs to interpret the architectonic space and to read the value of it, the quality of the spaces constructing it. This because it’s like an instrument of the composition, whose role is to maintain to the separation between the elements putting in evidence the field of relations. The void is that instrument that serves to characterize the elements that are with in the composition, related between each other, but distinguished. The meaning of the void therefore pushes the interpretation of the architectonic composition on the game of the relations between the elements that, independent and distinguished, strengthen themselves in their identity. On the one hand if void, as measurable reality, concurs all the dimensional changes quantifying the relationships between the parts, on the other hand its dialectic connotation concurs to search the equilibrium that regulated such variations. Equilibrium that therefore does not represent an obtained state applying criteria setting up from arbitrary rules but that depends from the intimate nature of the matter and its embodiment in the form. The production of a form, or a formal system that can be finalized to the construction of a building, is indissolubly tied to the technique that is based on the acquaintance of the formal vocation of the matter, and what it also can representing, meaning, expresses itself in characterizing the site. For Moneo, in fact, the space defined from the architecture is above all a site, because the essence of the site is based on the construction. When Moneo speaks about “birth of the idea of plan” like essential moment in the construction process of the architecture, it refers to a process whose complexity cannot be born other than from a deepened acquaintance of the site that leads to the comprehension of its specificity. Specificity arise from the infinite sum of relations, than for Moneo is the story of the oneness of a site, of its history, of the cultural identity and of the dimensional characters that that they are tied to it beyond that to the physical characteristics of the site. This vision is leaned to a solid made physical structure of perceptions, of distances, guideline and references that then make that the process is first of all acquaintance, appropriation. Appropriation that however does not happen for directed consequence because does not exist a relationship of cause and effect between place and architecture, thus as an univocal and exclusive way does not exist to arrive to a representation of an idea. An approach that, through the construction of the place where the architecture acquires its being, searches an expression of its sense of the truth. The proposal of a distinction for areas like space, matter, spirit and time, answering to the issues that scan the topics of the planning search of Moneo, concurs a more immediate reading of the systems subtended to the composition principles, through which is related the recurrent architectonic elements in its planning dictionary. From the dialectic between the opposites that is expressed in the duality of the form, through the definition of a complex element that can mediate between inside and outside as a real system of exchange, Moneo experiences the form development of the building deepening the relations that the volume establishes in the site. From time to time the invention of a system used to answer to the needs of the program and to resolve the dual character of the construction in an only gesture, involves a deep acquaintance of the professional practice. The technical aspect is the essential support to which the construction of the system is indissolubly tied. What therefore arouses interest is the search of the criteria and the way to construct that can reveal essential aspects of the being of the things. The constructive process demands, in fact, the acquaintance of the formative properties of the matter. Property from which the reflections gush on the relations that can be born around the architecture through the resonance produced from the forms. The void, in fact, through the form is in a position to constructing the site establishing a reciprocity relation. A reciprocity that is determined in the game between empty and full and of the forms between each other, regarding around, but also with regard to the subjective experience. The construction of a background used to amplify what is arranged on it and to clearly show the relations between the parts and at the same time able to tie itself with around opening the space of the vision, is a system that in the architecture of Moneo has one of its more effective applications in the use of the platform used like architectonic element. The spiritual force of this architectonic gesture is in the ability to define a place whose projecting intention is perceived and shared with who experience and has lived like some instrument to contact the cosmic forces, in a delicate process that lead to the equilibrium with them, but in completely physical way. The principles subtended to the construction of the form taken from the study of the void and the relations that it concurs, lead to express human values in the construction of the site. The validity of these principles however is tested from the time. The time is what Moneo considers as filter that every architecture is subordinate to and the survival of architecture, or any of its formal characters, reveals them the validity of the principles that have determined it. It manifests thus, in the tie between the spatial and spiritual dimension, between the material and the worldly dimension, the state of necessity that leads, in the construction of the architecture, to establish a contact with the forces of the universe and the intimate world, through a process that translate that necessity in elaboration of a formal system.

Sahaja Yoga im Vergleich mit der Progressiven Muskelrelaxation nach Jacobson

Fragestellung: In der vorliegenden Arbeit wird erstmals das Sahaja Yoga (SY) bezüglich seiner Effektivität in der komplementären Behandlung von Patienten mit Mamma- oder Prostatakarzinom untersucht und mit der Progressiven Muskelrelaxation nach Jacobson (PMR) verglichen. Methoden: Zu diesem Zweck wurden 16 Patienten mit Prostatakarzinom und 21 Patientinnen mit Mammakarzinom im Rahmen einer stationären Anschlußheilbehandlung (AHB) rekrutiert und jeweils mittels Zufallstabelle entweder einer SY-Gruppe oder einer PMR-Gruppe zugeteilt. Die Patienten übten während des dreiwöchigen Aufenthalts zusätzlich zu den jeweiligen physikalischen und physiotherapeutischen Therapien die entsprechenden Entspannungsverfahren (SY oder PMR) insgesamt acht mal und wurden dazu angehalten, die Verfahren auch in Eigenregie fortzuführen. Die Patienten füllten zu Beginn ihres Aufenthaltes (t1), nach 3 Wochen (Ende der AHB, t2) sowie 2 Monate nach dem Beenden der AHB (t3) folgende Fragebögen aus: den SF-36 von Bullinger et al. (1995) zur Erfassung von gesundheitsbezogener Lebensqualität, die HADS von Hermann et al. (1995) zur Erfassung von Angst und Depressivität und zwei vom Autor selbstkonzipierte Fragebögen, mit denen die Anzahl und Dauer der durchgeführten Übungen registriert wurden. Den MDBF von Steyer et al. (1997) (für aktuelle Befindlichkeit) füllten die Patienten jeweils direkt vor und nach der ersten (t1v und t1n) und letzten (t2v und t2n) Entspannungsübung und zum Zeitpunkt t3 aus. Ergebnisse: Fast alle Testwerte des Gesundheitsfragebogens SF-36 steigen (teils statistisch signifikant) bei beiden Gruppen von dem Zeitpunkt t1 über t2 zu t3 an. Es scheinen zwar die Verbesserungen der SY-Gruppe gegenüber der PMR-Gruppe etwas zu überwiegen, statistisch konnte dies jedoch nicht belegt werden. Bei den Subskalen der HADS (Angst und Depression) fallen die Werte bei beiden Gruppen von Zeitpunkt t1 über t2 zu t3 ab, statistisch signifikant ist der Abfall jedoch nur von t1 zu t2 bei den Werten der HADS-D (Depression) bei der SY-Gruppe. Die Testwerte sinken bei der SY-Gruppe im Verlauf etwas steiler ab als die Testwerte der PMR-Gruppe, signifikanten Unterschiede zwischen den Gruppen lassen sich jedoch nicht finden. Die Testwerte des MDBF (Kurzform A) steigen von dem Zeitpunkt t1v über t2v zu t3 bei beiden Gruppen (bei der SY-Gruppe etwas steiler, jedoch ohne signifikanten Unterschied zur PMR-Gruppe) nur zum Teil signifikant an. Die Werte vor und nach den jeweiligen Anwendungen (Zeitpunkt t1v zu t1n und t2v zu t2n) unterscheiden sich signifikant bei beiden Gruppen. Bezüglich der Dauer und Anzahl der durchgeführten Anwendungen zeigen sich keine statistisch signifikanten Unterschiede zwischen den Gruppen. Schlußfolgerungen: Die Patienten konnten beide Verfahren gleich gut annehmen. Bezüglich der gesundheitsbezogenen Lebensqualität, Angst und Depressivität sowie der aktuellen Befindlichkeit scheint sowohl das SY als auch die PMR (in dieser Studie) relevante Effekte zu haben. Diese Effekte scheinen sich auch nach 2 Monaten weiter positiv auszuwirken. Statistisch ließen sich zwischen beiden Verfahren keine Unterschiede hinsichtlich ihrer Wirkung belegen. Die Ergebnisse müssen allerdings durch weitere Untersuchungen mit größerer Probandenzahl genauer geprüft werden.

Drammatizzazioni devozionali del Venerdì santo a Milano in età post-tridentina: la processione con Misteri dei Barnabiti

La tesi si occupa della «processione con Misteri» organizzata da Carlo Bascapè, preposito generale dei Barnabiti, a Milano, la notte del venerdì santo, a partire dal 1587. Di questo importante rito processionale sono giunte fino a noi diverse testimonianze documentarie, conservate presso l’Archivio Storico dei Barnabiti a Milano, che sono state il cuore di questa ricerca. La processione è una grande meditazione pubblica dove la musica svolge un ruolo molto importante. Il percorso che ho seguito è stato teso a rendere ragione delle motivazioni drammatiche e devozionali della processione, per poi approdare al significativo ruolo che la componente musicale svolgeva nel rito stesso. Nel primo capitolo ho rievocato la figura di Carlo Bascapè (1550-1615), inserendo la sua figura all’interno delle esperienze storiche nelle quali si è formato (la Milano di san Carlo Borromeo e l’Ordine dei Chierici regolari di San Paolo). Nel secondo capitolo ho scandagliato le radici devozionali alla base della processione (i concetti di devozione e orazione) e messo a fuoco il ruolo della musica nell’esperienza religiosa dei Barnabiti e, in particolar modo, di Carlo Bascapè. Il terzo capitolo si concentra sulle principali modalità di rappresentazione e meditazione della passione di Cristo. Nel quarto capitolo ho ricostruito, attraverso una lettura dei documenti, e con approfondimenti tratti dalla letteratura devozionale tardocinquecentesca sulla passione, i vari aspetti della processione e i suoi protagonisti (religiosi, nobili della città di Milano, musicisti), e, infine, ho messo in luce gli aspetti devozionali e drammaturgici. Nel quinto capitolo ho analizzato le musiche superstiti, pervenendo alla conclusione che ogni aspetto musicale era concepito tenendo ben presenti i due aspetti su cui era imperniata la processione: la rappresentazione della passione e l’immedesimazione dei fedeli. L’ultima parte della tesi consiste, infine, nella trascrizione dei documenti archivistici, nella loro parte testuale e musicale.

The relationship between eating behavior and psychological distress among overweight and obese people: is there a role for mindfulness?

This research based on 3 indipendent studies, sought to explore the nature of the relationship between overweight/obesity, eating behaviors and psychological distress; the construct of Mindful eating trough the validation of the Italian adaptation of the Mindful Eating Questionnaire (MEQ); the role of mindfulnessand mindful eating as respectively potential mediator and moderator between overeating behavior (binge eating and emotional overeating) and negative outcomes (psychological distress, body dissatisfaction). All the samples were divided in normal weight, overweight and obese according to BMI categories. STUDY1: In a sample of 691 subjects (69.6% female, mean aged 39.26 years) was found that BMI was not associated with psychological distress, whereas binge eating increases the psychopathological level. BMI and male gender represent negative predictors of psychological distress, but certain types of overeating (i.e., NES/grazing, overeating during or out of meals, and guilt/restraint) result as positive predictors.. STUDY 2 : A sample of 1067 subjects (61.4% female, mean aged 34 years) was analized. The Italian MEQ resulted in a 26-item 4-factor model measuring Disinhibition, Awareness, Distraction, and Emotional response. Internal consistency and test-retest reliability were acceptable MEQ correlated positively with mindfulness (FMI) and it was associated with sociodemographic variables, BMI, meditation. type of exercise and diet. STUDY 3, based on a sample of 502 subjects (68.8% female, mean aged 39.42 years) showed that MEQ and FMI negatively correlated with BES, EOQ, SCL-90-R, and BIAQ. Obese people showed lower level of mindful eating and higher levels of binge eating, emotional overeating, and body dissatisfaction, compared to the other groups Mindfulness resulted to partially mediates the relationship between a) binge eating and psychological distress, b) emotional overeating and psychological distress, c) binge eating and mental well-being, d) emotional overeating and menal well-being. Mindful eating was a moderator only in the relationship between emotional overeating and body dissatisfaction.

Dielectric relaxation in biological materials

The study of dielectric properties concerns storage and dissipation of electric and magnetic energy in materials. Dielectrics are important in order to explain various phenomena in Solid-State Physics and in Physics of Biological Materials. Indeed, during the last two centuries, many scientists have tried to explain and model the dielectric relaxation. Starting from the Kohlrausch model and passing through the ideal Debye one, they arrived at more com- plex models that try to explain the experimentally observed distributions of relaxation times, including the classical (Cole-Cole, Davidson-Cole and Havriliak-Negami) and the more recent ones (Hilfer, Jonscher, Weron, etc.). The purpose of this thesis is to discuss a variety of models carrying out the analysis both in the frequency and in the time domain. Particular attention is devoted to the three classical models, that are studied using a transcendental function known as Mittag-Leffler function. We highlight that one of the most important properties of this function, its complete monotonicity, is an essential property for the physical acceptability and realizability of the models. Lo studio delle proprietà dielettriche riguarda l’immagazzinamento e la dissipazione di energia elettrica e magnetica nei materiali. I dielettrici sono importanti al fine di spiegare vari fenomeni nell’ambito della Fisica dello Stato Solido e della Fisica dei Materiali Biologici. Infatti, durante i due secoli passati, molti scienziati hanno tentato di spiegare e modellizzare il rilassamento dielettrico. A partire dal modello di Kohlrausch e passando attraverso quello ideale di Debye, sono giunti a modelli più complessi che tentano di spiegare la distribuzione osservata sperimentalmente di tempi di rilassamento, tra i quali modelli abbiamo quelli classici (Cole-Cole, Davidson-Cole e Havriliak-Negami) e quelli più recenti (Hilfer, Jonscher, Weron, etc.). L’obiettivo di questa tesi è discutere vari modelli, conducendo l’analisi sia nel dominio delle frequenze sia in quello dei tempi. Particolare attenzione è rivolta ai tre modelli classici, i quali sono studiati utilizzando una funzione trascendente nota come funzione di Mittag-Leffler. Evidenziamo come una delle più importanti proprietà di questa funzione, la sua completa monotonia, è una proprietà essenziale per l’accettabilità fisica e la realizzabilità dei modelli.

Mending The Mind With Dharma

Anxiety, depression, and tragedy are all unavoidable aspects of existence that we find ourselves grappling with at some point in our lives. In those darker moments we often look beyond ourselves for a means to cope with our struggles in the hopes of transcending into enhanced states of being. The world¿s religions have provided various answers to problems of mental and physical affliction. Across cultures and throughout history, numerous techniques for ¿mending the mind¿ have emerged, conditioned by a number of factors, including the normative values of a society as well as the scientific advances and technologies available for therapeutic application. Buddhism encompasses a broad tradition of beliefs, practices, and philosophies that, taken together, aim at eliminating suffering from the human experience. It is suggested that anyone who comes to understand and practice Buddhist teachings¿Dharma¿will rise out of the life of suffering and into a condition of awakening or nirvana. With this as an intended goal, a person who is unfulfilled in their life or who is experiencing feelings of depression will, it might be assumed, find great potential in turning to Buddhism as means for alleviation of these states. In contemporary western society, however, the most common route for eliminating emotional distress is to take antidepressant medication, which aims for immediate relief of the negative feelings and experiences that arise from depression. As I will argue, while this may be a successful approach to masking unwanted feelings, it in fact fails to treat the actual roots or cause of the undesirable experiences. Moreover, such a ¿therapeutic¿ approach lacks any aspect geared towards developing a consistently rewarding lifestyle. I will argue that the incorporation of Dharma¿both a set of ideas and as a form of practices¿into daily routines and modes of thinking provides the means for a balanced lifestyle, allowing the individual to relieve suffering and depression in a manner that the narrow scope of western medicine cannot provide.

Portfolios and pedagogy : an examination of ideology and use

Portfolio use in writing studies contexts is becoming ubiquitous and, as such, portfolios are in danger of being rendered meaningless and thus require that we more fully theorize and historicize portfolios. To this end, I examine portfolios: both the standardized portfolio used for assessment purposes and the personalized portfolio used for entering the job market. I take a critical look at portfolios as a form of technology and acknowledge some of the dangers of blindly using portfolios for gaining employment in the current economic structure of fast capitalism. As educators in the writing studies fields, it is paramount that instructors have a critical awareness of the consequences of portfolio creation on students as designers, lifelong learners, and citizens of a larger society. I argue that a better understanding of the pedagogical implications for portfolio use is imperative before implementing them in the classroom, and that a social-epistemic approach provides a valuable rethinking of portfolio use for assessment purposes. Further, I argue for the notions of meditation and transformation to be added alongside collection, selection, and reflection because they enable portfolio designers and evaluators alike to thoughtfully consider new ways of meaning-making and innovation. Also important and included with meditation and transformation is the understanding that students are ideologically positioned in the educational system. For them to begin recognizing their situatedness is a step toward becoming designers of change. The portfolio can be a site for that change, and a way for them to document their own learning and ways of making meaning over a lifetime.

Sound As Artifact

A distinguishing feature of the discipline of archaeology is its reliance upon sensory dependant investigation. As perceived by all of the senses, the felt environment is a unique area of archaeological knowledge. It is generally accepted that the emergence of industrial processes in the recent past has been accompanied by unprecedented sonic extremes. The work of environmental historians has provided ample evidence that the introduction of much of this unwanted sound, or "noise" was an area of contestation. More recent research in the history of sound has called for more nuanced distinctions than the noisy/quiet dichotomy. Acoustic archaeology tends to focus upon a reconstruction of sound producing instruments and spaces with a primary goal of ascertaining intentionality. Most archaeoacoustic research is focused on learning more about the sonic world of people within prehistoric timeframes while some research has been done on historic sites. In this thesis, by way of a meditation on industrial sound and the physical remains of the Quincy Mining Company blacksmith shop (Hancock, MI) in particular, I argue for an acceptance and inclusion of sound as artifact in and of itself. I am introducing the concept of an individual sound-form, or sonifact, as a reproducible, repeatable, representable physical entity, created by tangible, perhaps even visible, host-artifacts. A sonifact is a sound that endures through time, with negligible variability. Through the piecing together of historical and archaeological evidence, in this thesis I present a plausible sonifactual assemblage at the blacksmith shop in April 1916 as it may have been experienced by an individual traversing the vicinity on foot: an 'historic soundwalk.' The sensory apprehension of abandoned industrial sites is multi-faceted. In this thesis I hope to make the case for an acceptance of sound as a primary heritage value when thinking about the industrial past, and also for an increased awareness and acceptance of sound and listening as a primary mode of perception.

Measuring mindfulness: first steps towards the development of a comprehensive mindfulness scale

The present study describes the development of and results obtained from the first version of a new mindfulness scale: the Comprehensive Inventory of Mindfulness Experiences beta (CHIME-β). The aim of the present analysis was to investigate two relevant open questions in mindfulness assessment: (1) the coverage of aspects of mindfulness and (2) the type of interrelationships among these aspects. A review of the aspects of mindfulness assessed by eight currently available mindfulness questionnaires led to the identification of nine aspects of mindfulness. The CHIME-β was constructed in order to cover each of these aspects in a balanced way. Initially, principal component and confirmatory factor analyses, as well as reliability and validity analyses, were performed in the entire sample (n = 313) of individuals from the general population and mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) groups. The factor structure that emerged from this analysis was further investigated in meditation-trained individuals (n = 144) who had just completed an MBSR intervention. Results suggested a four-factor structure underlying the nine aspects proposed. The relationship between these mindfulness factors appears to be influenced by the degree of meditation experience. In fact, the mindfulness factors showed a greater interconnectedness among mediation-trained participants. Finally, data suggest that a non-avoidant stance plays a central role in mindfulness, while the capacity to put inner experiences into words may be related to mindfulness rather than a component of the construct.

Konstruktion und erste Validierung eines Fragebogens zur umfassenden Erfassung von Achtsamkeit: Das Comprehensive Inventory of Mindfulness Experiences

In der vorliegenden Arbeit werden Entwicklung und Validierung eines Fragebogens zur umfassenden Erfassung der Achtsamkeit, des Comprehensive Inventory of Mindfulness Experiences (CHIME), beschrieben. An einer Allgemeinbevölkerungs-Stichprobe (N = 298) und einer Stichprobe von TeilnehmerInnen an MBSR-Kursen (N = 161) wurde die Faktorenstruktur des CHIME ermittelt und seine Reliabilität und Validität geprüft. Faktorenanalytische Verfahren ergaben eine achtfaktorielle Struktur. Die Struktur wurde in einer zusätzlichen konfirmatorischen Stichprobe (N = 202) überprüft. Der Fragebogen sowie seine Unterskalen weisen gute Reliabilitätswerte auf (interne Konsistenz und Retest-Reliabilität). Analysen zur Messinvarianz der einzelnen Items über Gruppen, die sich bezüglich Meditationserfahrung, Alter, Geschlecht und Symptombelastung unterschieden, zeigten keine systematischen Unterschiede im Verständnis der Items. Die Kennwerte zur Konstrukt-, Kriterium-, und inkrementellen Validität sowie zur Veränderungssensitivität waren alle mindestens zufriedenstellend. Mit dem CHIME steht somit ein Fragebogen mit guten psychometrischen Eigenschaften zur Selbsteinschätzung der Achtsamkeit zur Verfügung. Der CHIME basiert auf allen in den aktuellen Instrumenten enthaltenen Aspekten des Achtsamkeitskonstrukts.

Ritualdiskurs, Ritualkritik und religiöse Praxis: Das Beispiel von Vipassanā nach S. N. Goenka im 'Westen'

By analysing primary sources, I show in this paper how the Vipassanā meditation movement publicly objects to being categorized as a religious movement that teaches a certain form of ritual. I argue that the application of the meta-language terms “ritual” or “religion” to the practices taught by this movement, even though it is doubtlessly possible, does not help us solve the problems in explaining this fact; nor does it help in analysing the movement and its history. I argue that it is more appropriate to understand the polemic differentiation by Vipassanā as a strategy in a “modern” public discourse on religion and ritual. It seems that the reason for applying this strategy lies in the wish to avoid being identified with negative connotations of the terms “ritual” and “religion,” such as inefficacy, irrationality and exaggerated rigidity. Instead, the protagonists stress rationality, efficacy and adaptation to the necessities of modern Western society. On the other hand, the movement also draws a line between itself and a so-called modern “esotericism” in which “rituals” are regarded as highly positive in their effects on humans.

Meditators and non-meditators: EEG source imaging during resting

Many meditation exercises aim at increased awareness of ongoing experiences through sustained attention and at detachment, i.e., non-engaging observation of these ongoing experiences by the intent not to analyze, judge or expect anything. Long-term meditation practice is believed to generalize the ability of increased awareness and greater detachment into everyday life. We hypothesized that neuroplasticity effects of meditation (correlates of increased awareness and detachment) would be detectable in a no-task resting state. EEG recorded during resting was compared between Qigong meditators and controls. Using LORETA (low resolution electromagnetic tomography) to compute the intracerebral source locations, differences in brain activations between groups were found in the inhibitory delta EEG frequency band. In the meditators, appraisal systems were inhibited, while brain areas involved in the detection and integration of internal and external sensory information showed increased activation. This suggests that neuroplasticity effects of long-term meditation practice, subjectively described as increased awareness and greater detachment, are carried over into non-meditating states.

Classes of multichannel EEG microstates in light and deep hypnotic conditions

The study assessed the brain electric mechanisms of light and deep hypnotic conditions in the framework of EEG temporal microstates. Multichannel EEG of healthy volunteers during initial resting, light hypnosis, deep hypnosis, and eventual recovery was analyzed into temporal EEG microstates of four classes. Microstates are defined by the spatial configuration of their potential distribution maps ([Symbol: see text]potential landscapes') on the head surface. Because different potential landscapes must have been generated by different active neural assemblies, it is reasonable to assume that they also incorporate different brain functions. The observed four microstate classes were very similar to the four standard microstate classes A, B, C, D [Koenig, T. et al. Neuroimage, 2002;16: 41-8] and were labeled correspondingly. We expected a progression of microstate characteristics from initial resting to light to deep hypnosis. But, all three microstate parameters (duration, occurrence/second and %time coverage) yielded values for initial resting and final recovery that were between those of the two hypnotic conditions of light and deep hypnosis. Microstates of the classes B and D showed decreased duration, occurrence/second and %time coverage in deep hypnosis compared to light hypnosis; this was contrary to microstates of classes A and C which showed increased values of all three parameters. Reviewing the available information about microstates in other conditions, the changes from resting to light hypnosis in certain respects are reminiscent of changes to meditation states, and changes to deep hypnosis of those in schizophrenic states.

Coherence and phase locking in the scalp EEG and between LORETA model sources, and microstates as putative mechanisms of brain temporo-spatial functional organization

Brain electric mechanisms of temporary, functional binding between brain regions are studied using computation of scalp EEG coherence and phase locking, sensitive to time differences of few milliseconds. However, such results if computed from scalp data are ambiguous since electric sources are spatially oriented. Non-ambiguous results can be obtained using calculated time series of strength of intracerebral model sources. This is illustrated applying LORETA modeling to EEG during resting and meditation. During meditation, time series of LORETA model sources revealed a tendency to decreased left-right intracerebral coherence in the delta band, and to increased anterior-posterior intracerebral coherence in the theta band. An alternate conceptualization of functional binding is based on the observation that brain electric activity is discontinuous, i.e., that it occurs in chunks of up to about 100 ms duration that are detectable as quasi-stable scalp field configurations of brain electric activity, called microstates. Their functional significance is illustrated in spontaneous and event-related paradigms, where microstates associated with imagery- versus abstract-type mentation, or while reading positive versus negative emotion words showed clearly different regions of cortical activation in LORETA tomography. These data support the concept that complete brain functions of higher order such as a momentary thought might be incorporated in temporal chunks of processing in the range of tens to about 100 ms as quasi-stable brain states; during these time windows, subprocesses would be accepted as members of the ongoing chunk of processing.

Construction and first validation of the comprehensive inventory of mindfulness (CHIME)

Introduction: Measuring trait mindfulness and change in mindfulness may be a crucial prerequisite for the evaluation and further development of mindfulness based interventions for the treatment of mental disorders. This endeavour is nontrivial as current measures cover varying aspects and mindfulness and may have problems regarding validity. This presentation describes the development and validation of a questionnaire for the comprehensive assessment of mindfulness: the Comprehensive Inventory of Mindfulness Experiences (CHIME). Method: The factor structure, reliability, and validity of the CHIME were established in a community sample (N = 298) and a sample of MBSR group participants (N = 161). Results: Factor-analytical procedures supported an eight-factor structure. The structure was tested in a further confirmatory sample (N = 202). The questionnaire and its subscales exhibited good reliability (internal consistency and retest-reliability). Analysis of the measurement invariance of the single items over groups differing in age, gender, meditation experience, and symptom load pointed to the absence of systematic differences in the items' semantic understanding. Parameters reflecting construct validity, criterion validity, and incremental validity as well as change sensitivity were all at least satisfactory. Conclusions: The CHIME is a self-report measure with favorable psychometric properties based on all aspects of mindfulness that are included in current mindfulness scales. This scale may be helpful in the evaluation and further development of mindfulness based interventions.