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Film and VR Evening: Screening Diversity – Diversity and Virtuality

Screening Diversity – Diversity and Virtuality

Joint event with SFB 1567
RUB Diversity Day

May 24, 2023, 6 p.m. – 10 p.m.
RUB-Campus, HGB 10

The Collaborative Research Centers 1567 (Virtual Lifeworlds) and 1280 (Extinction Learning) continued the SFB tradition of a joint short film festival on the occasion of the RUB Diversity Day – for the first time with immersive media! Under the title Screening Diversity – Diversity and Virtuality, both SFBs jointly showed short films presenting selected VR applications. The productions offer a variety of approaches to the topic of diversity: some address the possibility of becoming someone else or being perceived as someone else, some already refer to aspects of diversity in their production. In an open post-production discussion, the two SFB speakers Stefan Rieger (1567) and Onur Güntürkün (1280), together with Dr. Jördis Grabow (Institute for Diversity Research, Göttingen), jointly examined from their respective different professional perspectives which realities appear in the virtual, which diversity the virtual promises and which it can deliver.

We thank you for all the feedback and your interest in watching, testing and discussing what we have seen and experienced under the VR glasses.

Screening Diversity was an event organized by the CRC 1567 Virtual Lifeworlds and the CRC 1280 Extinction Learning as part of the first university forum “Diversity and Virtuality”. It was also part of the RUB Diversity Day.

New Year, New Me: The Facts

As the calendar turns to a new year, millions of people around the world commit to New Year’s resolutions, making promises to use the new year as a fresh beginning and an opportunity for transformation. In 2024, almost three-quarters of the British population set themselves New Year’s resolutions — that’s around 40 million people (or the entire population of Canada). This tradition was particularly strong among younger generations, with 96% of Generation Z (aged 18-27) planning resolutions, compared to just 35% of the Silent Generation (aged 79+).

Most common new years resolutions:

  1. Saving more money (52%)
  2. Eat healthier (50%)
  3. Exercise more (48%)
  4. Lose weight (37%)
  5. Spend more time with family/friends (35%)

How long do most resolutions normally last before being broken?

  • Data from America (2016) shows that 75% of individuals maintain their resolutions through the first week. 
  • 64% of individuals maintain their resolutions through the first month. 
  • 46% of individuals in America keep their resolutions past the 6-month mark.

What makes resolutions stick?

Oscarsson et al. (2020) conducted research into what makes New Year’s resolutions stick. Biggest success rates depended on how people phrased their goals. Participants who set approach-oriented goals (trying to move toward or maintain a desirable outcome or state) than those with avoidance-oriented goals (trying to move toward or maintain a desirable outcome or state) were significantly more successful (58.9% vs. 47.1%) at sticking to their goals.

The study also investigates the effects of outside support. These participants received monthly follow-ups and emails with information and exercises for coping with hurdles when striving toward personal goals, and were also encouraged to set goals using the SMART technique and to set interim goals. The group that received some support was exclusively and significantly more successful compared to the groups who received a lot of support or no support at all. 

Additionally, you might feel more successful if you set goals that are measurable in numbers. While success for a person striving to quit smoking or lose weight could easily be measured in the number of cigarettes smoked or body mass index, the success for a person striving to “take better care of themselves” could be highly subjective and possibly impossible to measure.

So as we enter 2026, let’s remember to work with our brain’s natural learning system: Frame your goals positively, break them into manageable steps, and celebrate small wins along the way.