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(1) Medical doctors and medical students show increased psychological stress levels. International medical students seem to be particularly vulnerable. (2) We compared different methods of assessing stress levels in international and local first year medical students. First, study participants completed questionnaires related to stress, depression, empathy, and self-efficacy (MBI, PSQ, PHQ-9, JSPE-S, and GSE) at three separate points in time (T1 to T3). Second, their heart rate variabilities (HRVs) were recorded in an oral examination, a seminar, and in a relaxing situation. Third, hair samples were collected at the beginning and at the end of the semester to assess the cortisol concentration. (3) Included were 20 international and 20 local first semester medical students. At T1, we found considerable differences between international and local students in the JSPE-S; at T2 in the MBI factor “professional efficacy”, the PHQ-9, and in the JSPE-S; and at T3 in the MBI factors “cynicism” and “professional efficacy”, the PHQ-9, and in the JSPE-S. International and local students also differed concerning their HRVs during relaxation. Over the course of the semester, international students showed changes in the MBI factors “emotional exhaustion” and “professional efficacy”, the PHQ-9, and the GSE. Local students showed changes in the GSE. No effects were found for students’ hair cortisol concentrations. (4) All participants showed low levels of stress. However, while international students experienced their stress levels to decrease over the course of the semester, local students found their stress levels to increase. Full article

Literary animal studies are confronted with a systematic question: How can writing, as a human-made sign system, represent the nonhuman animal as an autonomous agent without falling back into the pitfalls of anthropomorphism? Against the backdrop of this problem, this paper asks how the medium of film allows for a different representation of the animal and analyzes two of Werner Herzog’s later documentary films. Although the depiction of animals and landscapes has always played a significant part in Herzog’s films, critical assessments of his work—including those of Herzog himself—tended to view the role of nature imagery as purely allegorical: it expresses the inner nature, the inner landscapes of the film’s human protagonists. This paper tries to open up a different view. It argues that both Grizzly Man and Encounters at the End of the World develop an aesthetic that depicts nonhuman nature as an autonomous and lively presence. In the close proximity amongst camera, human, and nonhuman agents, a clear distinction between nature and culture is increasingly blurred. Full article