Twisted Ways to Find Plane Structures in Simple Drawings of Complete Graphs.

Simple drawings are drawings of graphs in which the edges are Jordan arcs and each pair of edges share at most one point (a proper crossing or a common endpoint). A simple drawing is c-monotone if there is a point O such that each ray emanating from O crosses each edge of the drawing at most once. We introduce a special kind of c-monotone drawings that we call generalized twisted drawings. A c-monotone drawing is generalized twisted if there is a ray emanating from O that crosses all the edges of the drawing. Via this class of drawings, we show that every simple drawing of the complete graph with n vertices contains Ω(n12) pairwise disjoint edges and a plane cycle (and hence path) of length Ω(lognloglogn). Both results improve over best previously published lower bounds. On the way we show several structural results and properties of generalized twisted and c-monotone drawings, some of which we believe to be of independent interest. For example, we show that a drawing D is c-monotone if there exists a point O such that no edge of D is crossed more than once by any ray that emanates from O and passes through a vertex of D.

Expression of Basic Emotions in Pictures by German and Vietnamese Art Therapy Students - A Comparative, Explorative Study.

During art therapy self-experience workshops in Vietnam and Germany, the authors noticed that there were differences in how the groups expressed their feelings in paintings. This led the authors to a comparative, explorative study. In this study workshop participants from Germany and Vietnam (29 in each group) were instructed to draw pictures related to basic emotions like sadness, disgust, anger, or happiness. Then, the paintings were evaluated by using rating scales with which formal and content-oriented criteria can be assessed. The interrater reliability was good. The results showed some statistically significant differences. The Vietnamese participants used smaller formats and more colors with stronger color application. They preferred simpler forms than the Germans. The German participants painted in a more abstract manner, while the Vietnamese participants used more concrete images and tended to scenic expressions (representation of stories). There are some reasons which might explain these differences: It is known that cultural influences play an important role in the arts as well as in the way creative arts are taught in a particular society. The expression of emotions is culture-specific as well. The Vietnamese participants were, however, interested in the possibilities art therapy offers and felt that there are good chances for this therapy to develop in their country.

[Helpful Factors of Ambulant Art Therapy in the Group and Changes of Experiences in Psychosomatic Patients]. / Wirkfaktoren ambulanter Kunsttherapie in der Gruppe und Veränderungen im Erleben psychosomatischer Patienten.

The aim of this study was to analyze the experiences of patients suffering from mostly chronic psychosomatic disorders in an ambulant art therapy in the group. Especially, the focus was on the experienced changes, helpful factors and specifics of the therapy as well as on the experienced benefit. For this, 30 patients were interviewed in a semi-standardized way. Additionally, the symptom-based strain was psychometrically recorded in a part of the patients (21) at the beginning of the therapy and after at least 6 months of participation. The evaluation of those interviews with the qualitative analysis of the therapy subjects surrendered an improvement of the health state in most of the participants. Especially group factors, art as a mean of communication, becoming aware of feelings but also diversion and fun were proved to be beneficial. The art therapy also serves for structuring the week as well as a contact point and a resource in the interpersonal communication of everyday life. Nearly all of the patients referred to some important turning point pictures. Mostly, the benefit was valued as being high. But, in contrast, the psychometric measure did not show any significant change. The results emphasize the stabilizing function of art therapy in the examined patients, whereat the classification of the psychometric result is complicated by the absence of a control group.

[Patients' experiences and picture processes during the art therapy in a psychosomatic day hospital]. / Patientenerfahrungen und Bildverläufe in der Kunsttherapie einer psychosomatischen Tagesklinik.

The aim of this study was the examination of the experiences of patients participating in an art therapy during a psychosomatic day hospital. The data basis were 15 transliterated interviews from the end of the treatment, conducted with a presentation of the pictures painted in the art therapy sessions, as well as the digitised pictures. The evaluation was done with a qualitative analysis of the interviews and an analysis of the pictures, using a specially-developed category system. In the art therapy, most part of the pa-tients dealt with own conflicts. Nearly all pa-tients benefitted from the art therapy and indicated an improvement of their feeling. The picture processes are different; at the beginning, wishes and familiar techniques dominated. Pictures of turning points differed in their dimensions. The art therapy was seen as a part of the complete treatment in which several therapies assembled. The final interviews were experienced as helpful for further reflections.

[The effects of art therapy on the somatic and emotional situation of the patients--a quantitative and qualitative analysis]. / Die Auswirkungen der Kunsttherapie auf das körperliche und emotionale Befinden der Patienten--Eine quantitative und qualitative Analyse.

In this pilot study, changes in the patients' current mood during art therapy sessions in a psychosomatic day hospital as well as the meaning of the pictures generated during art therapy are assessed. The sample consisted of 26 patients. The average participant had 16 sessions of art therapy, which was conducted in a group setting. To measure their mood and somatic symptoms, patients were given standardized questionnaires (B-L and ASTS, a German modification of POMS) at the beginning and the end of every art therapy session. In addition, 15 patients were interviewed about the pictures they had created during the art therapy sessions (104 interviews in total). The quantitative evaluations showed a statistically significant reduction in somatic symptoms and a tendency to be in a more positive mood during the course of the day treatment. However, there were no significant differences from the beginning to the end of every therapy session. The evaluation of the interviews showed that the paintings mainly dealt with the patients' own (current, problematic) issues. The colours that were chosen for the painting were particularly important to most patients, and often there is no connection to paintings created during the previous sessions. The patients' problems are often depicted in a symbolic manner. Subjectively, the patients felt better after the art therapy session. They indicated that they mostly use art therapy as a way to express their problems, and only very few also named other goals of art therapy, such as creativity or relaxation.