中美制造业质量管理活动的比较研究

对中国和美国制造业的质量管理活动进行比较研究。通过对中美制造业管理人员进行问卷调查以及对问卷结果进行统计分析,发现了中美企业质量管理活动的异同。同时通过对结果的分析得出中美两国企业对质量管理活动的认识的差距在缩小,这一结论也是对中美制造能力的差距正在减小这一观点的支持。质量管理活动的问卷由对顾客的观念、对设备和设施投资的观念、制定全球性决策的观念、管理控制的观念、对供应商整合的观念、工程再造计划、单元式制造、质量改进努力、预防维修、拉动式生产10个方面构成。     

A cross-age study of the understanding of five chemistry concepts

A sample of 100 students from junior high school physical science, high school chemistry, and introductory college chemistry were examined for understanding of five chemistry concepts. The concepts addressed were chemical change, dissolution of a solid in water, conservation of atoms, periodicity, and phase change. The amount of experience with the concepts (grade level) and reasoning ability (developmental level) were examined as possible sources of variation in student understanding. Differences in understanding with respect to grade level were found to be significant for the concepts of chemical change, dissolution of a solid, conservation of atoms, and periodicity. However, few of the students in the college chemistry sample exhibited sound understanding of chemical change, periodicity, or phase change. The use of particulate terms (atoms, ions, molecules) increased across the grade levels. Reasoning ability proved to be a significant factor for student understanding of conservation of atoms and periodicity. An examination of the number and types of misconceptions across the grade levels revealed several interesting patterns and suggested sources for the students' alternative conceptions.     

Challenging the premises of international policy reviews: an introduction to the review symposium

In 2009, a think tank called the International Alliance of Leading Education Institutes (IALEI) announced the results of a study entitled Climate Change and Sustainable Development: The Response from Education. Intended for a policy audience, the study offered a glimpse into the status of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) and an early look at the emergence of Climate Change Education (CCE), in 10 different nations. As with most international reports, the IALEI report provoked many questions, some of which are more broadly relevant to scholarship and practice. This paper introduces a review symposium that addresses three such questions: (1) How coherent is the concept of ESD across national contexts and what conceptual tensions continue to surround ESD and CCE? (2) Can nation-level analyses tell us anything useful about countries where education is not centrally governed? and (3) In light of the evolving relationship between educational research and policy, how should researchers engage with ongoing policy debates?     

Effects of a rubric for mathematical reasoning on teaching and learning in primary school

Rubrics are assessment tools that help students gain complex competencies. Our quasi-experimental study aimed to evaluate whether rubrics help teachers teach and assess mathematical reasoning in primary school and whether such an instrument might support student learning. In two Swiss cantons, 762 students in 44 5th- and 6th-grade primary classes worked on their reasoning competencies, and half of them additionally employed our standards-based rubric. All of the teachers received a 1-day training and participated in the final project evaluation. To standardise and support the teachers during the implementation phase, they received a detailed curriculum. An achievement test and questionnaires for students and teachers were administered before and at the end of the intervention. The results of our quantitative longitudinal analyses indicate that the rubric fosters the teachers’ perceived diagnostic skills but only indirectly impacts their use of formative feedback. Based on the students’ perceptions, however, we observed a direct effect of the rubric on formative feedback and student self-assessment. Effects on students’ outcomes could not be observed, but there are indications of effects mediated by self-regulation and self-efficacy.     

A confederate Agricultural Knowledge System

Abstract

Previous, analytical-empirical case studies of national Agricultural Knowledge Systems (AKSs) have produced a list of factors which are typical for successful AKSs. The aim of the present paper is to investigate (1) in how far these factors exist in the Swiss AKS, (2) in what ways the unique, confederal system of Switzerland has had an influence on its AKS, and (3) whether additional, generalizable factors can be identified, which could add to the efficiency of the national AKSs.

The federal system of Switzerland with its relatively small cantons which are responsible for law enforcement and agricultural extension (but not for research) imposes special conditions on its AKS and makes it difficult to manage them. Informal communication devices help to overcome this drawback.

The investigation of the Swiss AKS corroborates the list of criteria for well functioning AKSs that were identified in earlier research, and added two new points: (1) the need for “relais” stations to overcome interfaces between research and extension, especially when these two subsystems function at different organisational levels, or when extension is split up into small units; (2) the value of networking among different national AKSs.     

COLLEGE EDUCATORS AND THE RETIREMENT DECISION

Our findings from a survey study of retired educators (N – 373) confirm that reasons for the retirement decision have changed over time. Long‐term retirees were found to stress the influence of statutory imperatives in leaving the workplace, whereas the recently retired, and women in particular, were more likely to cite factors related to personal interest and life‐style. Results suggest that university personnel programs engaged in retirement life planning need to be responsive to retirees' changing needs.