Sales Forecasting of New Entertainment Media Products

Managers predict the sales of new entertainment products prior to their release using comparables, such as similar books from the same author or movies with the same actors. In this study, the authors analyze whether diffusion models for media products provide helpful support in the management task of predicting prelaunch sales of the first distribution channel for three different product categories. They compare the performance of predictions based on (a) simple success factor regressions (OLS) and (b) diffusion models against real management predictions. Based on samples covering the German music, film, and the literary market, we show that model-based forecasts outperform the forecasts of management teams for the majority of the products. In contrast, management is superior in forecasting top sellers. This is due to unobserved factors arising from more management attention attached towards super stars. The authors do not find substantial prediction differences between simple success factor regressions and more complex diffusion models. Thus, managers interested in total sales estimates can easily rely on OLS based success factor predictions. Advertising and product differentiation factors with respect to quality (e.g., star power, critics, or country of origin) are across all 3 industries highly relevant for sales predictions, whereas others variables (e.g., price, distribution power, season, or competition) differ across industries.     

Following Young Students’ Understanding of Three Phenomena in which Transformations of Matter Occur

In order to develop successful teaching approaches to transformations of matter, we need to know more about how young students develop an understanding of these processes. In this longitudinal study, we followed 25 students from 7 to 13 years of age in their reasoning about transformations of matter. The questions addressed included how the students’ understanding of transformations of matter changed and how we can make sense of individual learning pathways. In interviews performed once or twice every year the students described and explained three situations: fading leaves left on the ground, a burning candle, and a glass of water covered with a glass plate on which some mist had formed. When analysing the interviews, we found a common pathway of how the students’ ideas changed over the years in each one of the situations. When analysing individual student’s interviews with Ausubel’s assimilation theory we could discern subordinate, superordinate and combinatorial learning. How these findings can contribute to an improvement of teaching about transformations of matter is discussed.     

Sickness presenteeism of German teachers: prevalence and influencing factors

The aim of the present study was to investigate teachers’ sickness presenteeism (SP). We examined the prevalence of SP in a sample of teachers as well as work-related and health-related influencing factors of teachers’ SP. We used a cross-sectional study design. Teachers working at different types of schools in Rhineland-Palatinate (Germany) participated in an online survey. We used Pearson’s Chi-squared test (in case of categorical variables) or Mann–Whitney-U-test (in case of continuous variables) to test for differences between SP and sociodemographic/work-related/health-related factors. Factors influencing SP were identified using multivariable logistic regression analyses. Nine hundred and twenty-four teachers working at 42 different schools completed the questionnaire (response proportion: 50.1%). The prevalence of SP in our study was 57.1%. The multivariable logistic regression analyses showed less support by supervisors (aOR: 1.77; 95-CI: 1.21–2.60), inappropriate administration efforts (aOR: 1.56; 95-CI: 1.16–2.11), and inappropriate recognition of performance (aOR: 1.44; 95-CI: 1.04–198) as well as exhaustion/fatigue (aOR: 2.29; 95-CI: 1.71–3.08) as main predictors of teachers’ SP. SP is widespread among teachers. As SP is associated with impairment of psychological and physical health in the long run, it is important to implement measures to reduce SP. A climate of support and cooperation as well as assistance for ill teachers to deal with work missed due to absence might be useful strategies.     

National attachment among Berlin and London head teachers: the explanatory impact of national identity,national pride and supranational attachment

The link between formal education and the formation of national attachment is widely acknowledged. Yet, research on teachers’ national attachment is still relatively rare. Based on a comparative analysis of survey data obtained from 281 Berlin and London state secondary school head teachers, this paper proposes a multivariate model in which notions of national identity, levels of national pride and levels of supranational attachment represent predictors of national attachment. The respective statistical analyses reveal striking cross‐national similarities in terms of the individual and joint explanatory impact of these predictors. Other findings concern correlations between different notions of Britishness/Germanness and levels of national attachment, the relationship between national and supranational attachment, and associations between national pride and national attachment.     

‘I’ll take care of the flowers!’ Researching agency through initiatives across different learning environments

ABSTRACT

This case study examined how the agency of a fifth-grade pupil appeared across different learning environments in the primary school context. In this study, agency is defined as the initiatives taken by an individual in interactive situations. The research question is: how does a pupil’s agency manifest and vary through taking initiatives across different learning environments within curriculum-based education? The empirical data consist of 50 video episodes including learning activities in a classroom, in a vegetable garden and on a nearby farm. The findings show that the pupil’s agency varied across learning environments, manifesting itself through complementing, supportive, constructive and challenging initiatives. When developing pedagogy that supports learning across formal and informal learning environments, it is essential to enable pupils to take different kinds of initiatives and to exercise their agency in versatile contexts.     

Behavioral Regulatory Problems Are Associated With a Lower Attentional Bias to Fearful Faces During Infancy

To investigate the role of early regulatory problems (RP), such as problems in feeding, sleeping, and calming down during later development, the association between parent-reported RP at 3 months (no-RP, n = 110; RP, n = 66) and attention to emotional faces at 8 months was studied. Eight-month-old infants had a strong tendency to look at faces and to specifically fearful faces, and the individual variance in this tendency was assessed with eye tracking using a face-distractor paradigm. The early RPs were related to a lower attention bias to fearful faces compared to happy and neutral faces after controlling for temperamental negative affectivity. This suggests that early RPs are related to the processing of emotional information later during infancy.     

Multimethod assessment of self-regulated learning in college students: different methods for different components?

Instructional Science - Although self-regulated learning (SRL) is seen as highly relevant for successful college learning, college students oftentimes show a lack in SRL abilities. Therefore, it...     

The links between pedagogical competence,instructional quality,and mathematics achievement in the lower secondary classroom

Educational Studies in Mathematics - It is widely assumed that teachers play a key role in providing high-quality learning opportunities to students and fostering students’ learning. Yet it...     

Akademisches versus schulbezogenes Fachwissen – ein differenzierteres Modell des fachspezifischen Professionswissens von angehenden Mathematiklehrkräften der Sekundarstufe

Educational research has introduced different models for the professional knowledge of (pre-service) teachers. Existing studies show major differences regarding the construct of content knowledge, which is often conceptualized based on school subject knowledge and varies with respect to academic content knowledge. The latter indicates that the question of what content knowledge teachers need has yet to be resolved. This question is particularly relevant from the perspective of teacher education at universities, since pre-service teachers for secondary schools are usually taught academic content knowledge. In this article we suggest a model of the discipline-specific teacher knowledge that includes pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) alongside two constructs of content knowledge: academic content knowledge (CK) and school-related content knowledge (SRCK). Findings from two studies for the subject area mathematics confirm that the components are empirically separable and that the three-dimensional model is superior to the two-dimensional model (CK, PCK). Moreover, the new construct SRCK holds potential for the investigation of the knowledge of pre-service teachers.     

Der Internationale Beirat der Unesco für Lehrplanfragen

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