Risky Politics? Associations Between Adolescent Risk Preference and Political Engagement

This study examined associations among adolescent risk preference and political engagement using nationally representative Monitoring the Future data from high school seniors (N = 109,574; modal age = 18 years) spanning 1976–2014. Greater risk preference was associated with greater past voting, donating to a campaign, writing government officials, boycotting, and protesting. Greater risk preference was also associated with higher future intentions to boycott and protest, but lower intentions to donate to or volunteer for a campaign. In general, associations between risk preference and political engagement became stronger with higher levels of political interest. Results highlight the importance of considering the adaptive role of adolescent risk preference and suggest that political engagement may be a constructive outlet for youth who pursue or are comfortable taking risks.     

How French counsellors treat school violence: An adult-centered approach

This article explores characteristics of school violence inFrance and the privileged means by which school counsellors can address this increasinglywidespread problem. In the first section, the status of counsellors in theFrench schools is outlined, and it is shown that counselling activities are reallyonly undertaken for students in junior high or high school. Two importantcharacteristics of the French view of school violence are: The experts in psychology takelittle interest in problems of school violence; and adults, rather than students,are seen as the primary victims. In this context, counsellors try to reduceschool violence primarily through training and reflecting with school staff. Severalempirical arguments suggest, in effect, that the adults' perceptions of the students is adetermining factor in the social regulation of school violence. This violence consistsmostly of incivilities that are only slightly reprehensible but oftenunbearable for certain teachers. Depending on whether the school staff try to understandthe incivilities or can only see them as pure savagery, they either try to controlthem through education or they lose confidence in their professional mission.The goal of counsellors is both to help the personnel develop theircapacities and motivate them to analyze the students' behavior, and to engender a senseof team spirit.     

School Response to a Changing Labour Market

The presumed link between schooling and the economy has been a prime force in motivating educational reform proposals in many countries. Educators feel caught between expectations by many that schools will play a key role in labour market success for young people and the reality that their influence on labour market outcomes is relatively weak. Solving the problem is not possible, but neither is ignoring it. Schools face an intractable yet compelling problem.This paper looks at the way in which school districts in a Canadian province understand and try to respond to changes in the labour market and the nature of work. The paper is based on collaborative case studies of five school districts and surveys of school board members and chief superintendents. We conclude that people in school systems are aware in a general way of labour market changes, and see them as having negative implications for students. However the changing job situation seems to be an important but largely unanalyzed issue. There is relatively little discussion of school-work issues in schools and districts. Administrators and school board members rely on informal sources of information rather than gathering data about their own situation. Schools and districts are using various programmatic devices to address labour market needs, such as partnerships, work experience, or co-operative education, but all of these operate within the confines of a traditional model of schooling. None of the districts has a strategy for this issue or has made it a priority.We conclude with some suggestions for measures schools could reasonably take to respond more effectively to the impact of changes in work.     

What university teachers teach and how they teach it

In this article we make three related arguments. The first isthat different teachers have different intentions concerning whatstudents will learn and consequently in their teaching they constitutethe topic or subject to be taught quite differently. The second is thata teacher's intentions concerning what it is that students should learnis closely aligned with a teacher's expectation of how students learnand how they can be helped to learn through teaching. The third is thatwhen teachers focus specifically on the teaching of a particular topic,within a specific context, there is a close relationship between theirintentions and their teaching practice. In this article we explore thesearguments through an empirical study which considers the different waysin which 26 university teachers intended to constitute a subject ortopic for their students to study, how they then taught the subject andsubsequently how consistent were their intentions and their practice.The analysis shows that when the context of teaching and learning istightly defined there is a clear relationship between a teacher'sintention and their practice. In particular, university teachers whoadopt more conceptual change and student-focussed approaches to teachingconstitute objects of study which are more relational and focus on thestudent's knowledge. Approaches which are more information transmissionand teacher-focussed constitute objects of study which are moremulti-structural and have a focus on knowledge which is as constitutedas being external to the student.     

Reconstruction and virtual model of the Schickard calculator

Exhibition of objects such as paintings or historical artefacts often involves a common problem: the objects presented are unique, delicate and, therefore, very valuable. On the other hand, these objects should be made accessible to scholars and educators. We present an application of modern 3D computer graphics in the field of reconstructing ancient scientific instruments. The first-four-species calculator of Wilhelm Schickard is made accessible to the public in the World Wide Web using Java 3D.     

Anthropogenic emission is the main contributor to the rise of atmospheric methane during 1993–2017

Atmospheric methane (CH₄) concentrations have shown a puzzling resumption in growth since 2007 following a period of stabilization from 2000 to 2006. Multiple hypotheses have been proposed to explain the temporal variations in CH₄ growth, and attribute the rise of atmospheric CH₄ either to increases in emissions from fossil fuel activities, agriculture and natural wetlands, or to a decrease in the atmospheric chemical sink. Here, we use a comprehensive ensemble of CH₄ source estimates and isotopic δ¹³C-CH₄ source signature data to show that the resumption of CH₄ growth is most likely due to increased anthropogenic emissions. Our emission scenarios that have the fewest biases with respect to isotopic composition suggest that the agriculture, landfill and waste sectors were responsible for 53 ± 13% of the renewed growth over the period 2007–2017 compared to 2000–2006; industrial fossil fuel sources explained an additional 34 ± 24%, and wetland sources contributed the least at 13 ± 9%. The hypothesis that a large increase in emissions from natural wetlands drove the decrease in atmospheric δ¹³C-CH₄ values cannot be reconciled with current process-based wetland CH₄ models. This finding suggests the need for increased wetland measurements to better understand the contemporary and future role of wetlands in the rise of atmospheric methane and climate feedback. Our findings highlight the predominant role of anthropogenic activities in driving the growth of atmospheric CH₄ concentrations.     

Educational administration and supervision in Japan

The administration and supervision of education represents one of the most controversial issues in post-war Japanese education. The basic issue is one of centralization or decentralization. The left wing teachers union favours local control, the conservative government, central control. The American Occupation established a system of local school boards which, as a result of political lobbying, were largely controlled by teachers union sympathisers. In 1956, four years after the end of the Occupation, the Japanese government eliminated the election of board members and replaced voluntary compliance with compulsory compliance with Ministry of Education objectives. This compulsory compliance was most clearly demonstrated in the central authorization of textbooks and in the implementation of theshunin system, which, the teachers union claims, introduces too many administrative positions into schools and further bureaucratized education. The Ministry claims that theshunin positions serve a guidance rather than an administrative function; the union on the other hand foresees the disruption of the unity of its rank and file members as a result of the insertion of a middle management wedge. Theshunin controversy clearly demonstrates how the administration of Japanese education has become enmeshed in partisan politics and Japanese history and tradition.