The passionate scholar: A mid-life,woman doctoral student's quest for voice

The feminist, esthetic, cooperative inquiry described in this article is the first longitudinal study to trace the development of scholarly identity in a group of mid-life women participants during their doctoral years. This 18-month project involved an experiential workshop and four reunions shaped around the metaphor of the hero's journey grounded in feminist pedagogy and expressive methods. Entering doctoral programs with voices made tenuous by life events characteristic of mid-life, participants' scholarly development was intimately linked with their recovery of personal voice and the development of an authentic sense of self. Expressive methods as well as group support were integral to participants developing a scholarly identity that manifested itself in passionate dissertation scholarship. This suggests that participants' scholarly identity development transcended the intellectual and involved psychological, emotional, and spiritual dimensions. Based on these findings, doctoral educators are encouraged to create experiences that offer mid-life women opportunities to reflect on their doctoral journeys within a community of scholarly caring through the creative mediums of metaphor; esthetic, expressive representation; and dialogue.     

Interkulturelles Lernen — Zur Grundlegung eines didaktischen Prinzips interkultureller Begegnungen

In the Federal Republic of Germany there have in recent years been many varied encounters between Germans and representatives of other cultures, particularly those from Third World countries. These have increasingly been organized with an awareness of global interdependence and have as a result opened the door to the influence of foreign cultures and to an unmistakeable movement in the direction of a multicultural society. An intercultural pedagogical approach and didactic theory are faced with the task of resolving the consequent problems related to education and training. The author firstly attempts to systematize as a typology the practice of learning as it occurs in intercultural encounters in so far as this relates to the Federal Republic of Germany. He suggests that ‘intercultural learning’ should be seen as the didactic principle underlying the organization of learning in such encounters. Through a detailed discussion of his central concepts of ‘culture’ and ‘learning’ and of the issue of ‘interculturalism’, and by sketching a theoretical model of the stages and goals of the learning taking place, he then makes plain the necessary enlargement of the German concept of ‘Kultur’ and the process of differentiation which the concept of learning will have to engage in if it is to be applicable to educational activity in international or intercultural contexts.     

A multidimensional analysis of changes in mathematics motivation and engagement during high school

Despite concerns about declining interest and enrolments in mathematics, little research has examined change in a broad range of constructs reflecting mathematics motivation and engagement. The current study used an 11-factor model of motivation and engagement to evaluate levels of maths motivation compared to general academic motivation and to assess group-level and individual-level changes in maths motivation during secondary school. In a multicohort-multioccasion design, Australian students completed an adaptation of the Motivation and Engagement Scale in two consecutive school years. Ratings in mathematics were lower than general academic motivation on several scales but particularly on the planning and task management scales and for the year seven cohort. Mean ratings of valuing and task management decreased over the two years, while stability of mathematics motivation was moderate. Girls reported stronger anxiety, uncertain control and failure avoidance than boys, despite also reporting greater mastery focus. The findings demonstrate that a multidimensional model facilitates a differentiated analysis of possible reasons for a waning interest in mathematics.     

Inbound Open Innovation and Innovation Performance: A Robustness Study

In studies of firm's innovation performance, regression analysis can involve a significant level of model uncertainty because the ‘true’ model, and therefore the appropriate set of explanatory variables are unknown. Drawing on innovation survey data for France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, we assess the robustness of the literature on inbound open innovation to variable selection choices, using Bayesian model averaging (BMA). We investigate a wide range of innovation determinants proposed in the literature and establish a robust set of findings for the variables related to the introduction of new-to-the-firm and new-to-the-world innovation with the aim of gauging the overall healthiness of the literature. Overall, we find greater robustness for explanations for new-to-the-firm rather than new-to-the-world innovation. We explore how this approach might help to improve our understanding of innovation.     

Technology,capabilities and critical perspectives: what can critical theory contribute to Sen’s capability approach?

This paper explores what insights can be drawn from critical theory to enrich and strengthen Sen’s capability approach in relation to technology and human development. The two theories share some important commonalities: both are concerned with the pursuit of “a good life”; both are normative theories rooted in ethics and meant to make a difference, and both are interested in democracy. The paper provides a brief overview of both schools of thought and their applications to technology and human development. Three areas are identified where critical theory can make a contribution to the capability approach: conceptually, by providing a critical account of individual agency and enriching the concept of technology beyond the simplistic notion of commodities; methodologically, by sensitising towards reification and hegemony of scientific tools, and, finally, by emphasising reflexivity of researchers.