Multichannel marketing: An experiment on guiding citizens to the electronic channels

Governments have a variety of channels at their disposal to help them interact with their citizens. Having realized that citizens still prefer the traditional channels, governments are now focusing on ways to lead them to the web. Previously, we have shown that citizens prefer the use of soft instruments, such as communication. Communication instruments are characterized by the transfer of information from government to citizens, for example, by means of mass media or a letter. This study focuses on how a communication instrument—in this case a personal letter—can be used to lead citizens to the digital channel. We also show the effects of the instrument both in terms of channel usage and citizen perceptions. Based on a field experiment, carried out in cooperation with a Dutch national government agency, we show that unobtrusive channel marketing can be effectively used to increase usage of government e-services, without negatively affecting citizens' current level of satisfaction with service delivery.     

Klassifikation von Leistungsprofilen im Handballsprungwurf

The jump throw is one of the most applied techniques in handball. Therefore, analyzing its underlying performance factors is important since they may provide a basis to adjust training interventions. Currently, the coach decides what needs to be improved in order to enhance the overall performance of an athlete. The aim of this study is to break down the performance factors in jump throws and to assign athletes to subgroups. This classification should allow athletes to benefit from the resulting group-specific training contents and may support a coach in deciding about the next steps in his training program. A total of 113 male handball players (age 15 ± 0.38 years, height 184.07 ± 7.1?cm, weight 74.83 ± 9.31?kg) participated in this study. From each athlete the standing reach height (SRH), the jumping reach height achieved with a countermovement jump (JRH), the maximal ball height achieved with a handball-specific single-legged jump and straight arm (BHJ), and the ball release height achieved in a jump throw (BHT) were measured. Performance factors were derived as differences between these measurements (JRH ? SRH = UJA for unspecific jump ability, BHJ ? JRH = SJT for specific jump technique, BHT ? BHJ = STT for specific throwing technique). A hierarchical cluster analysis was used to find groups of athletes based on the derived and scaled difference measures (UJA, SJT, STT). The dendrogram shows a clear distinction of four groups of athletes. Average values within each cluster reveal (A) one group with high UJA values, (B) one with low UJA values, (C) one with high SJT but low STT, and (D) one with low SJT but high STT. These results may be interpreted with respect to consequences for training because group (B) seems to benefit most from a general strength training while the properties of group (A), (C), and (D) recommend a focus on technical aspects of performance.     

Kieferchirurgische Operationsplanung mit Hilfe von Techniken der virtuellen Realit?t

Für ein vollst?ndig computergestütztes Planungssystem zum Zwecke der kieferchirurgischen Operationsplanung ist die Bereitstellung von virtuellen Werkzeugen für den Chirurgen eine grundlegende Voraussetzung. Ausgehend von den Volumendaten mit Sch?del- und Kieferknochen des Patienten erm?glicht ein einfaches Interface unter Verwendung einer geeigneten Visualisierung und haptischer Eingabeger?te die interaktive Definition und Manipulation einzelner virtueller Knochensegmente. Wir haben moderne kraftrückgekoppelte Ger?te aus dem Niedrigpreisbereich eingebunden und auf ihre F?higkeit untersucht, das dreidimensionale Verst?ndnis im Planungsproze?durch Anlehnung an die Vorg?nge bei der chirurgischen Prozedur zu erh?hen. Durch diese Eingabeger?te ist es m?glich, die Knochensegmentierung für eine Osteotomie des Unterkiefers intuitiver und schneller durchzuführen. Die definierten Teilvolumina ergeben zusammen mit ihrer r?umlichen Neuanordnung auf Grundlage einer kephalometrischen Analyse einen Operationsplan. Nach erfolgter Planung werden die Planungsergebnisse in den Operationssaal übertragen. Die intraoperativen Techniken beinhalten die Visualisierung der Planungsergebnisse, die Steuerung der Anwendung über Sprache und die Bestimmung der Patientenposition mittels eines elektromagnetischen 3D-Trackingsystems.     

Laser separation of isotopes

Laser separation of isotopes was first shown to be scientifically practicable at the start of the 1970s, when the isotopes of nitrogen, chlorine, hydrogen, and many other elements were successfully separated. Its most important applications are for uranium and plutonium enrichment. Enriched uranium is used as fuel for nuclear power stations, while enriched plutonium can be used to design more effective nuclear weapons. Ninety-eight per cent of all enriched uranium is now produced in gaseous diffusion installations, the remaining 2 per cent being produced by gaseous centrifugation. Research into laser separation is being conducted in numerous countries and will lead to the production of enriched plutonium on an industrial scale by the end of this decade.     

Das AutoMoDe-Projekt Modellbasierte Entwicklung softwareintensiver Systeme im Automobil

Die Entwicklung eingebetteter Software für Automobile ist inh?rent komplex und vereint verschiedene Entwicklungsphasen, mehrere fachliche Disziplinen, sowie verschiedene Akteure in beteiligten Unternehmen. Der AutoMoDe-Ansatz zur Entwicklung automotiver Software beschreibt Systeme auf verschiedenen Abstraktionsebenen und definiert schrittweise überg?nge zwischen diesen Ebenen. Neben der Definition geeigneter Ebenen werden zur Modellierung von Echtzeitsystemen ein einheitliches Berechnungsmodell sowie dom?nenspezifische Beschreibungstechniken verwendet. Automatisierte Anbindungen für Analyse und Synthese komplexer Softwaresysteme mit dem Ziel eines konsistenzbetonten Entwicklungsprozesses wurden realisiert. Die beschriebenen Techniken wurden in den Werkzeugprototypen AutoFocus integriert und im Zusammenspiel mit einer Werkzeugkette demonstriert.     

Identifying cross-domain distinguishing features of cognitive structure

Our research aims to identify domain-specific similarities and differences of externalized cognitive structures. Cognitive structure, also known as knowledge structure or structural knowledge, is conceived as the manner in which an individual organizes the relationships of concepts in memory. By diagnosing these structures precisely, even partially, the educator comes closer to influencing them through instructional settings and materials. Our assessment and analysis of cognitive structures is realized within the HIMATT tool, which automatically generates four quantitative indicators for the structural entities of written text or causal maps. In our study, participants worked on the subject domains biology, history, and mathematics. Results clearly indicate different structural and semantic features across the three subject domains. Additionally, we found that written texts and causal maps seem to represent different structure and content across the three subject domains when compared to an expert??s representation. We conclude with a general discussion, instructional implications and suggestions for future research.     

On the interplay between normalisation,bias, and performance of paper impact metrics

We evaluate article-level metrics along two dimensions. Firstly, we analyse metrics’ ranking bias in terms of fields and time. Secondly, we evaluate their performance based on test data that consists of (1) papers that have won high-impact awards and (2) papers that have won prizes for outstanding quality. We consider different citation impact indicators and indirect ranking algorithms in combination with various normalisation approaches (mean-based, percentile-based, co-citation-based, and post hoc rescaling). We execute all experiments on two publication databases which use different field categorisation schemes (author-chosen concept categories and categories based on papers’ semantic information).In terms of bias, we find that citation counts are always less time biased but always more field biased compared to PageRank. Furthermore, rescaling paper scores by a constant number of similarly aged papers reduces time bias more effectively compared to normalising by calendar years. We also find that percentile citation scores are less field and time biased than mean-normalised citation counts.In terms of performance, we find that time-normalised metrics identify high-impact papers better shortly after their publication compared to their non-normalised variants. However, after 7 to 10 years, the non-normalised metrics perform better. A similar trend exists for the set of high-quality papers where these performance cross-over points occur after 5 to 10 years.Lastly, we also find that personalising PageRank with papers’ citation counts reduces time bias but increases field bias. Similarly, using papers’ associated journal impact factors to personalise PageRank increases its field bias. In terms of performance, PageRank should always be personalised with papers’ citation counts and time-rescaled for citation windows smaller than 7 to 10 years.     

Higher education policy change and the hysteresis effect: Bourdieusian analysis of transformation at the site of a post-apartheid university

In this article we focus on constraints to post-apartheid transformation in the higher education sector of South Africa via a case study of an attempt to introduce a new curriculum for the Bachelor of Education. Thirty-one semi-structured interviews were the main data-gathering method. We use Pierre Bourdieu’s concepts of field, capital, habitus and hysteresis to explain why transformation proved difficult in this case. We analyse the higher education field that gave rise to this curriculum with a brief historical overview of the position of Afrikaners as the dominated part of the dominant white group in the early years of the twentieth century. Their lack of cultural, economic and intellectual capital gave rise to a position-taking that placed Afrikaans language universities in general and Faculties of Education in particular into the heteronomous part of the higher education field. At first the curriculum, and their intellectual habitus, was in synch. However, it started to drift apart because of a number of economic and political changes that made their position at the heteronomous part of the higher education field increasingly untenable. Because of their insulation from the wider higher education field, academics in the Faculty of Education were at first only vaguely aware of the implications of these changes. However, when a dean was appointed in 2000 with a mandate to transform the curriculum for the BEd, they experienced hysteresis, and they were no longer feeling at home in the field. This explains why the new curriculum was consequently substantially subverted.