Formative assessment in an online learning environment to support flexible on-the-job learning in complex professional domains

This article describes a blueprint for an online learning environment that is based on prominent instructional design and assessment theories for supporting learning in complex domains. The core of this environment consists of formative assessment tasks (i.e., assessment for learning) that center on professional situations. For each professional situation, three levels of situational complexity are defined, and within each of these three levels, tasks are offered that differ in the degree of support offered to the learner. This environment can support (beginning) professionals in complex domains in gaining insight into the available repertoire of behavior in professional situations, as well as into the quality and effectiveness of that behavior (assessment criteria), while simultaneously helping them to develop insight into the standards that their own behavior should (eventually) match.     

Sports and Violence Reflected in the Mirror of Modern Societies: Sport Ambiguities

The theory of Norbert Elias, with regard to the ‘civilising process’, widely taken up and nourished by his epigons such as Eric Dunning, does not fully explain the reasons why sport, far from systematically pacifying, tends equally to reproduce or amplify certain violent tendencies in societal groups, when it does not in itself constitute the germ of the violence in the heart of contemporary societies. In fact, Elias considers the ‘new’ social configuration as a tool used to control violence, forgetting that the institutionalisation of budding practices also bears witness to social and societal transformations, including free time, access to education, growth of cities, the economic development of states, circulation of goods, merchandise and people, the forming of the media and communication cultures, and the dissemination of information and cultural models. The purpose of this study is to show how his singular posture prevents Elias from understanding all the facets of sport as being prey to its own tensions and contradictions, particularly when it is a case of examining the ‘educational’ positions of the activity reflected in the mirror of the socio-historical conditions of the production of culture and the ways in which the practice of sport has been instrumentalised.     

A cross-case analysis of three Native Science Field Centers

Native Science Field Centers (NSFCs) were created to engage youth and adults in environmental science activities through the integration of traditional Native ways of knowing (understanding about the natural world based on centuries of observation including philosophy, worldview, cosmology, and belief systems of Indigenous peoples), Native languages, and Western science concepts. This paper focuses on the Blackfeet Native Science Field Center, the Lakota Native Science Field Center, and the Wind River Native Science Field Center. One of the long-term, overarching goals of these NSFCs was to stimulate the interest of Native American students in ways that encouraged them to pursue academic and career paths in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. A great deal can be learned from the experiences of the NSFCs in terms of effective educational strategies, as well as advantages and challenges in blending Native ways of knowing and Western scientific knowledge in an informal science education setting. Hopa Mountain—a Bozeman, Montana-based nonprofit—partnered with the Blackfeet Community College on the Blackfeet Reservation, Fremont County School District #21 on the Wind River Reservation, and Oglala Lakota College on the Pine Ridge Reservation to cooperatively establish the Native Science Field Centers. This paper presents a profile of each NSFC and highlights their program components and accomplishments.     

Child sex tourism in the context of the 2014 FIFA Football World Cup: the case of the host city of Recife,Brazil

This study aims to analyse the issue of child sex tourism (CST) and its correlation with sporting mega-events, taking into consideration the implementation of preventive public policy in the host city of Recife (located in the north-east of Brazil), during the 2014 FIFA Football World Cup. Through a qualitative approach based on a three-year longitudinal study – using interviews, observation and photographs – the theme will be analysed by considering the involved social issues, and the implications for excluded sectors of society in the organization of so-called mega-events. A total of 36 interviews were conducted with 22 individuals, who were divided into three groups: project managers, local population and children abused. CST does not occur in a vacuum and cannot be disconnected from more general social, economic and cultural concerns, which are often overlooked in analyses. Although this study is based upon a short-term timescale, the results obtained in the analysed projects have been satisfactory, but over the long term, effective social and educational measures must be prioritized in order to improve the situation for the actors involved. As part of a sporting mega-event, the topic of child sex tourism remains marginal, particularly in countries where social inequality persists.     

Quandaries in the economics of dual technologies and spillovers from military to civilian research and development

In this paper we argue that the ‘standard’ view of the relationship between military and civilian technology is too simple and cannot account for the variety of historical experiences. In order to understand this relationship, attention must be paid to two things: that technologies have a lifecycle, in different parts of which different types of learning are important; and that the relationship between military and civilian sectors will change depending on the nature of the technology involved, in particular whether it is a process or a product technology. In addition, the standard view does not pay heed to the fact that there are specific organizational requirements to realize any potential cross-benefits. We describe a framework with which to analyse the various features of the relationship taking into account these considerations.     

A 5‐Year Longitudinal Study on Mood Variability Across Adolescence Using Daily Diaries

This study explored the development of mood variability in 474 Dutch adolescents (56.8% male, 90.1% medium to high socioeconomic status) from a community sample, followed from ages 13 to 18 years. Three times per year, adolescents reported on daily happiness, anger, sadness, and anxiety for 5 days using Internet diaries (15 assessment weeks; from 2006 to 2010). Mood variability scores were calculated as means of absolute differences between consecutive days. Results showed that happiness, anger, and sadness variability continuously declined across adolescence, while anxiety variability increased initially, then decreased, and then increased toward late adolescence. Despite females experiencing higher happiness and sadness variability, the rate of change across adolescence was similar for both sexes. Implications for normative emotional development and future studies are discussed.     

Claiming more: the Increased Voluminosity of Patent Applications and its Determinants

The size of patent applications has doubled over the past two decades, resulting in a dramatic surge in the workload of patent offices all over the world and serious concerns over patent quality standards. The current paper investigates the sources of this inflation in claims and pages for EPO applications. Four hypotheses are quantitatively examined: the diffusion of national drafting practices, the complexity of research activities, the emergence of new sectors, and filing strategies. The results validate the four hypotheses. They reveal major differences across countries in patent drafting styles, especially between Civil and Common Law countries, the latter being characterized by much larger patents. Second, the success of the PCT route is leading to the harmonizing of drafting styles worldwide on the US model. This paper therefore challenges the commonly accepted idea that more claims reflect a broader scope of protection by showing that the size of patents is partly due to institutional changes in the system.     

地方身份的重要性及其对于遗产保护的支撑作用：以比利时根特城市核心区工业化前的邻里关系为例

遗产包括代际之间物质和非物质的交流,各个群体和团体随着其所处环境、与自然界的相互关系和历史条件的变化不断使这种代代相传的物质的和非物质的遗产得到保护和创新,同时使他们自己具有一种认同感和历史感,从而促进了文化多样性,激发人类的创造力。但是目前这种交流的客观事实或性质以及历史维度在遗产保护中并没有给予足够的重视。本文针对遗产在当地社区身份中的重要性,以及地方身份是否在当地居民中产生了对遗产保护的积极性等问题进行了探讨,调查了遗产及其保护是否以及如何成为社区复兴、保护意识、社区建设及公众参与的一个组成部分。因此,当地居民的态度及其期望是非常关键的因素。本文对在比利时弗兰德地区根特城市核心区工业化前的邻里关系进行了考察,并进行了大量的参与式图片调查。尽管其历史渊源相当独特,但当地居民反对退化和支持保护的动机却具有更加普遍的价值。