The moderating role of internal and external resources on the performance effect of multitasking: Evidence from the R&D performance of surgeons

R&D employees frequently must split their limited time between explorative R&D and exploitative operative tasks. This article explores the influence of this multitasking (pursuing both R&D and operations) on employee R&D performance. The article also analyzes how the relationship between multitasking and individual R&D performance interacts with the degree of access to internal and external resources. We hypothesize that multitasking positively affects R&D performance. Furthermore, we assume that the internal resources (funding, facilities, and support) are increasingly relevant when employees combine R&D and operative activities. However, multitasking employees may show less of a need for external resources (access to networks) in comparison to more focused colleagues. The results of a survey of 332 surgeons from 20 academic medical centers in Germany support our hypotheses. We conclude that managers should ensure that their R&D workforce is also involved in daily operations. Output will be optimized if these employees are not only engaged with explorative tasks but are also involved in exploitative activities. However, managers should also ensure that the appropriate organizational support is provided to individuals who attempt to combine exploration and exploitation. Multitasking individuals benefit the most from access to internal resources, whereas external resources are more efficiently allocated to explorative-only employees.     

Quantification of energy expenditure of recreational football

ABSTRACT

There is a strong relationship between low physical activity level and cardiovascular diseases (CVD). The popularity of football may be used to promote physical activity and previous evidence has shown it is effective to decrease the risk of CVD. However, the energy expenditure (EE) of recreational football is not well known but it is crucial to develop preventive health programmes.

Fifteen sedentary middle-aged male participants were involved (mean ± SDs; age 43.9 ± 3.1 years, weight 83.0 ± 13.6 kg, height 174.9 ± 6.8 cm). EE was estimated from the heart rate (HR)-VO₂ relation during 1-h 5-a-side matches (futsal). Participants covered 3412 ± 381 m in 52 ± 2 min, at an average HR of 85 ± 2% of maximum HR. Estimated EE during a recreational futsal match was 634 ± 92 kcal. One futsal recreational match corresponds to about 50% of American College of Sport Medicine recommended physical activity quantity per week. Based on this estimation: once, twice and 3 sessions per week are equivalent to 50% (634 kcal), 100% (1268 kcal) and 150% (1902 kcal), respectively, of EE suggested in international guidelines. This EE estimation may have important implications for designing recreational football training protocols in health programmes and dose response studies.     

Guidance in inquiry-based instruction – an attempt to disentangle a manifold construct

Inquiry-based instruction is an important teaching strategy in science education that can be implemented to achieve different learning goals (e.g. the learning of science content or of inquiry skills and strategies). Inquiry-based instruction is often combined with guidance attempting to assist students to effectively engage in inquiry activities and, through this engagement, reach the intended goals. In recent research, the type and amount of guidance needed to foster student’s learninghas received considerable attention. One challenge in interpreting the results of this line of research is the manifold meanings of the term ‘guidance’ and its implementation in inquiry-based instruction. Moreover, the effectiveness of a particular type and amount of guidance may also depend on the learning goal that is to be achieved. In this paper, we draw on existing research and theoretical considerations in attempting to disentangle three major dimensions in which the implementation of guidance may vary: (a) the degree of autonomy, (b) the degree of conceptual information, and (c) the cognitive domain of guidance. We discuss how these dimensions can be used to capture and systemise fidings of existing studies as well as to infer desiderata for further research on the role of guidance in inquiry-based instruction.     

Problems in the planning of higher education

With the growing demand for places in German universities, the present system of allowing entrance to everyone who holds the Abitur has become unsatisfactory. This paper looks at ways of controlling the size of the higher education system and allocating resources from the viewpoint of economic theory.Three ideal type educational planning models are sketched, one of which - a market model - is argued to have the greatest advantages. It would involve a state credit scheme for students with repayments via a graduate tax; student fees would provide all or most of the universities' funds. It would remove the inequity of the present system which involves a transfer of income from today's (relatively poorer) earners to tomorrow's, and from those with lower earning potential to those with higher. Since students would be in a position to choose the most satisfying and/or cheapest courses of study and would find it easier to change courses if they wished, it would reward cost-saving and student-satisfying innovation. By providing more finely graded levels of qualification within subject areas, it would reduce the extent to which jobs are ordered hierarchically in an irrational and inefficient way; and the universities would respond more flexibly to changes in labour market demands.This is a translation, with minor amendments, of a paper published in Fundamental Problems of Infrastructure Planning for Growing Economies, Proceedings of the Conference of the Society for Social Policy, Innsbruck, 1970, Berlin: Verlag von Duncker und Humblot, 1971. It is reproduced here by arrangement with the publisher. The article was translated into English by David Webster.     

Effects of biology teachers’ professional knowledge and cognitive activation on students’ achievement

This study examined the effects of teachers’ biology-specific dimensions of professional knowledge – pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) and content knowledge (CK) – and cognitively activating biology instruction, as a feature of instructional quality, on students’ learning. The sample comprised 39 German secondary school teachers whose lessons on the topic neurobiology were videotaped twice. Teachers’ instruction was coded with regard to cognitive activation using a rating manual. Multilevel path analysis results showed a positive significant effect of cognitive activation on students’ learning and an indirect effect of teachers’ PCK on students’ learning mediated through cognitive activation. These findings highlight the importance of PCK in preservice biology teachers’ education. Items of the rating manual may be used to provide exemplars of concrete teaching situations during university seminars for preservice teacher education or professional development initiatives for in-service teachers.     

Teacher stress interventions: A systematic review

Due to the increased pressure from test‐based accountability practices, teachers have reported high levels of stress and burnout. High teacher stress has an impact on school outcomes, including links to absenteeism, burnout, school climate, and teacher behavior management. Teacher stress interventions may be an important first step toward reducing these negative outcomes. Although there have been several recent intervention studies in the domain of teacher stress, there has been no systematic review to compare the type and effectiveness of teacher stress interventions. Included within this review are interventions from a variety of modalities such as knowledge‐based, behavioral, cognitive‐behavioral, and mindfulness approaches. Results indicated that the most effective interventions were in the mindfulness, behavioral, and cognitive‐behavioral domains. Interventions which delivered solely informational content were among the least effective.     

Early social communication development in infants with autism spectrum disorder

Social-communication differences are a robust and defining feature of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) but identifying early points of divergence in infancy has been a challenge. The current study examines social communication in 9- to 12-month-old infants who develop ASD (N = 30; 23% female; 70% white) compared to typically developing (TD) infants (N = 94, 38% female; 88% white). Results demonstrate that infants later diagnosed with ASD were already exhibiting fewer social-communication skills using eye gaze, facial expression, gestures, and sounds at 9 months (effect size: 0.42–0.89). Moreover, three unique patterns of change across distinct social-communication skills were observed within the ASD group. This study documents that observable social-communication differences for infants with ASD are unfolding by 9 months, pointing to a critical window for targeted intervention.