The influence of information depth and information breadth on brokers’ idea newness in online maker communities

Social networks provide individuals with diverse or redundant information depending on the network structure. Both types of information offer advantages for generating new ideas. At the same time, network structure and network content are independent. As a result, two individuals with the same network position can access diverse or redundant content from their social peers. In this study, we investigate the function of social networks in innovative endeavors given individuals’ different kinds of information accessing behavior. In accordance with previous research, we argue that individuals with a broker status access more diverse information through non-redundant network structures and develop, on average, more novel ideas. We further propose that redundancy in content complements brokers’ structural non-redundancy by providing familiar knowledge elements and therefore interpretability, while non-redundancy in both content and structure leads to information overload. Thus, we hypothesize that brokers accessing more information depth, and independently, less information breadth generate newer ideas. To test our hypotheses, we collected data from a popular online maker community containing 18,146 ideas, 19,919 profiles, and 52,663 comments. We used topic modeling (Latent Dirichlet Allocation) to extract hidden knowledge elements and social network analysis to identify brokers. In line with our hypotheses, we find that information depth (breadth) strengthens (weakens) a favorable broker position. These findings have implications for the literature on idea generation in social networks and household sector innovation.     

Sind die bildungswissenschaftlichen Standards für die Lehramtsausbildung in den Curricula der Hochschulen angekommen?

During the Bologna reforms, the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs (abbr.: Standing Conference) formulated education standards for higher education teacher training programmes (KMK 2004a) in the areas of teaching, educating, diagnostics, and innovation. Currently there is very little research on the extent to which these education standards are reflected in the teacher training curriculums at universities. This contribution analyses the course regulations, module handbooks, and exam regulations for teacher training programmes at 16 universities for the inclusion of content required by the education standards. The document analysis shows that a large proportion of the education standards introduced by the Standing Conference (KMK 2004a) are not considered by the curriculums of many universities.     

Der Abbau von Bildungsbenachteiligung durch Kindertagesbetreuung für unter 3-Jährige – zwischen Wunsch und Wirklichkeit

Based on the assumption that children can benefit from early childhood education, the present paper investigates if the admission to day care and the selection of the type of day care (child care centers and home day care) is socially selective. In doing so, the paper analyzes how the socioeconomic and immigrant background of families influences which type of day care is used. For children under the age of three, the social background of families does influence if a child receives day care, but this influences diminishes the older the children get. The type of day care (child care centers and home day care) did not differ according to social background. The paper closes with a discussion of the challenges and potentials for development of educating children under the age of three.     

Lay perceptions of collectives at the outbreak of the H1N1 epidemic: heroes, villains and victims

Lay perceptions of collectives (e.g., groups, organizations, countries) implicated in the 2009 H1N1 outbreak were studied. Collectives serve symbolic functions to help laypersons make sense of the uncertainty involved in a disease outbreak. We argue that lay representations are dramatized, featuring characters like heroes, villains and victims. In interviews conducted soon after the outbreak, 47 Swiss respondents discussed the risk posed by H1N1, its origins and effects, and protective measures. Countries were the most frequent collectives mentioned. Poor, underdeveloped countries were depicted as victims, albeit ambivalently, as they were viewed as partly responsible for their own plight. Experts (physicians, researchers) and political and health authorities were depicted as heroes. Two villains emerged: the media (viewed as fear mongering or as a puppet serving powerful interests) and private corporations (e.g., the pharmaceutical industry). Laypersons' framing of disease threat diverges substantially from official perspectives.     

Die Organisation sportlichen Erfolges

As the result of German efforts to advance elite sports being partially guided by the presumed successful example of the German Democratic Republic there has been an increase in vertically integrated sponsoring organizations to promote elite sports, particularly after reunification. Adhering to Williamson’s (1975) transaction costs economics, the theory is assessed that in producing sports success the effectiveness of hierarchical organizations depends on the specificity of production factors. Based on a comparison of former students of elite sports schools with non-elite students it could be shown that encouragement of talent in elite schools is advantageous in those types of sports that require specific sports locales or sites for practice. The results provide insight into how the productivity of elite sports schools could be enhanced.     

Education governance and standardised tests in Denmark and England

In this study we identify and compare the impact of standardised student assessment in England, an established neoliberal context, and in Denmark where a neoliberal education reform agenda is emerging in response to both national concerns and international governance. National reading tests for students aged 11–12 years, long established in England, were introduced in Denmark in 2010. The form they take differs considerably, being primarily formative in Denmark and largely summative in England. Culturally sensitive extended semi-structured interviews are conducted with both teachers and students and analysed to identify the extent to which neoliberal reform is mobilised through testing in each context and how testing shapes curriculum and pedagogy. Significantly, we find that in Denmark, where professional judgement still dominates, teachers often deploy pedagogical approaches to service what they believe to be their students’ best interests. In England, however, teachers try to accommodate a concern for both their students’ and their own interests, and the pedagogy they enact is more often controlling, instrumental and reductionist; their wish to be proactive is compromised by their need to be responsive. Hence we show how policy technologies shape practice to undermine a deliberate pedagogy rooted in ideas legitimated though scholarship and experience.     

Implicit sequence learning is preserved in dyslexic children

This study investigates the implicit sequence learning abilities of dyslexic children using an artificial grammar learning task with an extended exposure period. Twenty children with developmental dyslexia participated in the study and were matched with two control groups—one matched for age and other for reading skills. During 3 days, all participants performed an acquisition task, where they were exposed to colored geometrical forms sequences with an underlying grammatical structure. On the last day, after the acquisition task, participants were tested in a grammaticality classification task. Implicit sequence learning was present in dyslexic children, as well as in both control groups, and no differences between groups were observed. These results suggest that implicit learning deficits per se cannot explain the characteristic reading difficulties of the dyslexics.     

Motivation to Become a Teacher: a Norwegian Validation of the Factors Influencing Teaching Choice Scale

The act of newly qualified teachers leaving the profession is a growing challenge, both in Norway and internationally. To address recruitment difficulties, there is a need for further knowledge of prospective teachers’ career motivations. The current study validated a Norwegian translation of the Factors Influencing Teaching Choice (FIT-Choice) Scale. Using a sample of 635 preservice teachers, confirmatory factor analyses were conducted. The results indicated that the translated scale offers a valid measure of Norwegian students’ motivation to become teachers. Self-perception of teaching-related abilities was one of the main motivational sources, together with the desire to shape the future of children and adolescents and an interest in teaching. Findings are discussed in relation to previous studies based on the FIT-Choice Scale in other countries.