Confocal XRF depth profiling non-destructively reveals the original blue pigments in a Renaissance painting by Caroto

Recent restoration of The Rest on the Flight into Egypt by Giovanni Francesco Caroto, from the Louvre collections, included a technical examination of the Virgin's blue robe that aimed to characterize the original materials and later additions. The painting was examined using light microscopy and ultraviolet and infrared imaging, and one cross section was taken. None of these methods showed a clear distinction between the layers that were artist applied or modifications made by another hand. To gain information about the paint stratigraphy without taking additional samples, non-invasive confocal X-ray fluorescence (CXRF) analysis was carried out to examine several areas of the Virgin's robe. Using this technique, it was possible to identify the pigments and order of application of paint by the artist. All the pigments identified were considered to be artist applied, and on this basis no further cleaning was carried out and conservation proceeded with retouching of minor areas of loss or damage. This study highlights the advantages of CXRF analysis for the technical study of paintings, used in combination with classical methods for making informed conservation treatment decisions.     

College students' willingness to terminate a pregnancy

403 male and 420 female Michigan State University undergraduate students responded to survey questions on their willingness to terminate a pregnancy. The number of students willing to terminate a pregnancy changed according to situational scenarios and general questions presented. While 96% opted to terminate a life-threatening tubal pregnancy, only 3% would do so in the case of a fetus of unwanted gender. Except for cases of incest and rape, respondents were 2.3 times more likely to terminate for biomedical than for psychosocial reasons. 89% were willing to terminate for incest and 82% for rape. The 75% who considered the fetus to be a child were less inclined to terminate than those who perceived otherwise. These findings paralleled those of other studies which found that attitudes toward abortion are not strongly linked to gender. Most respondents were able to weigh moral convictions against taxing situations when considering pregnancy termination.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Bildung</Emphasis> in globalizing times

This key paper is intended to produce a comparison of Bildung and globalization, acknowledging that Bildung and globalization are both fuzzy concepts. Our comparison of globalization and Bildung therefore is to be seen as a construction. To reach this objective, we start with the identification of dimensions of the concept of globalization based predominantly on sociological research. This analysis is followed by explication of dimensions of the concept of Bildung as they can be identified before a frame of globalization. We want to find out whether it makes sense to see globalization as one part of a new model of Bildung. In the conclusion, we demonstrate the normativity of each and any theory of Bildung in globalizing times, and we explain why it is necessary to reflect on the normativity of the different concepts. We indicate where we see connections with the other papers of this special issue of “Zeitschrift für Erziehungswissenschaft”.     

Moving Fiercely Linear Preservice Teachers into the Joys of Integrating Art in the Classroom: An Artist Residency in a University Early Childhood and Special Education Program

How can artist residencies for preservice teachers plant seeds for future classrooms? Teacher educators and a teaching artist describe a two-tiered residency in an early childhood and special education program that transformed preservice teachers' attitudes toward visual art and arts integration. Findings are based on teaching artist and instructor reflections as well as a qualitative analysis of student journal entries. Preservice teachers who had no prior art training and were resistant toward abstract painting began to enjoy it and appreciate the value of art for children's learning. They came to recognize visual art as a tool to support social development and children with special needs, understood the importance of process in children's art experiences, and considered ways to integrate art throughout the curriculum. We urge teacher educators and teaching artists to incorporate artist residencies into teacher education programs to prepare future teachers to integrate the arts into the classrooms of tomorrow.     

What is in the eye of preservice teachers while instructing? An eye-tracking study about attention processes in different teaching situations

Professional vision research lacks behind regarding the investigation of attention processes in teaching action. In this study, eye movements of preservice teachers were assessed by mobile eye-tracking technology (MET). Eye movements of N = 7 preservice teachers while teaching in standardized instructional situations (M-Teach) and while teaching in classroom were recorded and analyzed with regard to fixation frequency and fixation duration. According to assumptions of expertise research, the results show that preservice teachers strongly differ in their focus of attention. Furthermore, they show that preservice teachers distribute their attention only over a few pupils while teaching. The findings provide important implications with regard to the question how to support attentional processes even at an early stage of professional development, for example by observing own MET videos.     

Will gender equality ever fit in? Contested discursive spaces of university reform

Similar to other European countries, the introduction of non-academic, especially managerial, criteria in higher education has shaped and altered Austrian universities since over a decade. This paper presents the results of a frame analysis of Austrian higher education debates from 1993 until 2010. It outlines how reforms in higher education were prepared and enhanced by a new policy discourse, with a special focus on the way gender equality is framed in reform debates. Our article describes three core frames: ‘from local to global’, ‘from ivory tower to business’ and ‘from civil servant to excellence’. We cluster these three frames around imaginations of space that are embedded in the normative foundations of academia, and discuss how this links up with arguments for gender equality. We furthermore propose to analytically separate two conceptions of the university: the ‘entrepreneurial’ and the ‘managerial’ university.     

A business process-oriented method of KM solution design: A case study of Samsung Electronics

Improving how knowledge is leveraged in organizations for improved business performance is today considered as a major organizational change. Knowledge management (KM) projects are stigmatized as demanding, fuzzy and complex, with questionable outcomes—more than 70% of them do not deliver what they promised. A case of Samsung Electronics mobile branch we present shows how KM projects can be more successful if they are treated as business process-oriented organizational change projects. Both organizations and academia can stand on the shoulders of giants as previous experience and research in that area is rich. Adding the KM flavor to such organizational change is the goal of this case study; the learning outcomes include a six-step KM solution design method, a justification for the business process level of analysis and managerial action, and the need for modest and just-do-it approach when introducing KM-related organizational interventions.