Mothers' causal attributions concerning the reading achievement of their children with and without familial risk for dyslexia

The present study analyzed data from the Jyv?skyl? Longitudinal Study of Dyslexia to investigate the factors to which mothers of children with and without familial risk for dyslexia attribute the causes of their first-grade children's reading achievement. Mothers' causal attributions were assessed three times during their children's first school year. Children's verbal intelligence was assessed at 5 years and their word and nonword reading skills at 6.5 years. The results showed that the higher the word reading skills the children had, the more their mothers attributed their success to ability than to effort. However, if children had familial risk for dyslexia, their mothers' attribution of success to ability decreased during the first grade as compared with the ability attributions of mothers whose children were in the control group.     

The rule of mimetic desire in higher education: governing through naming,shaming and faming

The initiation of the Bologna Process was accompanied by a radical transition of governance in higher education throughout Europe from government to governance. This article argues that this shift in the design of governing was connected to the need to subtly bypass the European Union (EU) subsidiarity principle that kept education out of the EU’s legislative reach. The new mode of governing is orchestrated through the Open Method of Coordination (OMC), which constitutes the policy ontology of the Bologna Process. The OMC presents the ambition to harmonise education systems through standardisation as a main technology to govern performance. This article argues that the Bologna mode of governance is powered through the follow-up mechanisms that work as a material-affective infrastructure of the policy ontology. These monitoring techniques are affectively wired. They produce an affective politics of naming, shaming and faming that ignites a competitive, mimetic desire making the Bologna mode of governance feasible.     

A randomised trial comparing the efficacy and safety of topical ketoprofen in Transfersome® gel (IDEA-033) with oral ketoprofen and drug-free ultra-deformable Sequessome™ vesicles (TDT 064) for the treatment of muscle soreness following exercise

We compared the effectiveness of topical ketoprofen in Transfersome^® gel (IDEA-033) with oral ketoprofen and drug-free Sequessome? vesicles (FLEXISEQ^® Sport; TDT 064) in reducing calf muscle soreness. One hundred and sixty eight healthy individuals with a pain score ≥3 (10-point scale) 12–16 h post-exercise (walking down stairs with an altitude of 300–400 m) were randomised to receive IDEA-033 plus oral placebo (two dose groups), oral ketoprofen plus TDT 064, or TDT 064 plus oral placebo. The primary endpoint was muscle soreness reduction from pre-dosing to Day 7. Higher pain scores were recorded with oral ketoprofen plus TDT 064 (mean ± s 462.4 ± 160.4) versus IDEA-033 plus oral placebo (434.7 ± 190.8; P = 0.2931) or TDT 064 plus oral placebo (376.2 ± 159.1; P = 0.0240) in the 7 days post-exercise. Recovery from muscle soreness was longer with oral ketoprofen plus TDT 064 (mean 91.0 ± 19.5 h) versus IDEA-033 plus placebo (mean 81.4 ± 22.9 h; P = 0.5964) or TDT 064 plus placebo (mean 78.9 ± 22.8 h; P = 0.0262). In conclusion, ultradeformable phospholipid vesicles ± ketoprofen did not retard recovery from muscle soreness. TDT 064 improves osteoarthritis-related pain and could be of interest as a treatment for joint pain during and post-exercise.     

The influence of children's prior knowledge and previous experience on their spatial orientation skills in an urban environment

This study investigates the capacity of children to develop map-based skills in spatial orientation in an urban environment unknown to them. In this quantitative study, a total of 328 pupils of grades 3–5 had to achieve specific skills with regard to map-based skills in spatial orientation (such as turning-off skills, transformation from map to place, finding one's direction, navigation). These skills were tested by means of a map of Münster (Westphalia, Germany). This paper focuses on factors of potential influence, such as prior knowledge in the field of map reading as well as family- and school-related previous experience.     

Vergleichsarbeiten und schulische Personalentwicklung – Ausmaß und Voraussetzungen der Datennutzung

The introduction of comparative tests in a low-stakes system was carried out in the expectation that the data feedback to schools would act as a stimulus for the development of the schools and the standard of classroom teaching. By contrast with the use of data to develop teaching, the use of data for personnel development has not yet been studied in Germany. On the basis of an on-line survey of head teachers and a paper-and-pencil survey of teaching staff, the study examines for the first time the extent to which comparative test data is used by head teachers for personnel development and as a means to plan in-service training in subject conferences, and what factors influence whether the data is used in this way. Of the head teacher characteristics which were studied (attitude in relation to the perceived usefulness of the data, qualifications, organisation and age of the head teacher), usefulness is the only characteristic which has a positive effect on the use of the data. The use of comparative test data to plan in-service training in subject conferences is positively influenced by data-wise leadership by the head teacher and by collaborative evaluation.     

Academic Reform in Fractured Disciplines – On the Interaction of Bologna,New-Public-Management and the Dynamics of Disciplinary Development

Minerva - At the intersection of science studies and higher education research, this contribution looks at the way in which the requirements of universities as organizations release development...     

Flowing Networks in the Entertainment Business: Organizing International TV Format Trade

Little is known about entertainment acquisition and production, especially the international format trade, although its worldwide market volume adds up to about 2.4 billion. Format trade is a process along the stages of creating, distributing, producing or reproducing, and broadcasting entertainment programs. Findings of a current empirical research project conducted by means of in-person interviews with managers in Germany and the United Kingdom reveal a phenomenon by which the particular organizations involved (creators, distributors, producers, and broadcast stations) establish structures that are called “flowing organizational networks.” Depending on situational requirements and the respective stages of the format trade process, actors tend to activate different organizational structures.     

Peer mediation: citizenship and social inclusion revisited

In sociometric research tradition, popularity is defined as the degree to which children are liked or accepted by their peers. However, research indicates that two definitions of popular students should be distinguished: (1) popular students as those students who are well liked by many and disliked by few peers, and (2) popular students as those students who are described as popular by their peers. The main purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship between sociometric and peer perceived popularity in Slovenian students of different grades of elementary and secondary school. Additionally, the age differences in the relationship between sociometric and peer perceived popularity were examined. Another purpose of the study was to investigate the differential relationships between concepts of popularity and some students' characteristics. The participants were 321 boys and 329 girls who ranged from the 5th grade of elementary school (the mean age 11.04 years) to the 3rd grade of secondary school (the mean age 17.02 years). The results of this study confirm previous findings that peer perceived popularity is a construct that is distinct from sociometric popularity. There are some substantial differences in relations between indices of perceived popularity and sociometric indices between elementary school students and secondary school students—i.e. between early adolescents and middle to late adolescents. It seems that perceived popularity and sociometric popularity are rather similar constructs in elementary school students, whereas in secondary school students they become almost unrelated to each other. Based on these findings, the terminological issues are discussed and some conclusions are made.