‘I don’t do the mothering role that lots of female teachers do’: male teachers,gender, power and social organisation

The present article reports on a research project investigating the experiences of male primary teachers in Queensland, Australia. While its findings cannot be presented as indicative of all male teachers in all contexts, it does, however, send a warning to policy‐makers that the employment of more male teachers may not be in the best interests of gender justice unless such strategies designed to attract more male teachers are informed by sophisticated understandings of gender and social power. Utilising a (pro) feminist post‐structuralist theoretical perspective, it is demonstrated how some male teachers contribute to the maintenance of segregated work roles, which is of central importance to the continuance of gender power differentials in a patriarchal society. The research method focused on social relationships and involved a series of semi‐structured/life history interviews with 11 male teachers, six female teachers, two male principals and two female principals. An important implication from this research is that the employment of male teachers must be accompanied by an awareness of how teacher practice impacts upon the socialisation of students and how such practice reinforces or contributes to change in the broader gender system.     

Motives to patent: Empirical evidence from Germany

Against the background of the patent upsurge, we first analyse the role of patenting and alternative instruments to protect intellectual property, based on a sample of German companies active in patenting. In a second step, we investigate the motives to patent, considering sector and company size effects. We find that company size matters, both for the importance of instruments and the motives to patent. Especially important are the new strategic motives to patent, like using patents to improve a company's own position in negotiations with partners, licensees and the financial sector, or to use patents as incentives for R&D personnel or performance indicators—these correlate positively with company size. We derive some possible challenges for future patent policies from these insights.     

Local synthesis of carbon nanotubes for direct integration in Si microsystems - design considerations

The integration of nanomaterials such as carbon nanotubes （CNTs） into microsystems is highly desirable, in order to make use of the unique nanomaterial properties in real devices. However, the CNTtomicrosystem integration is challenging to implement in a manufacturable, cost effective industrial process. This paper presents our work towards a process for making complete, integrated CMOS / MEMS systems with integrated CNT. We demonstrate the feasibility of the process, using roomtemperature process ing, lowcost equipment and consumables, and electrical control with automation possibilities. CNTs are directly integrated at the desired positions in the Si microsystem, forming closed Si / CNT / Si circuits. We explore different designs with the aim to obtain uniform and welldefined CNT synthesis conditions, and show that simplified designs can perform comparably to more complex ones. The Si / CNT / Si circuits obtained can show rectifying （Schottky like） or nearohmic behavior. Gas sensing possibilities are demonstrated, indicating the possibility of monitoring aging/ fermenting of food. Functionalization of CNTs is demon strated, using thermal evaporation of Sn and Pd, opening for selective and sensitive sensors for various gases and ana lytes. Detailed microscopic characterization of the obtained CNTs are presented.     

Is Teacher Accountability Possible? The Case of Norwegian High School Science

What influence does the teacher exercise over their students' learning outcomes? This study investigates the impact of teacher quality on student learning outcomes in science halfway through the first year of high school. A multiple‐measurement model estimates the potential impact of teacher influence on learning outcomes for 1,060 secondary school students (16‐year‐olds), as well as the influence on student engagement, motivation, and self‐discipline. Teacher quality has a very weak effect on student learning outcomes. However, teacher quality seems to influence student motivation and self‐discipline to a significantly larger extent. Further, there is an indirect effect of teacher quality on learning outcomes in science via student engagement, motivation, and self‐discipline. Holding the science teacher accountable for pupils' learning outcomes is highly problematic.     

Autonomy Support and its Links to Physical Activity and Competitive Performance: Mediations Through Motivation,Competence, Action Orientation and Harmonious Passion,and the Moderator Role of Autonomy Support by Perceived Competence

The purpose of the present study was to test a Self‐Determination Theory (SDT) process model in relation to involvement in physical activity and competitive performance among students (N = 190). In this model, perceived autonomy support from teachers and coaches was expected to be positively related to autonomous motivation, perceived competence, harmonious passion and action orientation, and that they would be positively related to involvement in physical activity and competitive performance. In using LISREL to test the model, autonomy support was positively linked with perceived competence, autonomous motivation, and action orientation. In turn, perceived competence (through harmonious passion), autonomous motivation, and action orientation were all positively associated with involvement in physical activity, whereas perceived competence and autonomous motivation were positively correlated with competitive performance.     

Forty-Six Years of IRE: A Statistical and Documentary Survey

This paper surveys the articles published in IRE between 1955and 2000, analysing and comparing a range of data. Variables analysedinclude the gender and nationality of the authors, the countries andsubjects dealt with, the research methodologies used, and the way inwhich the articles reflect political ideological and social changes.This exercise, which has never before been undertaken in IRE,provides a detailed documentation of significant trends and developmentsin the journal over 46 years.     

Intercultural constellations in adult education: observations on the state of Anglo‐German relations before and after the First World War

Under today's conditions of rapid social modernization, adults concerned to keep their balance while striving for authentic identity are constantly confronted by the need to redefine where they stand with respect to the familiar and the strange. Here the task of adult education, as an institutionalized presence, is to explore links and to offer mediation, to interpret and to decipher. Indeed, one of its central leading paradigms today is interculturality. How, then, can adult education, as a vocational group and as a specialized field, attain and increase its proficiency in matters connected with intercultural and international communication and co‐operation? The following study attempts to trace out the background historical conditions against which such endeavours are likely to succeed. A large number of documents are reviewed in order to reveal relevant patterns of reciprocal perception, understanding and misunderstanding. The advantage of this research perspective is that it brings out the intricate way in which transnational endeavours of a cultural or pedagogic nature are bound up with the wider field of international relationships, such as these developed in the course of recent British‐German history.     

Mixed‐Age Groups in Swedish Nursery and Compulsory Schools

In Swedish official documents for nursery and compulsory schools it is suggested that mixed‐age groups are beneficial to children's learning and socio‐emotional development. Early evaluations confirmed these assumptions. However, according to recent, more sophisticated evaluations, the mixed‐age group does not promote children's socio‐emotional or intellectual development.