The conflict between on-task and off-task actions in the classroom and its consequences for motivation and achievement

The relations between students’ value orientations, decisions in conflicts between on-task and off-task actions in the classroom, and experiences of motivational interference following these conflicts were investigated. It was expected that well-being value orientation was positively linked and achievement value orientation was negatively linked to decision for off-task behavior in such conflicts and that the higher students’ well-being value orientation, the higher their motivational impairment when deciding for the on-task behavior and the lower when deciding for the off-task behavior. For achievement orientation, the relationships were predicted to be reversed. The experience of motivational interference while performing on-task behavior was, in turn, expected to be related to worse grades. Data from 817 students (mean age 13.44) from 35 classrooms were collected using self-report questionnaires and analyzed in a series of hierarchical linear models. Analyses showed the relationships as predicted. All relationships found were comparable to the relationships found for a conflict between school and leisure actions after class. Results point out that even if students resist the off-task temptation in class, the mere possibility of off-task behavior can impair motivation and achievement.     

Spannungsfeld Polyvalenz in der Lehrerbildung

The Bologna Process of higher education reform has led to a vast array of different programs of study in German teacher training. In this article, we firstly analyze the implementation of Bachelor programs in teacher training, comparing profession-oriented programs (i.e. those aiming to train students for the teaching profession from the beginning of studies) to polyvalent programs (i.e. those aiming at broad qualifications and including a late decision to become a teacher). Secondly, we investigate whether students enrolled in these study programs differ systematically in their subjective certainty about their career choice. To answer these questions, we analyze portfolios of documents related to teacher training programs from nine German universities that prepare students for teaching in the academic track. Additionally, we analyze data from N?=?2585 Bachelor and N?=?928 Master degree students. We found that most programs, even when they espouse polyvalence, require an early decision to become a teacher. Moreover, our data confirm findings from earlier studies indicating that student teachers are highly certain about their career choice from the very beginning, with students in polyvalent programs being slightly less certain than those in profession-oriented programs (d?=?0.32).     

Die Beweisentwicklungsumgebung W\Omega -Mkrp

Zusammenfassung. Die Beweisentwicklungsumgebung -Mkrpsoll Mathematiker bei einer ihrer Hauptt?tigkeiten, n?mlich dem Beweisen mathematischer Theoreme unterstützen. Diese Unterstützung mu? so komfortabel sein, da? die rechnergestützte Suche nach formalen Beweisen leichter und insbesondere weniger aufwendig ist, als ohne das System. Dazu mu? die verwendete Objektsprache ausdrucksstark sein, man mu? die M?glichkeit haben, abstrakt über Beweispl?ne zu reden, die gefundenen Beweise müssen in einer am Menschen orientierte Form pr?sentiert werden und vor allem mu? eine effiziente Unterstützung beim Füllen von Beweislücken zur Verfügung stehen. Das im folgenden vorgestellte $\Omega$-Mkrp-System ist der Versuch einer Synthese der Ans?tze des vollautomatischen, des interaktiven und des planbasierten Beweisens. Dieser Artikel soll eine übersicht über unsere Arbeit an diesem System geben. Eingegangen am 24. Juni 1994 / Angenommen am 3. November 1995     

Interaction of libraries and publishers

Libraries and publishers have evolved together. Publishers rely on libraries as a minimum market for their scholarly products. Inflationary pressures have caused publishers to increase prices that, in turn, strain library budgets that have not increased as fast, and which, in turn, undermine the minimal demand publishers can count on, adding to inflationary pressure.A simple mathematical model for the dynamics of the interaction between libraries and publishers is analyzed. It derives a function for the supply curve of scholarly publications, and is used to estimate when an institution will have to spend as much per person on library support as on his or her salary if present trends continue. This is used to argue that present trends are unlikely to continue, but that a discontinuous shift in the production of scholarly output is likely to occur within a decade or two. Likely new forms of communication among scholars in “communicating classes” involving nearly simultaneous communication and a new kind of organized cumulative record are discussed. The implication for institutional changes not only in libraries and publishers and their interrelation but of new kinds of institutions are sketched.     

Identification of the materials used in an Eastern Jin Chinese ink stick

Chinese ink stick has a long history and a special importance in the Chinese culture. For the first time, Pyrolysis Gas Chromatography and Mass Spectrometry (Py-GC/MS) was used to identify the materials in an ancient Chinese ink stick. Four types of constituents could be detected in the archaeological ink stick of the Eastern Jin period (317–420 AD): (1) borneol (Chinese name bing piàn); (2) compounds related to essential oil or tar of conifer wood: cedrene, aromadendrane, cedrane, cuparene, cedrol, retene, methyl dehydroabietate and 9-methyl retene; (3) marker compounds from animal glue; (4) polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from soot. The information obtained through this study provides conclusive evidence for use of additives of borneol and cedar oil, binding media of animal glue and pine wood soot in the ancient ink stick.