The impact of global and local context information on the processing of deceptive actions in game sports

In basketball, the defender’s reaction to a pass is slower and more error prone if the attacking player gazes into the opposite direction. This so-called head-fake effect might be modulated by context information, that is, the frequency and the sequence of head fakes occurring. Accordingly, the present study investigates the head-fake effect for different frequency proportions (20% vs. 50% vs. 80%). The results show that the head-fake effect decreases when the head fake occurs more often. Furthermore, a potential influence of previous fake experience (i.e., congruency-sequence effect) on the size of the head-fake effect was investigated. Importantly, previous fake experience did not cause the frequency-based modulation of the general size of the head-fake effect. These findings bare important implications for sports practice, especially when it comes to instructing players about the tactical use of deceptive actions.     

Training als Verflechtungsgeschehen

The contribution is based on praxeographic observations of volleyball team’s training processes. We suggest to reflect on the training processes as practices in which more knowledge is used than the practitioners themselves are aware of. It becomes clear in this perspective that the competencies to participate are developed by the participants mutually enabling each other to do so. Competencies are therefore to be understood as constitutively relational and cannot be ascribed to isolated individuals. Their training takes place in socio-material arrangements of successively complex exercises in which the structures characteristic of the game and the respective competencies are addressed and practiced in various, barely reflected techniques calling on dispositions generated before. In these arrangements, the players learn to deal with the urgency and possibilities of interaction. Through experience, they develop an embodied, preconscious sense for the game which enables them to adjust to complex gameplay as a team even under enormous time pressure. At the level of linguistic articulation and awareness, however, training is often rationalized by methodologically individualistic (action-theoretical) or holistic (structuralist) assumptions so that the implicit knowledge mobilized in the training practice remains largely unreflected and is instead reduced to explicit components in the respective reflective training procedures.     

On the impact of quantum computing technology on future developments in high-performance scientific computing

Quantum computing technologies have become a hot topic in academia and industry receiving much attention and financial support from all sides. Building a quantum computer that can be used practically is in itself an outstanding challenge that has become the ‘new race to the moon’. Next to researchers and vendors of future computing technologies, national authorities are showing strong interest in maturing this technology due to its known potential to break many of today’s encryption techniques, which would have significant and potentially disruptive impact on our society. It is, however, quite likely that quantum computing has beneficial impact on many computational disciplines. In this article we describe our vision of future developments in scientific computing that would be enabled by the advent of software-programmable quantum computers. We thereby assume that quantum computers will form part of a hybrid accelerated computing platform like GPUs and co-processor cards do today. In particular, we address the potential of quantum algorithms to bring major breakthroughs in applied mathematics and its applications. Finally, we give several examples that demonstrate the possible impact of quantum-accelerated scientific computing on society.     

The transition from education to employment in the context of stratification in Japan – a view from the outside

In many industrial nations, the processes of transition from education or training to employment are very important. Using Japan as a case study, this article considers these processes from an external perspective. The main criterion used is the issue of stratification within the education and training system. A detailed analysis of the transition process demonstrates that there is little differentiation between school students in Japan, making Japan's a very homogeneous education system by comparison with its international competitors. However, a type of indirect and/or informal stratification results from a ranking system for educational establishments and employers, reinforced by cooperation between individual educational establishments and specific employers.     

Lehrerbildung und Praxiserfahrung im ersten Berufsjahr und ihre Wirkung auf die Unterrichtskompetenzen von Studierenden und jungen Lehrpersonen im Berufseinstieg

This contribution looks at the competency development during teacher training and entry into work. The multi-perspective research design makes it possible to collate data at five stages within this transition process: at the start (t₁), in the middle (t₂) and on completion (t₃) of teacher training for primary school level (year 1–6) student teachers in two education colleges in Switzerland, as well as novice teachers at the start (t₄) and on competition (t₅) of their first year of work. The data covers eleven topic areas. This paper will present findings of data analysis for two of these topic areas for all five stages of measurement: (a) knowledge of lesson planning was captured using case vignettes and (b) teaching practice during the study program and in the first year of work was recorded on video. The same data was collated from the teaching staff involved in the practical training of the student teachers. The statements on the case vignettes were studied using content-analysis. The lesson videos were analyzed using low-inference coding for the visible occurrences during teaching and with a high-inference rating on the quality of the lessons. The results, including those for a comparison of student teachers and novice teachers with practical teacher training staff, give insights into the effectiveness of teacher training and the impact of practical experience in the first year of work on knowledge of how to plan lessons and on the form and quality of teaching. Overall, the new training at both education colleges can be given a pleasingly positive appraisal in terms of professionalization. It is, however, also possible to recognize where and to what extent a need for further developing the standard of professionalization of teaching still exists.     

Using checklists in a gross anatomy laboratory improves learning outcomes and dissection quality

Checklists have been widely used in the aviation industry ever since aircraft operations became more complex than any single pilot could reasonably remember. More recently, checklists have found their way into medicine, where cognitive function can be compromised by stress and fatigue. The use of checklists in medical education has rarely been reported, especially in the basic sciences. We explored whether the use of a checklist in the gross anatomy laboratory would improve learning outcomes, dissection quality, and students' satisfaction in the first-year Human Structure didactic block at Mayo Medical School. During the second half of a seven-week anatomy course, dissection teams were each day given a hardcopy checklist of the structures to be identified during that day's dissection. The first half of the course was considered the control, as students did not receive any checklists to utilize during dissection. The measured outcomes were scored on four practice practical examinations and four dissection quality assessments, two each from the first half (control) and second half of the course. A student satisfaction survey was distributed at the end of the course. Examination and dissection scores were analyzed for correlations between practice practical examination score and checklist use. Our data suggest that a daily hardcopy list of anatomical structures for active use in the gross anatomy laboratory increases practice practical examination scores and dissection quality. Students recommend the use of these checklists in future anatomy courses.     

Complex dynamics in academics' developmental processes in teaching

Improving teaching in higher education is a concern for universities worldwide. This study explored academics’ developmental processes in teaching using episodic interviews and teaching portfolios. Eight academics in the context of teaching development reported changes in their teaching and change triggers. Thematic analyses revealed seven areas of change: participants most frequently reported changes in concepts about teaching, their teaching selves and teaching strategies. Triggers of change clustered into eight categories with teaching practices, teaching courses and metacognition reported most frequently. Analysing relations among areas and triggers of change indicated complex dynamics in academics' developmental processes in teaching. This suggests that teaching development should incorporate multiple change triggers to facilitate academics' development in teaching effectively.     

Reasoning and working memory as predictors of school grades

The present paper contributes to individual difference research in the field of working memory (WM) and reasoning and their contribution to the prediction of real-life criteria. Therefore, a broad WM test battery, a well-established measure of reasoning, and school grades were applied. It is argued that abilities as assessed with the WM component coordination are relevant for good performances at school, especially for science courses. The verbal task of the WM component storage in the context of processing was assumed to be relevant for the prediction of performance in language courses. As expected, reasoning turned out to be the best predictor of school grades. However, it was also confirmed that variance shared by coordination and reasoning can explain school performance, especially as concerns science courses. The verbal storage in the context of processing task significantly accounted for variance in language courses above and beyond reasoning. Thus, the present study provided further insights into the differential validity of different WM components.