‘Efficiency’ and ‘Vocationalism’ as Structuring Principles of Industrial Education in the USA

The aim of this paper, based on a comparative viewpoint from an European outsider perspective, is to present a brief historical reconstruction of the pedagogical and educational political discussion about education for the industrial sector in America. The discussion was triggered by the emerging idea that one of the principal tasks of education should be to prepare youth most effectively for their upcoming work life. It followed that the constitution and role of the American schools to achieve this purpose were widely debated early in the twentieth century by eminent pedagogues. Some of these pedagogues argued for an American education system that also developed vocational abilities and skills, whereas others favoured only the development of general knowledge. During the course of this dispute, across the first half of the twentieth century, other key issues were brought forward such as whether this much vaunted vocational education should be enacted in comprehensive schools or whether other kinds of schools should be established for these purposes. Furthermore, another model that resembled the German vocational system was also proposed through this period. However, ultimately and unlike in Germany, a dual model of vocational education and training characterised by an interlocking of school-based instruction and workplace training has not managed to establish itself as a discrete educational sector in America. Currently, education for industry is provided mainly in schools and tends to be oriented towards the criteria of efficiency and vocationalism.

The impact of organizational capacity on voluntary engagement in sports clubs: A multi-level analysis

As volunteerism occurs in an organizational context, both individual factors and organizational characteristics affect (potential) volunteers in sports clubs. Whereas a number of researchers have studied individual-level determinants, knowledge on the role of organizational-level factors is limited. Based on the concept of organizational capacity, in the present study, the authors investigate whether and how human resources, financial, and structural capacities of sports clubs influence individual voluntary engagement. Using data from German football and track and field clubs (n = 296) and their members (n = 1222), the effects of organizational capacity on voluntary engagement within two subsamples, adult members and parents of underage members, are examined. The results of multi-level mixed effects regression analyses show that all capacity dimensions are significantly associated with voluntary engagement of both adult members and parents of underage members. A larger number of members and a greater share of volunteers reduce the amount of time a volunteer devotes to voluntary work; adult members are less likely to volunteer when their club has a balanced budget; and strategic planning increases the likelihood of individuals to volunteer informally. Overall, the results support the notion that the organizational context is more relevant to volunteering of adult members than individual characteristics and equally relevant to parents of underage members. Managerial implications to facilitate volunteering, such as shifting club goals towards youth development and sports for all provision, are discussed.     

X-ray computed tomography for non-destructive analysis of early Medieval swords

The analysis of early Medieval swords is of great significance due to the eminent position of the find category in the study of the early Medieval period. X-ray computed tomography is a non-destructive analytical method permitting the collection of data that otherwise could only be gathered with considerable effort and much damage to the object. Beyond the usual morphological and dimensional parameters, the method allows for the fast and accurate gathering of knowledge about the construction and manufacturing processes of sword blades and can also be applied to block-lifted swords. Preservation condition and related artifacts caused by beam hardening may be limiting factors; however, in most instances interpretation of the data remains possible.     

Doing it for them: corporatism and apprentice activism in Switzerland, 1880–1950

In the history of vocational education and training, apprentices seldom feature as actors. They are also rarely mentioned among those affected by economic conditions and political measures. Studies of England and Scotland have shown that, over a period of decades, there was a widespread apprentice movement during the twentieth century. So far, studies of German-speaking areas have barely registered this and have solely concentrated on apprentice protests in the 1960s and 1970s. The present article addresses this desideratum, investigating the form and content of how apprentices articulated their interests in Switzerland between 1880 and 1950. The main reason why Switzerland never experienced major sustained apprentice protests was because of its corporatist organisation of vocational education policy. This policy meant that there was no space available for independent forms of protest as charitable organisations, industrial and occupational associations, trade unions and state agencies assumed the task of articulating the interests of apprentices.     

The choose-short effect in pigeon memory for stimulus duration: Subjective shortening versus coding models

A symbolic delayed matching procedure may be used to study memory for stimulus duration in pigeons. Short and long presentations of a light sample stimulus are mapped onto the choke of visually differentiated comparison keys. When delay is varied in such a symbolic delayed matching procedure, pigeons show increasing preference for the short-sample key as the delay becomes longer (choose-short effect), even after a long sample stimulus has been presented. Two theoretical explanations of the choose-short effect are suggested. A subjective shortening model holds that the choose-short effect arises from progressive shortening of the memory of stimulus duration as the delay proceeds. An alternative coding model suggests that the choose-short effect arises from stimulus generalization after an initial response instruction to peck the long-sample key has been forgotten. These two models were tested by training pigeons to peck a third comparison key after no sample stimulus had been presented. Shifts in key preferences over delays ranging from 0 to 21 sec clearly supported the coding model.     

Short-term memory for visual and auditory stimuli in pigeons

Separate groups of pigeons were trained to perform symbolic delayed matching to sample with auditory and visual sample stimuli. For animals in the auditory group, ambient tones that varied in frequency served as sample stimuli; for animals in the visual group, ambient red and green lights served as sample stimuli. In both cases, the sample stimuli were mapped onto the yellow and blue comparison stimuli presented on left and right pecking keys. In Experiments 1 and 2, it was found that visual and auditory delayed matching were affected in the same ways by several temporal variables: delay, length of exposure to the sample stimulus, and intertrial interval. In Experiments 3, 4A, and 4B, a houselight presented during the delay interval strongly interfered with retention in both visual and auditory groups, but white noise presented during the delay had little effect in either group. These results seem to be more in line with a prospective memory model, in which visual and auditory sample stimuli are coded into the same instructional memories, than with a model based on concepts of retrospective memory and modality specificity.     

Engaging fans and the community in social media: interaction with institutions of higher education on Facebook

Although many universities use social media to interact with stakeholders, little is known about the underlying mechanisms. Drawing on theories of self-presentation and community engagement, we develop a theoretical model to explain these crucial outcome factors. We then test the model based on secondary data from 159 universities. Our findings reveal the double-edged nature of community size: universities with a strong reputation tend to have more Facebook fans, but having many Facebook fans has detrimental effects on individual fan engagement. Furthermore, the frequency of updates is a crucial factor, as too frequent and too infrequent updates lead to lower levels of fan engagement. We discuss theoretical implications for online communities and derive implications for social media managers.     

‘Energy regions’: The transformative power of regional discourses on socio-technical futures

‘Guiding visions’ play an important role in the transition management approach as a central means of mobilizing social actors and the co-ordination of dispersed agency.‘Energy regions’ in Austria are an interesting example for the strategic promotion of such guiding visions in the context of regional development. We describe the case of Murau, an alpine district in which a strong actor network has been built around a vision of systematically exploiting renewable energy sources and at the same time saving the region from economic decay. The vision gained much authority and has been institutionalised at various levels of regional governance. It furthermore was supported by and played an important role for regime level attempts to influence socio-technical change.Development and social propagation of such visions are inherently political and contested processes involving much strategizing and anticipation of conflict. We describe particular discursive strategies applied in niches - such as the combination and translation of sentiments into localised visions and demonstrations of feasibility. These strategies can be understood as systematic attempts to support discursive shifts at regime level by means of local activities, and aim to modify rather durable power structures.We suggest ways to analyse such discursive practices in order to orient strategic action in the course of such processes: analysing ‘guiding visions’ and their interference with other emerging trends; extending analyses across spatial scales (e.g. translations) and across thematic fields (e.g. convergence of agendas); and focusing on processes of stabilisation, institutionalisation and mutually reinforcing developments.     

Migration,Knowledge Transfer,and the Emergence of Australian Post-War Skiing: The Story of Charles William Anton

Skiing underwent substantial changes during the post-war years when the sport turned into a multi-billion dollar industry and a leisure activity for the masses. Despite its global nature and popularity, skiing in academic writing has not gained much recognition. This paper explores the role of knowledge transfer during the pioneering phase of post-war skiing in Australia. It describes the life of Charles William Anton, an Austrian refugee from the Anschluss who migrated to Sydney and subsequently became one of the founding fathers of Australian post-war skiing. The following pages show the multi-layered nature of skiing as a global sport by exemplifying how ideas spread from pre-war Europe to post-war Australia. The paper will also provide a case study about refugee knowledge transfer and the ‘productive process of absorption, adoption or rejection of knowledge’ that takes place once an idea has been introduced into a new environment.     

Matching-to-sample performance by pigeons trained with visual-duration compound samples

Pigeons were trained on duration matching-to-sample in which each of four combinations of signal type (red or white light) and duration (2 or 10 see) was mapped onto a different choice stimulus. Probe trials in Experiments 1 and 2 involved a successive presentation of two duration samples. In each experiment, birds tended to summate two durations when the same signal was presented twice, but not when two different signals appeared. These results contrast with those reported by Spetch and Sinha (1989), who found a summation effect with both same-signal and different-signal compounds. In Experiment 3, pigeons chose among two alternatives which were both associated with the duration of the sample but of which only one was also associated with the signal type of the sample. Pigeons systematically chose the stimulus that matched both sample duration and signal type. The implications of these findings are discussed in terms of transfer of training and coding of event duration.