University-industry knowledge and technology transfer in Switzerland: What university scientists think about co-operation with private enterprises

This study explores empirically the factors determining the propensity of Swiss science institutions at the level of a single institute or department to get involved in a wide spectrum of knowledge and technology transfer (KTT) activities with private corporations. A main finding is that scientific institutes with a stronger orientation to applied research and/or lower teaching obligations are also stronger inclined to get involved in overall KTT activities. The same is valid for institutes which have already had experience with industry co-operations as reflected by a high share of external funds in an institute's budget. Further, there is no systematic size effect with respect to KTT activities. Institutes of engineering, natural sciences and economics/management are strongly represented among KTT-active institutes. Universities of applied sciences have an above-average propensity to KTT activities.     

RETRACTED REVIEW: Byzantium and the Emergence of Muslim-Turkish Anatolia,ca. 1040-1130

Retracted Article: Byzantium and the Emergence of Muslim-Turkish Anatolia, ca. 1040-1130

We, the Editors and Publisher of Al-Masāq: Journal of the Medieval Mediterranean, have retracted the following book review:

Spyros P. Panagopoulos, ‘Byzantium and the Emergence of Muslim-Turkish Anatolia, ca. 1040-1130’, Al-Masāq: Journal of the Medieval Mediterranean, 31:2, 2019, pp. 249-250, DOI 10.1080/09503110.2019.1614313

Subsequent to publication it has been determined that this book review contains significant overlap with:

Nicholas Morton, ‘Alexander D. Beihammer: Byzantium and the emergence of Muslim-Turkish Anatolia, ca. 1040–1130 (Birmingham Byzantine and Ottoman Studies 20)’, Journal of Transcultural Medieval Studies, 5:1, 2018, pp. 167–169, DOI 10.1515/jtms-2018-0008

which was not cited nor otherwise acknowledged.

As a result, the Editors of Al-Masāq: Journal of the Medieval Mediterranean and the publishers Taylor & Francis have decided to retract the review from publication. We have been informed in our decision-making by our policy on publishing ethics and integrity and the COPE guidelines on retractions.

The retracted book review will remain online to maintain the scholarly record, but it will be digitally watermarked on each page as “Retracted”.     

Exploring students’ strategies in area conservation geometrical tasks

The aim of this study is to investigate the strategies employed by advanced high school and university students working on six tasks concerning comparison and conservation of area. Special care has been taken in the test design so that the problems could be dealt with using a variety of solution methods. Written responses and in-depth interviews with 21 12th graders and university students of mathematics provided the empirical data. The results show that the majority of the participants either did not prefer or had difficulties employing adequately formal reasoning. Visualization factors seem to exert considerable influence. Moreover, many students confuse congruence with area equivalence.     

Changing the attitudes of high school students towards intellectual disabilities: the contribution of a social coexistence programme

Students’ attitudes towards peers with intellectual disabilities are mostly negative, and negative attitudes appear more among secondary education students than any other age group. Social coexistence programmes are intervention programmes implemented by school psychologists to manage and change negative attitudes and enforce social interaction with students with disabilities. The research sample consisted of 193 public high school students in Greece who were given the Chedoke–McMaster Attitudes Toward Children with Handicaps (CATCH) Scale. The study aimed to explore whether there is a change in the attitudes of high school students towards peers with intellectual disabilities after participation in a social coexistence programme. The findings showed that students who participated in the programme had more positive attitudes towards people with intellectual disabilities after the completion of the programme. The above findings confirm the research on the possibility of changing attitudes of secondary school students towards peers with disabilities and reinforce the need for the systematic development of social coexistence programmes for the entire student population. Future research should focus on the benefits of students with disabilities from their participation in social coexistence programmes.     

The objectification of the right-angled triangle in the teaching of the Pythagorean Theorem: an empirical investigation

In this paper, we present the design and the results of a teaching experiment carried out to investigate the hypothesis that it is feasible to facilitate the students’ possibility for experiencing the reactivation of the objectification of the right-angled triangle. For this purpose, a teaching design of the Pythagorean Theorem was developed and taught to an experimental class of 14-year old students. The results of our teaching were compared with a control class with the employment of a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. The quantitative and qualitative analyses supported our hypothesis that the students of the experimental class would develop qualitatively different understandings of the theorem than the control class, thus suggesting their possibility for experiencing the reactivation of the objectification of the right-angled triangle.     

Pupils Produce their Own Narratives Inspired by the History of Science: Animation Movies Concerning the Geocentric�CHeliocentric Debate

In this paper, we present the design and application of a teaching scenario appropriate for 12-years-old pupils in the primary school aiming to a better understanding of scientific concepts and scientific methods, linking the development of individual thinking with the development of scientific ideas and facilitating a better understanding of the nature of science. The design of the instructional material supporting this scenario has been based on the study of the history of astronomy and especially on: (a) The various theories concerning the movement of Earth, our solar system and the universe. (b) Key-stories highlighting the evolutionary character of scientific knowledge as well as the cultural interrelations of science and society. The design of the teaching scenario has focused on the participation of pupils in gradually evolving discourses and practices encouraging an appreciation of aspects of the nature of science (e.g. the role of observation and hypothesis, the use of evidence, the creation and modification of models). In this case, pupils are asked to produce their own narratives: animation movies concerning the geocentric?Cheliocentric debate inspired by the history of science, as the animation technique presents strong expressional potential and currently has many applications in the field of educational multimedia. The research design of this current case study has been based on the SHINE research model, while data coming from pupils?? animation movies, questionnaires, interviews, worksheets, story-boards and drawings have been studied and analyzed using the GNOSIS research model. Elaborated data coming from our analysis approach reveal the appearance, transformation and evolution of aspects of nature of science appreciated by pupils and presented in their movies. Data analysis shows that during the application pupils gradually consider more and more the existence of multiple answers in scientific questions, appreciate the effect of culture on the way science functions and the way scientists work as well as the effect of new scientific interpretations that replace the old ones in the light of new evidence. The development of pupils?? animation movies carrying aspects of the history of astronomy with a strong focus on the understanding of the nature of science creates a dynamic educational environment that facilitates pupils?? introduction to a demanding teaching content (e.g. planet, model, retrograde motion) placing it in context (key-stories from the history of science) and at the same time offers to pupils the opportunity to engage their personal habits, interests and hobbies in the development of their science movies.     

The Long-Term Effects of Small Classes in Early Grades: Lasting Benefits in Mathematics Achievement at Grade 9

Reducing class size to increase academic achievement is a policy option currently of great interest. Although the results of small-scale randomized experiments and some interpretations of large-scale econometric studies point to positive short-term effects of small classes, some scholars view the evidence as ambiguous. Project STAR in Tennessee-a 4-year, large-scale randomized experiment on the effects of class size—provided persuasive evidence that small classes have immediate positive effects on academic achievement. Unlike most other early education interventions, these effects persisted for several years after the children returned to regular-sized classes. The authors of the present article report analyses of a 6-year follow-up of the students in that experiment. Class-size effects persisted for at least 6 years and remained large enough to be important for educational policy. The results suggest that small classes in early grades have lasting benefits and that those benefits are greater for minority students than for White students.