Teachers’ gender bias in STEM: Results from a vignette study

Gender stereotypes in the natural sciences may discourage girls from pursuing STEM fields, thus contributing to the differential STEM pathways of males and females. This paper exploits quasi-experimental data from a vignette study to investigate teachers’ gender bias in STEM at the transition to upper secondary school in Denmark—a key stage in students’ educational trajectories. I investigate if teachers have a higher probability of recommending a STEM track to a (vignette) male student compared with a (vignette) female student and if teachers’ STEM recommendations interact with their demographic characteristics. Results show that, while there is a gender gap of 10 percentage points in the likelihood of being recommended a STEM track, the difference is not statistically significant. Furthermore, teachers’ gender bias is influenced by the teacher's own gender and cultural capital. Consequently, the paper shows that teachers’ gender bias varies with teachers’ demographic characteristics and teachers with high levels of cultural capital can push back against gender stereotypes in STEM.     

Assessing task-orientation potential in primary science textbooks: Toward a new approach

Task orientation is currently a prominent concept under discussion in primary school didactics. It focuses on tasks along which pupils acquire competences on distinct levels of competence. The qualitative empirical study TAPSE (Textbook Analysis in Primary Science Education) pursues the question which conception of task orientation is present in current textbooks in primary science education. The study follows two foci: (a) The introduction of a new category system for the analysis of the task-orientation potential of tasks, based on the further development of existing category systems for analyzing tasks; and (b) the analysis of 994 task statements in science textbooks with respect to the didactic quality of their task orientation. The sample included nine primary science textbooks, four from Germany, and five from Luxembourg. Textbooks were selected from the most frequently sold series in the respective country. All tasks of the textbooks were analyzed deductively and inductively by four coders in three steps: (a) Identifying tasks with task-oriented potential; (b) itemizing different types of task-orientation potential; and (c) comparing the textbooks with respect to country- and period-specific manifestations of task orientation. Analysis indicated that (a) there are few tasks which meet the criteria of task orientation; (b) distinct types of task orientation can be generated, among which implicit forms dominate; and (c) differences occur in the characteristics of task orientation between older and newer textbooks as well as between German and Luxembourgish ones. Central points of discussion ensue from this: The need to develop models for social and cognitive activation for tasks, challenges for professional development for teachers, and support for pupils—in particular high achieving heterogenization.     

Reducing Alcohol Use in First‐Year University Students: Evaluation of a Web‐Based Personalized Feedback Program

The efficacy of a Web‐based personalized feedback program—electronic CHECKUP TO GO (e‐CHUG), aimed at reducing heavy drinking in 1st‐year university students—is evaluated. Results indicated that high‐risk students in the e‐CHUG group reported significantly greater reductions in weekly drinking quantity frequency of drinking to intoxication, and occurrence of alcohol‐related problems. Recommendations for integrating Web‐based alcohol programs into a comprehensive prevention program are discussed.     

Governance Initiatives Creating a Demand-Driven E-Commerce Approach: The Case of Denmark

The Danish e-commerce strategy is a highly ambitious effort to become the world's leading IT nation. Instead of a production-led approach aimed at stimulating domestic hardware and software production, Denmark has pursued a demand-oriented approach focused on promoting the widespread adoption of e-commerce in the Danish society. The Danish government has developed a number of e-commerce initiatives via public-private sector partnerships--an approach we refer to as "governance." So far, it appears that Denmark has been successful in promoting business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce, with a number of Danish companies being global leaders in the use of B2B applications. On the other hand, Denmark has had less success in achieving widespread use of business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce. This article analyzes the Danish national environment for e-commerce, discusses four sets of governance initiatives aimed at the development of e-commerce, and analyzes the reasons for its success in B2B and relative failure in B2C adoption.     

A Systematic Literature Review of Changes in Roles/Skills in Component Content Management Environments and Implications for Education

Component content management (CCM) enables organizations to create, manage, and deliver content as small components rather than entire documents. As CCM methodologies, processes, and technologies are increasingly adopted, CCM is reshaping technical communication (TC), the roles of technical communicators, and the skills they need for career success. This article reviews scholarly and trade publications that describe changes in roles and needed skills in CCM environments and identifies implications of these changes for TC education.     

Talent development as an ecology of games: a case study of Norwegian handball

Structured talent identification and development, it has been argued, is one of the foundations of international sporting success and many modern elite sport systems have applied normative talent development (TD) models. The success of Norwegian handball, however, is based on an alternative approach to TD. Norwegian handball is characterized by a heterarchical organizational structure in which several key actors function highly autonomously. The aim of this article is three-fold: (a) to describe the organization of TD in Norwegian handball, (b) to identify how the inherent organizational characteristics of Norwegian handball have influenced the TD processes used and (c) to discuss if contemporary TD models provide an adequate conceptualization of the model used in Norwegian handball. This case study includes three units of analysis: (i) the overall organizational structure of Norwegian handball, (ii) the characteristics of the key actors involved and (iii) the inter-communication and collaborations of the key actors. The data sources were (a) documents and (b) interviews with 11 key informants. The informants were selected strategically to represent experienced coaches and professionals from multiple organizational units. The National Handball Federation uses a broad-based model for TD: 23% of male handball players and 15% of female handball players from the age of 13–17 years participate in regional-level initiatives in addition to practising daily in community-based volunteer sport clubs and sport schools. Findings reveal that the broad base of TD initiatives creates multiple access points to the talent pipeline for adolescents. However, because the heterarchical structure involves many actors, the unintended consequences are often related to (im)properly managing training and competition loads. There is a need therefore for well-developed coordination mechanisms and good communication between the key actors involved.     

Differential time responses in inflammatory and oxidative stress markers after a marathon: An observational study

ABSTRACT

Acute and adaptive changes in systemic markers of oxidatively generated nucleic acid modifications (i.e., 8-oxo-7,8-dihydro-2?-deoxyguanosine (8-oxodG) and 8-oxo-7,8-dihydroguanosine (8-oxoGuo)) as well as inflammatory cytokines (i.e., C-reactive protein, interleukin-6, interleukin-10, and tumour necrosis factor alpha), a liver hormone (i.e., fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21)), and bone metabolism markers (sclerostin, osteocalcin, C-terminal telopeptide, and N-terminal propeptide of type 1 procollagen) were investigated following a marathon in 20 study participants. Immediate changes were observed in inflammatory cytokines, FGF21, and bone metabolism markers following the marathon. In contrast, no immediate changes in urinary excretion of 8-oxodG and 8-oxoGuo were evident. Four days after the marathon, decreased urinary excretion of 8-oxodG (-2.9 (95% CI -4.8;-1.1) nmol/24 h, P < 0.01) and 8-oxoGuo (-5.8 (95% CI -10.3;-1.3) nmol/24 h, P = 0.02) was observed. The excretion rate of 8-oxodG remained decreased 7 days after the marathon compared to baseline (-2.3 (95%CI -4.3;-0.4) nmol/24 h, P = 0.02), whereas the excretion rate of 8-oxoGuo was normalized. In conclusion marathon participation immediately induced a considerable inflammatory response, but did not increase excretion rates of oxidatively generated nucleic acid modifications. In fact, a delayed decrease in oxidatively generated nucleic acid modifications was observed suggesting adaptive antioxidative effects following exercise.     

Developing an automated writing placement system for ESL learners

ABSTRACT

There are quite a few challenges in the development of an automated writing placement model for non-native English learners, among them the fact that exams that encompass the full range of language proficiency exhibited at different stages of learning are hard to design. However, acquisition of appropriate training data that are relevant to the task at hand is essential in the development of the model. Using the Cambridge Learner Corpus writing scores, which have been subsequently benchmarked to Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) levels, we conceptualize the task as a supervised machine learning problem, and primarily focus on developing a generic writing model. Such an approach facilitates the modeling of truly consistent, internal marking criteria regardless of the prompt delivered, which has the additional advantage of requiring smaller dataset sizes and not necessarily requiring re-training or tuning for new tasks. The system is developed to predict someone’s proficiency level on the CEFR scale, which allows learners to point to a specific standard of achievement. We furthermore integrate our model into Cambridge English Write & Improve^TM—a freely available, cloud-based tool that automatically provides diagnostic feedback to non-native English language learners at different levels of granularity—and examine its use.     

The Rhetoric of Enterprise Content Management (ECM): Confronting the Assumptions Driving ECM Adoption and Transforming Technical Communication

This article lays out some of the key issues driving organizations' increasing interest in enterprise content management (ECM). It then problematizes both the rhetoric that technology developers are using to sell ECM technologies to business leaders and the assumptions on which business leaders are basing critical technology implementation decisions. Finally, it argues why technical communicators must take action—through direct participation in the ECM discourse—to shift the rhetoric that is structuring the ECM debate and thus shaping the potential of the field of technical communication.