The Problem of a Market-oriented University

Economy- and technology-driven theories dominate current explanations of social change. The political orientations of the European Union and many of its member states are increasingly based on the idea of knowledge economy where public organisations move towards market-orientation. Among the other producers of knowledge, universities are expected to become part of the innovation system where innovation stands for product making and the final goal is to contribute to the international competitiveness of the national economy. This study focuses on the complicated role of public universities as adaptors of market forces logic. The focus of attention is on the reorientations that Finnish universities have made in terms of commodification. At the same time universities have elaborated new aggressive strategies in order to strengthen their scientific basis and to distance themselves from the demands for new managerialism. One of the key problems in this process is related to the difficulties to integrate the two traditional university functions into the third one, i.e. commercialisation. We make some observations concerning EU policies, but concentrate mostly on changes that have taken place during recent decades in Finland by analysing market-orientation in three Helsinki area universities. In the context of current technology policy, all disciplines have been seen as potential contributors to market competition. However, social sciences produce knowledge that cannot be classified by using pure economic concepts. To sharpen our analysis of market-orientation we study three social science departments at the respective three universities. This analysis indicates the importance of scientific identity as a component of market-orientation. It also shows the importance of contextual issues and the tensions that arise between scientific and commercial orientations.     

Night Awakening and Its Association With Executive Functioning Across the First Two Years of Life

Longitudinal associations between signaled night awakening and executive functioning (EF) at 8 and 24 months in children with (≥ 3 awakenings, n = 77) and without parent-rated fragmented sleep (≤ 1 awakening, n = 69) were studied. EF was assessed with the Switch task at 8 and 24 months. At 24 months, behavioral tasks and parental ratings of EF (Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function–Preschool version) were also used. In the Switch task, children with fragmented sleep were less able to learn stimulus sequences and inhibit previously learned responses than children without fragmented sleep. The groups differed only marginally in parental ratings of EF, and no differences were found in behavioral EF tasks. These results suggest that eye movement-based measures may reveal associations between sleep and EF already in infancy and toddlerhood.     

Age-related differences in acceleration, maximum running speed, and repeated-sprint performance in young soccer players

We investigated age-related differences in the relationships among acceleration, maximum running speed, and repeated-sprint performance in 61 highly trained young male soccer players (Under 14, n = 14; Under 16, n = 22; Under 18, n = 25). We also examined the possible influence of anthropometry (stature, body mass, fat-free mass) and biological maturation (age at peak height velocity) on performance in those three sprint-running qualities. Players were tested for 10-m sprint (acceleration), flying 20-m sprint (maximum running speed), and 10 × 30-m sprint (repeated-sprint performance) times. Correlations between acceleration, maximum running speed, and repeated-sprint performance were positive and large to almost perfect (r = 0.55-0.96), irrespective of age group. There were age-based differences both in absolute performance in the three sprint-running qualities (Under 18 > Under 16 > Under 14; P < 0.001) and when body mass and fat-free mass were statistically controlled (P < 0.05). In contrast, all between-group differences disappeared after adjustment for age at peak height velocity (P > 0.05). The large correlations among acceleration, maximum running speed, and repeated-sprint performance in all age groups, as well as the disappearance of between-group differences when adjusted for estimated biological maturity, suggest that these physical qualities in young highly trained soccer players might be considered as a general quality, which is likely to be related to qualitative adaptations that accompany maturation.     

Education and social justice: gender lessons of the past

In 1927 the Swedish grammar school opened up for girls. Thereby girls got access to higher education on the same conditions as boys, at least formally. Thus, many towns' boys and girls were seated in the same classroom. In the large cities, however, sex segregation remained, as separate grammar schools for girls were established and some boys' grammar schools were still reserved for boys. The main aim of this paper is to compare the process of gender construction in these different school forms during the period 1927–1960. The questions put are: Were the discourses and the discursive practices of these schools part of the politics of equality or the politics of difference with regard to gender? Which representations of gender and gendered patterns of communication and domination did they produce? The main data consists of interviews with 30 ex-students of coeducational schools and female and male single-sex schools. The conclusion is that the pedagogy in all school forms was inscribed within the meritocratic discourse of equality, which was also important in shaping the students' subjectives. Both girls and boys had to prove themselves worthy of the privilege of attending the grammar school, and in this respect girls as a group were more successful than boys. To begin with the politics of equality also operated in the norms for how girls should dress and look, but later on a discrete make-up was allowed. The politics of difference was manifest in the swot syndrome, the techniques for punishments and rewards, and also, at least partly, in physical education. It was also manifest in the traditional representations of masculinity and femininity, like the male breadwinner and the housewife, prevalent in boys' grammar schools. Girls in female single sex schools, on the other hand, were firmly determined to make a career of their own.     

Developing social competence and other generic skills in teacher education: applying the model of integrative pedagogy

The purpose of the study was to examine how social competence and other generic skills can be developed in teacher education using a pedagogical model called Integrative Pedagogy. This model is based on the idea of integrating the four basic components of expertise: Theoretical knowledge, practical knowledge, self-regulative knowledge, and sociocultural knowledge. The subjects of the study were 95 student-teachers. The data were collected with questionnaires. In addition to social skills, the student-teachers reported learning of domain-specific skills, generic academic skills, skills for acting creatively in different situations and development of independence. We conclude that the model of Integrative Pedagogy is feasible in teacher education.     

Integration of Psychology,Economics and Information Technology in an Engineering Curriculum

Engineers often work together with professionals from entirely different areas. Therefore, it is important for the engineers to understand enough of these other areas, where technology is used, to obtain good results. To this aim a term has been developed within the civil engineering curriculum in information technology at Linköpings universitet, where the students work and study together with students from the psychology and economics education programs. The information technology and economics students build companies together and perform a project. The psychology students act as consultants for the different companies. Subjects from six departments are integrated into the project. The students work and study together for different parts of the project, although the learning goals differ between the different programs. The cooperation in the project leads to a transfer of information and knowledge between the students. Experience also suggests that the students obta in a better motivation and an integrated view of technology and the other areas as a result of the integrated project. The learning method also promotes cooperation and understanding between different professional cultures.