How critical thinking,multicultural education and teacher qualification affect anti-immigrant attitudes

Previous studies identify a relationship between education and anti-immigrant attitudes. There is, however, uncertainty regarding the underlying explanations linking education to attitudes. In this article, we examine whether a relationship exists between exposure to teaching about critical thinking as well as multiculturalism (measured as religions/cultures as well as xenophobia/racism), and anti-immigrant attitudes among adolescents. In addition, we examine whether teacher qualification matters for attitudes. The analysis is based on survey data collected from high school students in Sweden. The results show an association between exposure to teaching about critical thinking as well as multiculturalism (both indicators) and anti-immigrant attitudes among students, i.e. higher exposure is related to lower levels of anti-immigrant attitudes. However, we find that teaching about xenophobia/ racism affects attitudes, but not when simultaneously controlling for teaching about critical thinking and religions/cultures. In terms of teacher qualification, we find that students in schools with a high proportion of certified teachers tend to have lower levels of anti-immigrant attitudes.     

A Market/Value Based Approach to Satisfy Stakeholders of Higher Education

ABSTRACT

What value does the university offer in terms of economic and social development? Having stakeholders question the contribution and value of colleges and universities is not new nor is it unique to American universities. Institutions of higher education are currently facing a crisis of confidence by parents, prospective students, alumni, congressional committees, and the media. Many stakeholders are concerned about the value provided by colleges and universities. Although there has been an effort to call attention to the issue and to examine select educational processes, there is a dire need to address all aspects of the university product. This article provides a market-based paradigm to help university/college administrators understand the critical aspects of identifying, defining, managing, and delivering superior value to all stakeholders of the institution. This article also provides a university planning process model for incorporating value in the strategic planning process of any university. Faced with increasing pressure to reduce the churn rate of students and increase retention, universities' focus must shift toward attracting students who fit with the value proposition (delivery) of the institution. This article is not an attempt at resolving the debate over the role or purpose of the university; our intent is to present a market-based approach to facilitate the delivery of value to all university stakeholders in keeping with the vision and mission of the institution.     

Walter Berka zum 60. Geburtstag

Herr o. Univ.-Prof. Dr. Walter Berka feierte in diesen Tagen seinen 60. Geburtstag. Dies darf zum Anlass genommen werden, um den hochaktiven wissenschaftlichen Lehrer und Forscher, der seit der Gründung der "Zeitschrift für Hochschulrecht, Hochschulmanagement und Hochschulpolitik" dieser durch sein Wirken als Beiratsmitglied verbunden ist, zu würdigen.     

Memory interval distribution effects in pigeons

Pigeons were trained with two concurrent delayed conditional discriminations that involved different distributions of memory intervals, namely 1 and 5 sec in the “short” and 5 and 10 sec in the “long” distribution. Memory for the initial stimulus was much better after 5 sec in the short distribution than in the long one. The memory functions between the intervals within each distribution were essentially flat. These findings were replicated in a second study that involved differential outcomes; this procedure enhanced memory generally within trials so that memory intervals of 1, 9, and 19 sec could be used, with 9 sec serving as the common memory interval. The findings are interpreted on the basis of the subject’s expectation of the likely duration of the upcoming memory interval and the associated delay of reinforcement.     

Robuste Indizes für Projection Pursuit

Zusammenfassung.   Die moderne und hoch komplexe Fertigung, z.B. in der Halbleiterindustrie, erfordert für die dabei anfallenden Messdaten der Anlagen- bzw. Prozessparameter multivariate Analysemethoden. Eine dieser m?glichen Analysemethoden ist Projection Pursuit (PP). Dieses Verfahren ist durch geschickte Wahl des so genannten Projektionsindex in der Lage, verschiedenste Datencharakteristika zu detektieren und diese auf anschauliche Weise zu visualisieren. Bei den Projektionsindizes handelt es sich um Funktionen, die eine Projektion auf unterschiedliche Merkmale hin bewerten und dabei jeder Projektion einen Funktionswert zuweisen. Dieser Funktionswert spiegelt die Aussagekraft der Projektion (in Abh?ngigkeit vom verwendeten Index) wider. Die Auswahl bzw. der Aufbau dieser Indizes ist hierbei von entscheidender Bedeutung. Alle hier vorgestellten Indizes zeichnen sich vor allem durch ihren robusten Charakter gegenüber durch Ausrei?er kontaminierte Daten, wie sie in realen Datenszenarien vorkommen, aus. Die durch Anwendung dieser Indizes gewonnenen Einblicke in die komplexe Struktur der Daten erm?glichen es, hochdimensionale Parameterabweichungen und komplexe Zusammenh?nge innerhalb der Daten zu finden. Eingegangen am 11. Februar 2002 / Angenommen am 14. Mai 2002     

The relative age effect in youth soccer across Europe

The potential asymmetries in the birth-date distributions of youth soccer players across ten European countries (2175 age citations) were considered. First, we examined the birth-dates of players representing national youth teams in international competitions. Second, the birth-dates of players representing professional club teams in international youth tournaments were analysed. Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests were used to assess differences between observed and expected birth-date distributions. Regression analyses were employed to examine the relationship between month of birth and number of players in the different samples. The results showed an over-representation of players born in the first quarter of the selection year (from January to March) for all the national youth selections at the under-15 (U-15), U-16, U-17 and U-18 age categories, as well as for the UEFA U-16 tournaments and Meridian Cup. Players with a greater relative age are more likely to be identified as "talented" because of the likely physical advantages they have over their "younger" peers. Some options for reducing the relative age effect are offered.     

Classical conditioning of vocalizations in the rat: Acoustic characteristics of the CR and UCR

Classically conditioned shock-elicited vocalizations in the adult rat were acoustically analyzed and described, The fundamental frequency of the CRs ranged between 2,000 and 3,600 Hz, with overtones that extended well into the ultrasonic range and with durations lasting approximately 1÷2 sec. Major differences between CR and UCR signals were apparent. The CR vocalizations had little frequency variation and little or no noise, while the UCR vocalizations were associated with highly irregular frequencies and broad-band noise. Post-shock vocalizations had combined features of the CR and UCR sounds. It is suggested that the differences between the CR and UCR are related to the CR being the emotional cry and the UCR the pain cry.