MEDIA TONE AND PUBLIC OPINION: A LONGITUDINAL STUDY OF MEDIA COVERAGE AND PUBLIC OPINION ON CHANCELLOR KOHL

This study investigates the relationship between media coverageof Helmut Kohl in seven leading German print media and the opinionsof the German general public about the politician between 1975and 1984. For the content analysis evaluative assessments aboutHelmut Kohl on six different dimensions of characteristics werecoded. The analysis of public opinion is based on 72 representativesurveys in which respondents expressed their evaluations ofthe politician. The two time series were compared by means ofcross-lagged correlations. The whole period was first examinedwith aggregations of three-months-intervals; then closer attentionwas paid to the time period since Helmut Kohl took office aschancellor on the basis of monthly intervals. In both cases,the results show that evaluation shifts in the media precedesimilar evaluation shifts in public opinion with a time lagof about three to six months for the whole period of investigation,and a somewhat shorter time lag for the time of his chancellorship.Evaluation shifts in the political magazines Der Spiegel andStern were more closely related to public opinion than evaluationshifts in the national dailies.     

‘Go west young man!’ Youth apprenticeship and opportunity structures in two Canadian provinces

Most Canadian provinces offer high-school apprenticeships to facilitate students’ transitions to skilled work and address employers’ concerns about labour shortages. Using interview data with graduates from high-school apprenticeships in Alberta and Ontario, we analyse the impact participation in these programmes has had on their educational and occupational pathways. Findings show the importance of opportunity structures on the employment and education trajectories of young apprentices. High demands for skilled workers in Alberta, associated with the province’s exploration of large oil sands deposits, are contrasted with a contracting labour market in Ontario, which is more dependent on employment in the service and manufacturing sectors. Findings show that economic conditions and the availability of post-secondary alternatives affect young people’s decisions to enter and persist in apprenticeships. We also argue, however, that tighter regulatory frameworks are required to protect young people in apprenticeships from exploitative practices.     

Ethics of University Research,Biotechnology and Potential Military Spin-off

The paper provides a briefintroduction to the biotechnology revolutionand its impact upon biological researchrelevant to military uses. It describes thestatus of biological weapons today, and currentefforts to strengthen the Biological WeaponsConvention with a legally binding complianceprotocol. Specific modifications ofmicro-organisms that may be of military use arediscussed. Three examples of dual-use researchactivities are then used to highlight issuesand dilemmas in ethical decision making.     

R&D cooperation and innovation activities of firms—evidence for the German manufacturing industry

The aim of the paper is to investigate in a simultaneous equation framework the role of R&D cooperation in the innovation process—in context with other factors—from two specific aspects. First, analysis focuses on the impact of R&D cooperation on firms’ innovation input and output. Second, analysis is undertaken as to how the number of cooperation partners affects the innovation behaviour of firms. Starting with the discussion of theoretically expected effects of successful R&D cooperation on the innovation activities of firms, the importance of inter-organizational arrangements in R&D is empirically investigated in respect of firms in the German manufacturing industry. The estimation results can be summarized as follows: joint R&D is used to complement internal resources in the innovation process, enhancing the innovation input and output measured by the intensity of in-house R&D or the realization of product innovations. On the input side, the intensity of in-house R&D also stimulates the probability and the number of joint R&D activities with other firms and institutions significantly.     

Comparative analysis of delayed alternation learning in cats,mice, and guinea pigs

The performance of cats, guinea pigs, and mice in a delayed alternation paradigm was compared both during initial learning and following a 10-day retention interval. The testing situation (a modified T-maze), the length of the delay period (10 sec), and the amount of training per session and per week were kept identical for all three species. The results indicated that (1) animals of all three species acquired the task within similar time spans, (2) a considerable variance was apparent in the performance of individual animals independent of their species, and (3) guinea pigs, as a group, appeared to need a somewhat longer time to acquire delayed alternation than did mice and cats. Relearning of the task following the 10-day interval seemed to follow similar laws in all three species.     

Qualitätssicherung in Kindertageseinrichtungen

Obwohl heute ein weitgehender Konsens darüber vorliegt, dass der Qualit?tssicherung bei Humandienstleistungen ein ganz besonderer Stellenwert zukommt, fehlt eine systematische Auseinandersetzung mit den Gründen und M?glichkeiten einer solchen Qualit?tssicherung. Am Beispiel der Bildung, Erziehung und Betreuung von Kindern in Kindertageseinrichtungen sollen deshalb in diesem Beitrag systematische überlegungen zu einer Qualit?tssicherung zusammengetragen und diskutiert werden. In einem ersten Teil des Beitrags werden prim?r aus ?konomischer, jedoch auch aus p?dagogischer Perspektive die unterschiedlichen Gründe für eine Qualit?tssicherung au?erhalb des Marktes dargelegt. Eine solche Qualit?tssicherung muss jedoch nicht vom Staat selbst übernommen werden, vielmehr hat dieser lediglich die Rahmenbedingungen für ein funktionierendes Qualit?tssicherungssystem zu setzen. Der Beitrag stellt dar, welche Anforderungen ein solches Qualit?tssicherungssystem prinzipiell erfüllen muss, im Anschluss daran wird überprüft, inwiefern diese Anforderungen im deutschen Kindertageseinrichtungsbereich erfüllt sind. Als Ergebnis kann festgehalten werden, dass das deutsche Qualit?tssicherungssystem zu keinen ausreichenden Ergebnissen führt und daher reformbedürftig ist. Als Ansatzpunkt für solche Reformüberlegungen schlagen wir ein Gütesiegelsystem vor, das — in Kombination mit einer Subjektf?rderung über Kinderbetreuungsgutscheine — wettbewerbliche Elemente nicht nur bei der Zuteilung von Finanzmitteln, sondern auch bei der Qualit?tssicherung nutzbar macht. Damit verspricht das Gütesiegelsystem im Vergleich zum bisherigen System effizienter und effektiver zu sein.     

ICEM News

Abstract

This is an overview of the whole Conference as seen by Dr Edelstein.