The research and evaluation of serious games: Toward a comprehensive methodology

The authors present the methodological background to and underlying research design of an ongoing research project on the scientific evaluation of serious games and/or computer‐based simulation games (SGs) for advanced learning. The main research questions are: (1) what are the requirements and design principles for a comprehensive social scientific methodology for the evaluation of SGs?; (2) to what extent do SGs contribute to advanced learning?; (3) what factors contribute to or determine this learning?; and (4) to what extent and under what conditions can SG‐based learning be transferred to the real world? In the Netherlands between 2005 and 2012, several hundred SG sessions with 12 SGs were evaluated systematically, uniformly and quantitatively to create a dataset, which comprises data on 2488 respondents in higher education or work organizations. The authors present the research model, the quasi‐experimental design and the evaluation instruments. This focus in this paper is on the methodology and dataset, which form a sound foundation for forthcoming publications on the empirical results.     

Geben und Nehmen

Zusammenfassung Lange haben alltagsweltliche überzeugungen und sozialwissenschaftliche Theorien darin übereingestimmt, die Beziehung zwischen den erwachsenen Generationen in der Familie habe sich im Zuge der gesellschaftlichen Modernisierung und der Entwicklung des Wohlfahrtsstaates zunehmend aufgel?st. Die neuere empirische Forschung weist jedoch nach, dass diese Beziehung überwiegend nach wie vor eng ist und dass darin auch betr?chtliche Versorgungsleistungen erbracht werden. Wir vertiefen diesen Nachweis auf einem bisher vernachl?ssigten Gebiet, n?mlich den materiellen Transfers zwischen den Generationen, und verbinden diese familialen Austauschprozesse mit dem wohlfahrtsstaatlichen „Generationenvertrag“. Es zeigt sich, dass die familialen Transferleistungen — sowohl zu Lebzeiten als auch über Erbschaften — erheblich sind und dass auch die Transfers zu Lebzeiten haupts?chlich von den ?lteren zu den jüngeren Generationen gehen. Die Familie als Solidarsystem wird also durch den Wohlfahrtsstaat nicht geschw?cht, sondern im Gegenteil zu neuen Leistungen bef?higt.

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Summary Giving and Getting: The elderly between the generations Everyday popular convictions and social science theories have long agreed that the link between adult generations in the family has disintegrated due to societal modernization and the development of the welfare state. Recent empirical research has, however, shown that the ties between generations are in most cases still strong and that mutual support of considerable value is very common. In this paper we add further evidence by focusing on an area which has largely been neglected so far — material transfers between generations — and relate this exchange within the family to the “generational contract” of the welfare state. We show that private intergenerational transfers — both inter vivos and through inheritance — are substantial and that they usually flow downwards, from the older to the younger generations. We conclude that the family as a system of solidarity is not weakened but to the contrary reinforced by the welfare state.

     

A practical approach for applying online remote experiments: OnPReX

The development of Internet technologies stimulates the increase of online technology-supported education in universities. Online learning based on remote experiments is capable of diminishing the scantiness in practical courses. In this paper, we present online practical courses based on remote experiments (OnPReX). These courses consist of online experiments, interactive graphics and an online tutoring-system organised at the Berlin Institute of Technology (TUB). We developed two online practical courses, one focusing on classical and the other on modern physics, for bachelor and intermediate diploma engineering students. Our online practical courses based on remote experiments took place in two test phases during two semesters. These courses were evaluated and the results were used to improve the courses. Our online practical courses on remote experiments have successfully been integrated as electives at the TUB.     

Identification and fostering of mathematically gifted students

In a three year research project, annual mathematics talent searches for highly able and motivated twelve year old students were conducted. Of these, 150 took part in a long term Saturday enrichment program to train their mathematical abilities in problem finding and problem solving. The article first discusses the educational and organizational constraints of programs for gifted children. Mathematical giftedness is defined by high achievement in two tests: The Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT-M) and the HTMB, a set of seven problems specially devised for the talent search. The philosophy of the teaching program is explained and illustrated by examples. Preliminary results indicate the considerable success of the program. Possible consequences for normal classroom teaching are indicated.     

Discourses of education,protection, and child labor: case studies of Benin,Namibia and Swaziland

This article analyses discontinuities between local, national and international discourse in the fields of education, protection of children, and child labor, using Benin, Namibia and Swaziland as case studies. In Benin, child abuse and child labor are related to poverty, whereas in Namibia and Swaziland they are also interrelated with HIV/AIDS. In these countries, the notion of childhood is seen as continuous with adulthood, and the change from education to work is not abrupt and age-determined, but a smooth transition. The international discourse defines children in binary terms (child or adult), and promotes free and compulsory education for children, without recognizing the direct and indirect costs of education. Projects based on an international discourse may have little relevance in a poverty context where it is natural to make children work to ensure food safety. Local communities consider children from a logic of community survival; the external aid agencies consider them from a logic of individual children's rights. There is a need to find a bridge between these two interpretations of childhood.     

Symmetrical generalization decrements: Configural stimulus processing in human contingency learning

Models of associative learning differ in their predictions concerning the symmetry of generalization decrements. Whereas Pearce’s (1994) configural model predicts the same response decrement after adding elements to and after removing elements from a previously trained stimulus, elemental models, such as the replaced elements model and Harris’s (2006) model, anticipate more of a decrement for removing than for adding elements. In three contingency learning experiments, we manipulated the motion and the spatial arrangement of colored dots in order to induce configural or elemental processing by perceptual grouping. The results reliably showed symmetrical decrements for the added and removed groups. The manipulations of the stimuli had no effect on stimulus processing. This is in line with Pearce’s configural model, but it is at variance with the elemental models and previous studies.     

增长促进创新还是创新促进增长?一个德国"市场秩序"和发展经济学的观点

目前市场既是一个自发状态又是一个不断发现的过程,处于市场中的公司为了更好的生存开始不断的进行研发活动.本文通过对技术进步(创新)的三个假设的事实验证表明,不断增长的需求是导致技术不断进步的关键因素.最后本文还讨论了研究状态的类型及技术政策与市场相适应等相关问题.     

Poverty alleviation and integrated service delivery: Literacy,early child development and health

This paper argues that many internationally financed literacy programs do not sufficiently take into consideration important daily life issues of the learners, including nutritional deficiencies that may hinder learning, or of children–parent–society interactions that may improve learning. As a result, many programs have become synonymous with increased supply of a low-quality education. Often, these programs address almost exclusively Education for All (EFA) international policy targets, without sufficiently addressing other poverty alleviation targets, as defined by the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). This paper further contends that approaches that would generate the greatest effects within an EFA-perspective may not be the best way to alleviate poverty within a MDGs-perspective. Based on a case study of a women's literacy program in Senegal, this paper proposes to look at needs within an MDG perspective, and to use multi-pronged and integrated approaches to intervene in sectors where the poverty alleviation impact is the greatest.     

Human capital heterogeneity, collaborative relationships, and publication patterns in a multidisciplinary scientific alliance: a comparative case study of two scientific teams

In this paper, we compare the publication outcomes of two teams within a multi-university scientific alliance. Scientists in one team share similar scholarly backgrounds and work in a well established paradigm, while scientists in the second team have different backgrounds and work in an emergent discipline. While the alliance has increased the productivity of both teams, this increase was highest for the more heterogeneous team. In addition, while the variety of knowledge concepts employed in their research was initially higher for the heterogeneous team, this gap narrowed over time. We discuss the implications of our research for alliance design.     

Database choices in endocrine systematic reviews

Objective

The choice of bibliographic database during the systematic review search process has been an ongoing conversation among information specialists. With newer information sources, such as Google Scholar and clinical trials registries, we were interested in which databases were utilized by information specialists and systematic review researchers.

Method

We retrieved 144 systematic reviews and meta-analyses from 4 clinical endocrinology journals and extracted all information sources used during the search processes.

Results

Findings indicate that traditional bibliographic databases are most often used, followed by regional databases, clinical trials registries, and gray literature databases.

Conclusions

This study informs information specialists about additional resources that may be considered during the search process.