Susanne von Below: Bildungssysteme und soziale Ungleichheit. Das Beispiel der neuen Bundesländer

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Knowledge management and communication in Brazilian agricultural research: An integrated procedural approach

The great contemporary organizational challenge for enterprises is to create a conceptual and methodological framework allows the management of knowledge by means of networks designed for social interaction. This statement is based on the premise that the competitive drive and sustainable success of the company depend on the introduction of new forms of production innovative processes, which can only be ensured through integrated approaches to knowledge management and the incorporation information technologies (IT). This is a reality that has already been accepted by the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa, its acronym in Portuguese), a Brazilian research, development, and innovation (RD&I) institution supporting agricultural sector. For some years now, Embrapa has been incorporating what it has learned about knowledge management into its strategic planning process. In this paper, we present a new approach to managing knowledge and information, and we analyze the need for research institutions to administer the knowledge they produce through an RD&I management model based multi- and inter-disciplinary teams, and multi-institutional research networks.     

Social Media in the Funeral Industry: On the Digitization of Grief

This article explores how innovations in the funeral industry borrow from the technological affordances, commercial logics, cultural norms, and affective registers of social media platforms. Based on ethnographic research of funeral industry conventions, we analyze examples of funeral planning tools, funeral service mediation, and digital memorialization products. We consider how these products aim to capture forms of data, affect, and value as part of the funeral industry’s efforts to shore up their historically intermediary relevance in the face of potential “disruption” from technological innovation, and threats of marginalization posed by shifting norms of networked grieving and commemoration in digital culture     

A Comparison of Item-Selection Methods for Adaptive Tests with Content Constraints

In test assembly, a fundamental difference exists between algorithms that select a test sequentially or simultaneously. Sequential assembly allows us to optimize an objective function at the examinee's ability estimate, such as the test information function in computerized adaptive testing. But it leads to the non-trivial problem of how to realize a set of content constraints on the test—a problem more naturally solved by a simultaneous item-selection method. Three main item-selection methods in adaptive testing offer solutions to this dilemma. The spiraling method moves item selection across categories of items in the pool proportionally to the numbers needed from them. Item selection by the weighted-deviations method (WDM) and the shadow test approach (STA) is based on projections of the future consequences of selecting an item. These two methods differ in that the former calculates a projection of a weighted sum of the attributes of the eventual test and the latter a projection of the test itself. The pros and cons of these methods are analyzed. An empirical comparison between the WDM and STA was conducted for an adaptive version of the Law School Admission Test (LSAT), which showed equally good item-exposure rates but violations of some of the constraints and larger bias and inaccuracy of the ability estimator for the WDM.     

生态伦理及其实践格局

生态伦理是一种全新的伦理理念。是由于生态伦理把人与自然之间的价值关系有效地纳入人与人的利益关系中,从而深刻地揭示以自然生态环境中介了的人伦之理,亦即在现实的实践格局中曲折地协调和规范人类多极主体之间的利益关系。人们对此问题的认识上的差异。归根到底反映了不同的历史观和价值观。     

Modelling impact of dredging and dumping in ebb-flood channel systems

For a channel-shoal system in a funnel-shaped basin the impact of dredging and dumping is investigated using a complex process-based model. First, the residual flow and sediment transport circulations are analysed for the channel-shoal pattern, which has emerged after a long-term model simulation. Results are compared to the Western Scheldt estuary, which forms the inspiration for this study. Subsequently, different dredge and dump scenarios are modelled, according to a conceptual model, in which ebb-and flood-channels and enclosed shoals form morphodynamic units (cells) with their own sediment circulation. Model results show that dumping sediment in a channel further reduces the channel depth and induces erosion in the opposite channel, which enhances tilting of the cross-section of the cell and eventually can lead to the degeneration of a multiple channel system into a single channel. The impact of different dredging and dumping cases agrees with results from a stability analysis. This means that this type of model applied to a realistic geometry can potentially be used for better prediction of the impact of human interventions.     

A physically active lifestyle is related to a lower level of skin autofluorescence in a large population with chronic-disease (LifeLines cohort)

Background:Physical activity(PA)has substantial health benefits and is important in combatting chronic diseases,which have been associated with elevated levels of advanced glycation endproducts(AGEs).AGEs play a role in the aging process,and an association between PA and AGEs has been reported.We aimed to investigate the relationship between PA and AGE accumulation in a general population and in a population with chronic diseases.Methods:This large cross-sectional population study used data from adult participants in the LifeLines project,with participant information drawn from the LifeLines database as well data from patients with diabetes mellitus or renal and/or cardiovascular diseases.Tissue AGE accumulation was assessed non-invasively by skin-autofluorescence(SAF)using an AGE reader(DiagnOptics Technologies BV,Groningen,the Netherlands).PA was assessed using the short questionnaire to assess health-enhancing physical activity(SQUASH).Multivariate linear regression analyses were adjusted for age,body mass index,sex,and smoking status.Results:Data from 63,452 participants(general population n=59,177,chronic disease n=4275)were analyzed.The general population was significantly younger(43.58±11.77 years,mean±SD)and had significantly lower SAF(1.90±0.42 arbitrary units(AU))compared to the population with chronic disease(age:55.51±12.07 years;SAF:2.27±0.51 AU).In the group with chronic disease,more hours of moderate to vigorous physical activities per week were associated with lower SAF(β=-0.002,95%confidence interval(95%CI):-0.002 to-0.001).For the general population,there was no association between hours of moderate to vigorous activity and SAF(β=3.2×10^-5,95%CI:0.000-0.001,p=0.742).However,there was an association in the general population between total hours of PA per week and SAF(β=4.2×10^-4,95%CI:0.000-0.001,p<0.001),but this association was not found in the chronic disease population(β=-3.2×10^-4,95%CI:-0.001 to 0.000,p=0.347).Conclusion:Our study demonstrates that an inverse relationship exists between PA and AGE accumulation in the population with chronic disease.More hours of moderate to vigorous activity is associated a significantly decreased SAF.More PA is associated a lower SAF,even after for the established predictors(age,body mass index,smoking status,and sex).Our findings could help to promote health and prolong longevity.     

营造有利于我国高等职业教育发展的法制环境

作为高等教育重要组成部分的高等职业教育，由于发展起步迟，历史短，相应的法制建设还未跟上，还存在着法制建设尚不健全，司法执法不够严格，社会各界及人民群众关于职业教育的法制观念不强等问题。因此，必须积极营造有利于我国高等职业教育发展的法制环境，建立健全高等职业教育方面的法律法规体系，使高等职业教育走上健康，快速发展的轨道。     

Role strain,engagement and academic achievement in early adolescence

The present study was designed to investigate the relationships between role strains following the transition to secondary school and academic achievement. Academic engagement was hypothesized to mediate between role strain and achievement. The sample consisted of 749 students in their first year of secondary school. Four types of role strain were investigated: parent, teacher, school and peer. Parent and teacher role strains appeared to be negatively associated with academic achievement, as mediated through academic engagement. Parent and school role strain were directly and negatively associated with achievement. Results are discussed in the light of parenting practices and the developmental mismatch hypothesis.