Aufbau und Realisierung des MeDoc-Volltextspeichers

Zusammenfassung.   Ziel von MeDoc war der Aufbau eines verteilten Informationsdienstes, über den eine kritische Masse an Informatik-Literatur im Volltext nachgewiesen, langfristig vorgehalten, recherchiert und beschafft werden kann. Bei einem Teil der angebotenen Literatur handelt es sich dabei um elektronische Versionen des regul?ren kommerziellen Angebots der beteiligten Verlage. Aus diesem Grund war ein wichtiges Teilziel von MeDoc die Entwicklung eines Volltextspeichers, der solche kostenpflichtigen Dokumente abrechenbar und sicher nachweist, liefert und zum Browsen zur Verfügung stellt. Der Artikel beschreibt die Konzeption und Architektur dieses Volltextspeichers. Eingegangen am 17. April 1998 / Angenommen am 21. Juli 1998     

Editorial

Ohne Zusammenfassung

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Editorial

     

Innovation processes in large technical systems: Market liberalization as a driver for radical change?

Electricity supply is a large technical system, which exhibits strong path dependencies and high barriers for radical innovations. Recent market liberalization, however, has initiated a fundamental restructuring. The paper analyzes how liberalization has altered innovation processes in the field of electricity supply. We examine three radical innovations under monopoly conditions and contrast the findings with the results from a survey on the innovation behavior of electric utilities in liberalized markets. We argue that the selection environment for innovations has changed in various respects. In our sample, new options open to innovation activities have emerged at the level of the firm and utility strategies turn out to be more heterogeneous. This may be interpreted as an increase in the variety of search processes, which may lead to a mid-term decrease of path-dependencies.     

Software for calculating blood lactate endurance markers

Abstract

Blood lactate markers are used as summary measures of the underlying model of an athlete's blood lactate response to increasing work rate. Exercise physiologists use these endurance markers, typically corresponding to a work rate in the region of high curvature in the lactate curve, to predict and compare endurance ability. A short theoretical background of the commonly used markers is given and algorithms provided for their calculation. To date, no free software exists that allows the sports scientist to calculate these markers. In this paper, software is introduced for precisely this purpose that will calculate a variety of lactate markers for an individual athlete, an athlete at different instants (e.g. across a season), and simultaneously for a squad.     

From apprentice to colleague: The metamorphosis of Early Career Researchers

While the studies of Early Career Researchers (ECRs) have contributed politically important insights into factors hindering ECRs, they have not yet achieved a theoretical understanding of the causal mechanisms that are at work in the transition from dependent to independent research. This paper positions the early career phase in a theoretical framework that combines approaches from the sociology of science and organisational sociology and emphasises the transitional process. In this framework, the early career phase is considered as containing a status passage from the apprentice to the colleague state of their career in their scientific communities. In order to capture the mechanisms underlying this transition, it is important to analyse the interactions of these careers as they unfold over time. The usefulness of this approach is demonstrated with a pilot study of Australian ECRs. We show (a) that misalignments of the three careers stretch the transition phase; (b) that the two major factors affecting the transition are a successful PhD and a research-intensive phase prior to normal academic employment; and (c) that the most important condition hindering the transition is the lack of time for research. It can be concluded that as a result of a ‘market failure’ of the university system, the transition from dependent to independent research is currently being relocated to a phase between the PhD and the first academic position.     

Stellen Hochschultypen differenzielle Entwicklungsmilieus dar?

The German higher education system has three different types of universities. This study aims to investigate the effect of choosing one particular university type on central personality traits (vocational interests, vocational motives and the Big Five). Existing results clearly show that the individual types of universities recruit students with different backgrounds. Whether differential development during and after studies is determined by university type (i.e. socialization effects in a broader sense) or whether it denotes a consequence of pre-existing differences among students of the university types will, for the first time, be examined using propensity-score matching. To do this, data of a large longitudinal study in Baden-Wuerttemberg were used in order to compare 1568 students at traditional universities (Universit?ten), universities of applied sciences (Fachhochschulen), and universities of cooperative education (Berufsakademien) in their second, fourth and sixth year after university entrance examination. Socialisation effects were tested in propensity-score based parallelised sub-samples (N?=?622). Results show that differences between university types can mainly be explained with selection effects and that the effects of attendance at the university types itself were hardly differential.     

Vergleichsarbeiten in Baden-Württemberg

Standard comparative tests are meant to provide a reference system within the framework of educational reforms for development of school lessons. Compulsory comparative testing was introduced in Baden-Württemberg at the end of the school year 2005/2006. The teachers carried out the tests and corrected them themselves. Afterwards they received feedback at school and class levels, which was based on a prior statewide pilot study. The repeated survey had the aim of investigating which intended effects (reference attainment for orientation) and non-intended effects (narrowing-the-curriculum, pre-testing and exercises) teachers associated with this new instrument. Teachers of technical secondary schools (Realschulen) in Baden-Württemberg were surveyed. In the survey before the introduction of standard comparative testing (2004; n _{t 1}?=?914), teachers expected both intended and non-intended effects. Four years after their introduction (2009; n _{t 1}?=?734), respondents were asked to estimate the effects of standard comparative tests. The effects??in every dimension??were judged to be significantly less than had been expected before their introduction. It is pleasing that the teachers did not judge the anticipated narrowing-the-curriculum effects to be significant. However, they also did not see the instrument as a noteworthy orientation help for planning and assessing lessons. Standard comparative tests were not seen by the respondents to provide a reference for new lesson developments.     

Process integration,information sharing,and system interoperation in government: A comparative case analysis

In recent years, government agencies on all levels and in all branches have increasingly engaged in harmonizing business processes, standardizing information sharing, and interoperating their information systems, which indicates a rising need for intra- and inter-government collaboration. Simultaneously, the technical capacity for process integration, information sharing, and system interoperation/interoperability (INT-IS-IOP) has also greatly increased. While a number of INT-IS-IOP projects have faced serious challenges leading to problematic project outcomes, other projects have produced the desired results. Using the amended Scholl/Klischewski (2007) framework this study systematically analyzes documents of nineteen cases of mostly successful projects, which were carried out across Europe. Based on the results of this analysis, we identify and document key foci and characteristics of successful projects. The comparative case analysis also helps assess the explanatory power of the Scholl/Klischewski framework, its applicability to practice, and its utility for evaluative purposes.     

Video demonstrations can predict the intention to use digital learning technologies

The technology acceptance model (TAM) uses perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use to predict the intention to use a technology which is important when deciding to invest in a technology. Its extension for e-learning (the general extended technology acceptance model for e-learning; GETAMEL) adds subjective norm to predict the intention to use. Technology acceptance is typically measured after the technology has been used for at least three months. This study aims to identify whether a minimal amount of exposure to the technology using video demonstrations is sufficient to predict the intention to use it three months later. In two studies—one using TAM and one using GETAMEL—we showed students of different cohorts (94 and 111 participants, respectively) video demonstrations of four digital technologies (classroom response system, classroom chat, e-lectures, mobile virtual reality). We then measured technology acceptance immediately after the demonstration and after three months of technology use. Using partial least squares modelling, we found that perceived usefulness significantly predicted the intention to use three months later. In GETAMEL, perceived usefulness significantly predicted the intention to use for three of the four learning technologies, while subjective norm only predicted the intention to use for mobile virtual reality. We conclude that video demonstrations can provide valuable insight for decision-makers and educators on whether students will use a technology before investing in it.

Practitioner notes

What is already known about this topic

• The technology acceptance model helps decision-makers to determine whether students and teachers will adopt a new technology.
• Technology acceptance is typically measured after users have used the technology for three to twelve months.
• Perceived usefulness is a strong predictor of intention to use the technology.
• The predictive power of perceived ease of use for the intention to use varies from insignificant to strong.

What this paper adds

• For the four digital learning technologies (classroom chat, classroom response system, e-lectures and mobile virtual reality), we measure technology acceptance after a video demonstration and again after three months of usage.
• Using structural equation modelling, we are able to predict intention to use after three months, with perceived usefulness measured after the video demonstration.
• We replicate these findings with a second study using the general extended technology acceptance model.

Implications for practice and/or policy

• Short video demonstrations can provide information for educators to predict whether students will use a technology.
• Early impressions of perceived usefulness are very important and valuable to predict whether students will use a technology.