Der Einfluss des lokalen Hochschulangebots auf die Studienwahl

Various studies show that local higher education provision and the distance to the nearest university effect study behavior. The probability of university participation increases with the geographical proximity of an institution of higher education. In this study we extend the question to the choice of subject of study and the specific institution using a human capital approach with reference to the ETH Zurich, Lucerne University and teacher training colleges. On the basis of a representative survey of holders (n?=?1454) of the higher education entrance qualification in German-language Switzerland, we show through regression analysis that the distance to the nearest university also has an effect on choice of subject and institution. The results are of policy relevance because they indicate a provision-induced study demand. Furthermore, they show that study behavior is not influenced by distance for students with a high socio-economic status. This can be understood as an indication that the importance of the proximity of a university is actually founded in the difference in study costs.     

Der Dopingdiskurs der 1950er und 1960er Jahre in den Leitmedien Der Spiegel und Die Zeit

Doping and antidoping are socially constructed, evolving and historically contingent phenomena relying on actors agreeing about allowed and deviant behaviour. Therefore, public discourse about doping represents an important part of the history of doping and antidoping. Content analysis of doping discourse in German quality media Der Spiegel und Die Zeit in the 1950s and 1960s shows that public attention for doping was rather low even though awareness increased due to the politicisation of sport and the rise of anabolic doping. Doping does not appear as a particular pressing but solvable problem. Moreover, doping is not linked to West German sport. In ethical terms, doping is perceived negatively. Neither does there exist a general mistrust in the sport bodies nor are sport bodies or sport policy clearly and resolutely requested to act. Therefore, the well-known 1969 article by Brigitte Berendonk marks a qualitative turn in public doping discourse.     

Pediatric cochlear implantation: a qualitative study of parental decision-making processes in Flanders, Belgium

Factors contributing to parents' decision when they choose between cochlear implantation (CI) and traditional hearing aids for their child were examined. The subjects were children with severe/profound hearing loss, born 1999-2001, registered in the universal neonatal hearing screening program in the Flanders region of Belgium. Qualitative data collected retrospectively from parents were subjected to thematic content analysis. In their responses to professional advice, parents were segmented into 3 groups: (a) those whose primary considerations were the importance of oral language development and the relative potential of CI and traditional hearing aids; (b) those for whom alternative factors (e.g., medical risks, ethical issues) were paramount, even in the face of professional advocacy of CI; (c) those who followed professional advice against CI. The researchers conclude that care professionals should be sensitive to the impact of their advice and other factors in parental decision making.     

DEMOCRACY AND EDUCATION IN THE TWENTY‐FIRST CENTURY: DEWEYAN PRAGMATISM AND THE QUESTION OF RACISM

Why is John Dewey still such an important philosopher today? Writing from the perspective of the Cologne Program of Interactive Constructivism, Stefan Neubert tries in what follows to give one possible answer to this question. Neubert notes that Cologne constructivism considers Dewey in many respects as one of the most important predecessors of present‐day constructivism and regards Deweyan pragmatism as one of its most important dialogue partners in contemporary discussions about pragmatism and constructivism in philosophy and education. Among the many aspects in which Dewey's works still speak powerfully to us today, Neubert highlights in this essay one theme that is at the heart of Dewey's philosophical approach: the relation between democracy and education.     

Quantifizierung des zu erwartenden Nutzens von Datenbankreorganisationen

Stetig wachsende Datenmengen und hohe Verfügbarkeitsanforderungen an Datenbanken führen dazu, dass Wartungsarbeiten (wie z.B. Datenbankreorganisationen) oft nicht mehr (oder nicht mehr vollst?ndig) offline in zur Verfügung stehenden Zeitfenstern durchgeführt werden k?nnen bzw. dass die Kosten oder die Behinderungen des normalen Datenbankbetriebs bei online durchgeführten Wartungsarbeiten nicht mehr vernachl?ssigt werden k?nnen. Deshalb sollte vorab bestimmt (quantifiziert) werden, ob der zu erwartende Nutzen den mit der Reorganisation verbundenen Aufwand rechtfertigt. Es ist daher wichtig, die Datenbankobjekte zu lokalisieren und einzugrenzen, bei denen ein hoher Wartungsbedarf besteht. Weiterhin ist es wünschenswert, zun?chst den durch Wartungsma?nahmen erreichbaren Nutzen vor ihrer Durchführung quantifizieren zu k?nnen. Dieser Nutzen ist auch von der Workload abh?ngig, also von den gegen die Datenbankobjekte gerichteten Datenbankanweisungen und deren Ausführungsh?ufigkeiten. Insbesondere der zur Workload-Abarbeitung anfallende I/O-Aufwand, der einen dominierenden Anteil am Gesamtaufwand ausmacht, l?sst sich mit einer Datenbankreorganisation u.U. wesentlich beeinflussen (reduzieren). In diesem Beitrag wird eine Methode vorgestellt, die es erm?glicht, die Auswirkungen einer Datenbankreorganisation auf den zur Workload-Abarbeitung notwendigen I/O-Aufwand abzusch?tzen und damit den haupts?chlichen Nutzen der Reorganisation zu quantifizieren. über erste Erfahrungen mit der Methode, die anhand von Beispielen gesammelt wurden, wird berichtet. The permanent increasing amount of data and the requirement of high availability cause that maintenance of databases (e.g. database reorganizations) often is not or not completely (off-line) possible in the available time spans. On-line database reorganizations are often expensive and cumbersome during the normal database processing. To reduce performance impacts it is important to locate the database objects that have a high level of disorganization and so a high need of maintenance. Furthermore, it is desirable to be able to estimate the benefit of expensive maintenance operations before their processing. This benefit depends on the degree of disorganization and on the instructions that are processed on the database objects (workload). In particular, the costs for I/O-operations dominate the total costs for database operations. With database reorganizations it is possible to reduce the I/O-costs. In this paper we present a method to calculate the benefit of database reorganizations before the processing. The presented method allows to calculate the possible reduction of the I/O-cost for processing a given workload caused by a database reorganization.

CR Subject Classification E.2,H.2.7,H.3.2,H.3.3     

Fan identification and national identity

It is commonly assumed that sport plays an important role for national identity. However, empirical research has primarily focused on sport’s role for emotional-affectice rather than cognitive aspects of national identity. Therefore, research presented here explores whether identification with the German national soccer team serves to reinforce ethnic or civic conceptions of national identity. Analyses of a unique dataset conducted during the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016?EURO show that national team identification is an important determinant of national pride and national belonging. Respondents who identify with the national soccer team can adhere to different conceptions of national identity. It seems that national pride and affection as well as conceptions of national identity represent stable attitudes not affected by the success of the national team. Further research should improve conceptual clarity and measurement.     

Biomechanical comparison of the double-push technique and the conventional skate skiing technique in cross-country sprint skiing

The aims of the study were to: (1) adapt the "double-push" technique from inline skating to cross-country skiing; (2) compare this new skiing technique with the conventional skate skiing cross-country technique; and (3) test the hypothesis that the double-push technique improves skiing speed in a short sprint. 13 elite skiers performed maximum-speed sprints over 100 m using the double-push skate skiing technique and using the conventional "V2" skate skiing technique. Pole and plantar forces, knee angle, cycle characteristics, and electromyography of nine lower body muscles were analysed. We found that the double-push technique could be successfully transferred to cross-country skiing, and that this new technique is faster than the conventional skate skiing technique. The double-push technique was 2.9 +/- 2.2% faster (P < 0.001), which corresponds to a time advantage of 0.41 +/- 0.31 s over 100 m. The double-push technique had a longer cycle length and a lower cycle rate, and it was characterized by higher muscle activity, higher knee extension amplitudes and velocities, and higher peak foot forces, especially in the first phase of the push-off. Also, the foot was more loaded laterally in the double-push technique than in the conventional skate skiing technique.