Gender differences in mathematics and science: the role of the actiotope in determining individuals’ achievements and confidence in their own abilities

Despite changes, gender differences in math and science continue to exist in some countries. We examined whether the actiotopes of boys and girls at the high school level in math and science differed and the extent to which (a) their actiotope components, (b) the progressive development of their actiotopes (dynamic perspective), and (c) the co-adaptation of their actiotopes (systems perspective) function as predictors for girls’ and boys’ achievements and confidence in one’s own abilities in math and science. To answer these questions, we examined girls and boys (N?=?361) in Canada, the Czech Republic, and Germany with a questionnaire. The results suggest that girls are less effective at progressively developing their actiotopes in the fields of math and science and that modifications in their actiotopes were less well balanced by stabilizing forces. Independent of gender, the actiotope aspects considered here are suited to predicting achievements and confidence in one’s own abilities in math and science.     

Slovenian young researchers’ motivation for knowledge transfer

A programme for the promotion of science and doctoral studies called the Young Researchers Training Programme has been developed in Slovenia. Since it began, the programme has been substantially funded and over 6,000 young people have participated in it. However, no evaluation of the programme’s effectiveness has yet been conducted. In this study we identified young researchers’ motivation for entering the programme, their assessment of the training and links to knowledge transfer into practice as the principal idea behind the programme. Two training groups, university based young researchers and company based young researchers, are compared in order to assess whether the type of training affects knowledge transfer. The analyses show that young researchers in the economy are more involved in direct knowledge transfer and their motivation to do so is mainly intrinsic. On the other hand, university based young researchers need extrinsic incentives to cooperate in projects in economic sector, for their motivation is more oriented towards academic research. Implications for Slovenia, as well as for other countries’ higher education policies, are discussed.     

Using student ratings to measure quality of teaching in six European countries

This paper argues for the value of using student ratings to measure quality of teaching. An international study to test the validity of the dynamic model of educational effectiveness was conducted. At classroom level, the model consists of eight factors relating to teacher behaviour: orientation, structuring, questioning, teaching modelling, application, management of time, teacher role in making classroom a learning environment and assessment. In each participating country (i.e. Belgium/Flanders, Cyprus, Germany, Greece, Ireland and Slovenia), a sample of at least 50 primary schools was used and all grade 4 students (n?=?9967) were asked to complete a questionnaire concerning the eight factors of the dynamic model. Structural equation modelling techniques were used to test the construct validity of the questionnaire. Both across- and within-country analyses revealed that student ratings are reliable and valid for measuring the functioning of the teacher factors of the dynamic model. Implications for teacher education are drawn.     

New Documents on the History of the Russian Historical Archive Abroad in Prague

The article discusses a newly-discovered collection of administrative documents and correspondence from the Russkii zagranichnyi istoricheskii arkhiv [Russian Historical Archive Abroad], which was active 1924–1945. The collection is housed in the Slavonic Library in Prague. It is important for both the history of the archive itself and the history of the Russian emigration. An inventory list of the collection is now available on the library's Web site.     

Peer mediation: citizenship and social inclusion revisited

In sociometric research tradition, popularity is defined as the degree to which children are liked or accepted by their peers. However, research indicates that two definitions of popular students should be distinguished: (1) popular students as those students who are well liked by many and disliked by few peers, and (2) popular students as those students who are described as popular by their peers. The main purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship between sociometric and peer perceived popularity in Slovenian students of different grades of elementary and secondary school. Additionally, the age differences in the relationship between sociometric and peer perceived popularity were examined. Another purpose of the study was to investigate the differential relationships between concepts of popularity and some students' characteristics. The participants were 321 boys and 329 girls who ranged from the 5th grade of elementary school (the mean age 11.04 years) to the 3rd grade of secondary school (the mean age 17.02 years). The results of this study confirm previous findings that peer perceived popularity is a construct that is distinct from sociometric popularity. There are some substantial differences in relations between indices of perceived popularity and sociometric indices between elementary school students and secondary school students—i.e. between early adolescents and middle to late adolescents. It seems that perceived popularity and sociometric popularity are rather similar constructs in elementary school students, whereas in secondary school students they become almost unrelated to each other. Based on these findings, the terminological issues are discussed and some conclusions are made.     

Analysis of efflorescence on surface of beeswax seals

Thirteen samples of an efflorescence collected from the surface of beeswax seals or from beeswax used for their restoration were analysed in detail. The samples were of different origin, age and storage history. The composition and the incidence of the efflorescence was correlated with a chemical composition of historical and recent beeswax samples. The composition of the crystalline layer was found to be very similar in all the samples. Linear monounsaturated alkenes containing 31 and 33 carbon atoms, more precisely (Z)-hentriacont-10-ene and (Z)-tritriacont-10-ene, were identified as main components. The analyses of beeswax have revealed that all compounds identified in “wax bloom” naturally occur in recent beeswax. However, the historical beeswaxes contained only traces of unsaturated hydrocarbons, if anything. The efflorescence was observed primarily on the surfaces of those samples which contained larger proportion of alkenes. The presented results could be of particular importance not only for better understanding of the described phenomenon, but also for the development of new beeswax-based materials, which would be “bloom resistant” and useful for conservation purposes.