A case study of the arbitrariness of the h-index and the highly-cited-publications indicator

The arbitrariness of the h-index becomes evident, when one requires q × h instead of h citations as the threshold for the definition of the index, thus changing the size of the core of the most influential publications of a dataset. I analyze the citation records of 26 physicists in order to determine how much the prefactor q influences the ranking. Likewise, the arbitrariness of the highly-cited-publications indicator is due to the threshold value, given either as an absolute number of citations or as a percentage of highly cited papers. The analysis of the 26 citation records shows that the changes in the rankings in dependence on these thresholds are rather large and comparable with the respective changes for the h-index.     

The consequences of central examinations on educational quality standards and labour market outcomes

Central examinations—that is, centrally set and marked exams—have often been discussed as an instrument for improving educational outcomes. The aim of our study was to determine whether central exams have an impact not only on educational but also on labour market outcomes. We explain school quality choice through the incentives created by central exams vs. non‐central exams and model the resulting students’ schooling decisions and employers’ wage decisions. We use the German Abitur and the variation among the German federal states with respect to central exams as a quasi‐experimental design for alternative educational quality regimes. As hypothesised from our theoretical analysis, the percentage of Abitur holders increases more quickly in quality regimes without central exams than with central exams. However, as theoretically expected in the case of a pooled labour market, the wage premium decreases not only for Abitur‐holders without central exams but also for all Abitur‐holders. This is due to the quality deterioration in the states without central exams which spills over into a pooled labour market. Thus, graduates from states with central exams and higher educational standards ‘pay’ for the quality deterioration of educational standards in states without central exams.     

A constructivist approach in a blended e-learning environment for statistics

In this study, we report on the students' evaluation of a self-constructed constructivist e-learning environment for statistics, the compendium platform (CP). The system was built to endorse deeper learning with the incorporation of statistical reproducibility and peer review practices. The deployment of the CP, with interactive workshops and group assignments, immerses students in a novel blended e-learning experience. Based on the Delone and McLean framework, we tested an explanatory success model with a sample of 607 business students, collected during three consecutive academic years. The results indicate that system quality and teacher support are the most important success factors, directly or indirectly contributing to a higher degree of relative advantage and satisfaction, both of which strongly determine continuous intention to use. The findings ascertain the usability and acceptance of the CP and promote a more radical constructivist approach to the teaching of statistics, but also other subjects.     

Defensive transition in soccer – are prompt possession regains a measure of success? A quantitative analysis of German Fußball-Bundesliga 2010/2011

Abstract

The aim of the study was to evaluate the time required by German Bundesliga soccer teams to recover ball possession – which was operationalised as defensive reaction time – and identify both the differences between top teams and the rest of the league and the influence of match status on the aforementioned indicator. Therefore, teams were classified into 3 distinct groups according to their final league position: top, in-between and bottom. In total, all 306 games of the season 2010/2011 were analysed post-event. Top teams recovered ball possession quickest after losing it in comparison to the other groups and demonstrated lower defensive reaction times (approximately 1 s in each match status) compared to the remaining teams. Moreover, all groups showed the lowest defensive reaction times when trailing. The results of this study imply that recovering ball possession as quickly as possible after losing possession was an important determinant of successful defensive performance in German Bundesliga season 2010/2011. Further, the current score seemed to be highly influential on the defensive reaction time. The implications of the results for future research, especially considering opponent interactions, are critically discussed.     

Protein identification and localization using mass spectrometry and staining tests in cross-sections of polychrome samples

The identification and localization of the proteinaceous binders are essential issues in studies of painting materials and techniques, for further proposing valid restoration and conservation treatments of the painted or polychrome works of art. The challenge for analytical chemists and conservation scientists is the availability of methods able to simultaneously identify and map the presence of the binders in the multilayered structure of a sample and the possibility to use a very low amount of sample from the studied art object (considering also the criteria of minimum sampling). These methods should be fast, reproducible in different artefacts and in case of mixture of protein-based binders with other non-proteinaceous constituents (oils, resins, waxes, gums etc.) and also economical (both in terms of materials and time consume). In this context, the present paper proposes an innovative protocol of investigation using two complementary techniques – Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionisation – Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) and staining tests (one visible and one fluorescent stain) assisted by Optical Microscopy (OM) on cross-section of samples – for the simultaneous identification and mapping of protein – and oil-based binders in paint materials. The novelty is based on the use of MALDI-TOF MS on cross-sections of paints together with a fluorescent stain for protein identification and mapping (mainly used in the area of proteomics) complementing the use of a traditional visible stain for oil-based material identification. The protocol was successfully applied on several samples taken from a Czech medieval polychrome sculpture, entitled “The Mourning of Jesus Christ” (16th century) belonging to the Moravian Gallery (Brno).     

Top-down and bottom-up approaches to improve educational quality: their intended and unintended consequences

Educational Assessment, Evaluation and Accountability -     

Ratings of usability of didactic models: a comparative case study in Croatia and Germany

The study refers to the unfavourable reputation and status of general didactics as well as its decreasing importance in teacher education. This is a result of poor performance achieved in international tests by students. They score low on knowledge and arguments, and empirical studies indicate that didactic models are useless. In view of the above problem, the aim of this article is to examine the validity of the argument that didactic models are useless. It is necessary to examine if general didactics are being in an unfavourable position along with its possible successors in the international context. In order to achieve that, we conducted an empirical study into the usability of didactic models for lesson planning in Croatia and compared it with the results obtained in previous research in Germany. The term usability means the advantages of theory in practice. On the basis of the results of the empirical study, we concluded that didactic models are not generally unusable. Additionally, they are different according to their usability. These results open a path for further research on this topic in the international context.     

Explicit promotion of experimental skills. And what about the content-related skills?

Experimental skills should be acquired by learners at school and university alike. To promote experimental skills, various approaches exist within a spectrum between implicit and explicit instruction. Regarding these instructional approaches, numerous findings are available which predominantly relate to pupils. It is an open question whether it is better to instruct experimental skills explicitly or implicitly in university courses. And if experimental skills are fostered explicitly, what about the content-related skills? Especially in teaching programmes with both experiment-related and content-related objectives, it is questionable whether content-related objectives are achieved to a lesser degree via explicit instruction of experimental skills. Both questions are addressed in this paper. We present an intervention study involving 144 students. All students carry out the same experiments. The intervention groups differ merely in the degree of explicit instruction. Learning gains in experimental and content-related skills are assessed in a pre-/post-test design. The results show that the type of instruction does not significantly influence the acquisition of experimental and content-related skills in this target group. But by trend, the expected differences in learning gains can be observed. This leads to new research perspectives and implications for teaching which are discussed.     

Technology intensity and agglomeration economies

This article investigates the relationship between industry technology intensity and the impacts of agglomeration economies on industrial growth. Many recent studies suggest the actual economic impacts of different forms of agglomeration economies depend on industrial characteristics such as technology intensity, but systematic empirical evidence is still lacking. To fill this gap, we analyze employment data covering all 3-digit NAICS industries of U.S. counties. The results confirm that technology-intensive industries are more likely to benefit from Jacobs spillovers as measured by related variety, while sectors with low technology intensities can better benefit from MAR spillovers as measured by regional specialization.