The Pendulum as a Vehicle for Transitioning from Classical to Quantum Physics: History,Quantum Concepts,and Educational Challenges

In this article we use the pendulum as the vehicle for discussing thetransition from classical to quantum physics. Since student knowledgeof the classical pendulum can be generalized to all harmonic oscillators,we propose that a quantum analysis of the pendulum can leadstudents into the unanticipated consequences of quantum phenomenaat the atomic level. We intend to illustrate how classical deterministicphysical ideas are replaced by a point of view that contains bothdeterministic and probabilistic aspects. For example, the wave functioncontains probabilistic information but it evolves in time according toa fixed law, the Schrodinger equation. Discussion of the transition fromclassical to quantum thinking is historically grounded in the work oftwentieth-century physicists who developed quantum ideas. We seeapplication to current science in areas such as semiconductors, optics,GPS systems, and superconductivity. Our notion is that ascientifically-literatepublic should have a sense of the broad, conceptual schemes in modernphysics, as well as those associated with classical physics. We discusseducational challenges and strategies connected to including quantum theoryin a general education physics course. Our work would have otherapplications in college and secondary school settings.     

Universities need leadership,academics need management: discursive tensions and voids in the deregulation of Swedish higher education legislation

In this article, we discuss how ‘managerialist’ and ‘leaderist’ discourses (O’Reilly and Reed Public Administration 88:960–978, 2010; Organization Studies 32:1079–1101, 2011) are drawn upon in the context of the deregulation of Swedish higher education. As of 2011, there has been new legislation that frames Swedish universities as ‘autonomous’ and transfers most of the regulative responsibilities from the government level to university vice-chancellors. The aim of this article is to inquire into how tensions within and between managerialist and leaderist discourse are handled in the promotion of New Public Management reforms and the consequences thereof in terms of how leadership in the higher education sector is constructed. We analyse how these discourses are employed in the core documents leading up to the 2010 Riksdag decision to enact most of the proposed deregulations, and the subsequent evaluation undertaken by the social democratic government that took over in 2014. Based in this analysis, we suggest that the texts indeed draw upon notions of leadership and leaders as necessary for Swedish universities to survive and thrive in the future, but that the envisaged practise of this ‘strong leadership’ can either be characterised as a discursive void or described in terms of de-personalised, instrumental managerial surveillance and control.     

An Instrument for the Assessment of Cross-Curricular Skills

An instrument was constructed to assess the level of competence of students (aged 15-16) on eight cross-curricular skills. The instrument, further to be called the cross-curricular skills test (CCST), consisted of 56 multiple-choice items. In the first section cross-curricular skills are defined as general skills which can be taught and practiced in curricula for different disciplines. In the second section we describe how eight cross-curricular skills were selected for testing. We also explain why we decided to compose the test of multiple-choice items, an item-format that is not a customary one for measuring general skills. In the third section we report administration of the test to 465 students in a pilot study and 9,000 students in the main study. Quantitative data are presented concerning p -values, reliability, internal structure, and construct validity of the CCST. Qualitative data were derived from observations, thinking aloud protocols and analysis of the test content. The data warrant the claim that CCST is a valid and reliable test for cross-curricular skills. It is suitable for students of 15-16 years of age and allows administration in large samples. In the final section we discuss some limitations of the test and suggest directions for future research on assessment of cross-curricular skills.     

The Dimensionality of Language Ability in Four-Year-Olds: Construct Validation of a Language Screening Tool

The Norwegian government recommends a systematic language assessment of all four-year-olds as part of the general health surveillance program for the purpose of identifying children at risk of language delay. This study aimed to investigate the construct validity of the recommended language screening tool called LANGUAGE4 [SPRÅK4] by first examining the dimensionality of the underlying construct of the tool, after which the concurrent convergent validity was established by regressing an external language factor, defined by four standardized language tests, on a single higher-order factor. The findings provide support for a higher-order model with one general language factor, suggesting that a large amount of the variance in LANGUAGE4 is attributable to a single common factor at the second-order level. Furthermore, this single factor explained a considerable amount of the variance in the external language factor. Our findings are interpreted as support for satisfactory construct validity of LANGUAGE4.     

Business,Ethics, and the Physical Activity Field

Already in childhood, (a) high general and visceral fatness and poor cardiovascular (CV) fitness are linked with dyslipidemia, elevated blood pressure, and insulin resistance; (b) higher fatness is associated with low amounts of vigorous physical activity (PA) and relatively low energy intake; (c) higher CV fitness is more clearly associated with vigorous PA than with moderate PA; (d) higher levels of PA are associated with higher bone density only in youths with relatively high calcium intakes. Physical training in youths has favorable effects on total body and visceral adiposity, bone density, CV fitness, and some risk factors for CV disease and type 2 diabetes. Thus, vigorous PA during childhood may help to prevent some major “adult” health problems.     

Memories as Useful Outcomes of Residential Outdoor Environmental Education

Residential outdoor environmental education (ROEE) programs for youth have been shown to yield lasting autobiographical episodic memories. This article explores how past program participants have used such memories, and draws on the memory psychology literature to offer a new perspective on the long-term impacts of environmental education. Qualitative interviews with 54 teens at two research sites 5 years after a ROEE experience revealed a variety of directive and social uses for their memories, including participating in outdoor recreation activities, being more knowledgeable about and appreciative of the local ecology, engaging in environmentally responsible behaviors, and reminiscing with friends about the experience.     

Developing Professional Learning Environments: Model and application

In this article we offer a number of insights and instruments to facilitate the realisation of learning communities in professional training contexts, and in the context of adult education in general. We direct our attention towards environments that support the development of professional skills that follow the line of the behavioural sciences, and more especially management competencies and organisation psychology competencies. Firstly, we give a brief outline of our view of learning and the general approach that this may require. We then go on to present a number of theoretical viewpoints mainly from an experiential, and from a constructionist, situated learning perspective. We structure our argument introducing three concepts: orientation, elaboration and integration. Simultaneously, we illustrate our point with a case: CIGO, 1 a training program that regards the development of variable competencies with reference to change within groups and organisations. Finally, we discuss the model/method more critically, which leads us to its refinement, showing the tensions between the practice of orienting, elaborating and integrating within a learning trajectory.