The German dual system of initial vocational education and training and its potential for transfer to Asia

Germany has a “dual system” of initial vocational education and training, one that other countries admire and would like to adopt. Can it hand this model over to them? This article argues that doing so will require far more than a simple process of copying. Instead, any transfer must reflect the existing conditions in the country adopting the system, and must be adapted to its unique social, cultural, and economic objectives. In addition, though the dual system can serve as a model, no other country can implement the dual system as a whole, or components one by one. Instead, it must use five constitutive elements in order to transfer the dual spirit of the German model appropriately. The article ends by describing some considerations that apply to the transfer process and reviews some German projects that transferred the system to countries in Asia.     

Drop-outs from Swiss Universities: an empirical analysis of data on all students between 1975 and 2008

This study presents in-depth empirical analyses of drop-outs from all Swiss universities for the entire student population between 1975 and 2008. The results show that most identifiable factors associated with a greater or lesser probability of dropping out are identical to those found in a recent Systematic Review (Larsen et al., 2013). The main findings are that: first, since the 1970s, there has been a marked trend towards falling drop-out rates which is largely due to female students who, today, have lower drop-out rates than their male counterparts; secondly, not only are there different drop-out rates for specific subjects of study, but there are also differences in baccalaureate profiles, which indicates that the skills acquired prior to entering university have a great impact on successful study; thirdly, students who change their first subject choice are at great risk of dropping out. No firm conclusions can yet be drawn about the Bologna reform but, based on the subjects which changed to the Bachelor/Master system between 2001 and 2003, no reduction in drop-out rates can be found as a result of the reform.     

Development and reliability quantification of a novel test set-up for measuring footwear bending stiffness

Since footwear flexibility impacts functional design factors, numerous studies have investigated footwear bending stiffness. However, the various methods used to measure footwear bending stiffness have some limitations. Hence, the scope of this study was to develop and quantify the reliability of a novel test set-up for measuring footwear bending stiffness. A test set-up consisting of a hydraulic testing machine, a bending apparatus and a fixation unit was created that fulfilled the requirements specified in the initial phase of the study. The test set-up was evaluated by testing 15 different boots in three series of measurements. Bending stiffness of the boots ranged from 0.61 ± 0.03 to 2.38 ± 0.08 Nm/°. Two-way analysis of variance test yielded that the test set-up enabled the reliable measurement of footwear bending stiffness. Relative measurement uncertainty ranged from 1.3 to 6.1 %.     

Biomechanical validation of a specific upper body training and testing drill in cross‐country skiing

The aim of this study was to perform a biomechanical validation of a double poling imitation drill on a rollerboard. Six elite cross‐country skiers performed three imitation drill trials at maximal speed at 13° inclination and in double poling on roller skis on a paved road of 3°. Pole and strap forces, elbow and hip angles and EMG activity of eight upper body muscles were measured. Force curves showed similar characteristics, except for impact force occurring only at pole plant in double poling on roller skis. Double poling on a rollerboard includes an eccentric roll‐down phase not appearing in double polling on roller skis. Forces on the rollerboard were similar to those on roller skis. Courses of the elbow angles indicated similar shapes, except for the angle at the start of the propulsion phase and, consequently, during flexion (p < 0.01). Propulsion time and cycle duration were longer and frequency lower on the rollerboard (all p < 0.001). Muscle activities were not significantly different, except for stronger biceps brachii (p < 0.01) and weaker erector spinae activation (p < 0.05) on the rollerboard. Muscle coordination patterns showed similar onset and offset points of each muscle and comparable activations in both activities, except for biceps brachii. Two movement strategies on the rollerboard were found, which led to small differences in measured variables. The biomechanical validity of double poling on a rollerboard can be judged as moderately high, being aware of the differences in some variables that might be considered in training sessions on the rollerboard, particularly when using intervals with high number of repetitions.     

Motivational interference in study–leisure conflicts: how opportunity costs affect the self-regulation of university students

We examined the effects of motivational interference resulting from tempting action alternatives among a sample of university students with respect to a new measure of different motivational qualities. Participants imagined themselves in a typical study–leisure conflict and provided information about their internal conflict experience in two scenarios: reading a course paper instead of meeting friends and vice versa. Participants then evaluated intrinsic, mastery, approach, avoidance, and external incentives for both activities. Confirmatory factor analyses yielded good model fits for the proposed five-factor incentive structure. In accordance with the idea of motivational interference, the incentives for meeting friends were positively related to experienced internal conflict while imagining studying, representing opportunity costs of learning. The same pattern was found for the opportunity costs that the participants had experienced while imagining meeting friends. In particular, intrinsic and approach incentives represented incremental opportunity costs of activity engagement, regardless of whether the dismissed activity was related to achievement or leisure. The findings highlight the need to apply a dynamic and context-sensitive perspective on achievement motivation to the context of higher education.     

Conceptualizing a Spatial Data Infrastructure for the Social Sciences: An Example from Germany

There is an increasing demand for spatial data within the social sciences as such data promise to contribute to a better understanding of how the concrete living environment influences individuals’ attitudes and behaviors. Spatial data can complement data from surveys; however, as of yet there is no spatial data infrastructure for the social sciences in Germany that facilitates merging of spatial data with survey data. This article explores avenues for creating such a spatial data infrastructure (SDI) for the social sciences in Germany. We examine the role that librarians, archivists, and curators can play in offering spatial data infrastructure services for social scientists, and show the scope and nature of necessary tasks in areas such as harmonization, archiving, dissemination, and user support. As the case of Germany is similar to that of other European countries, we expect our results to be helpful in the creation of SDIs in other countries as well. This article suggests technical and organizational measures for merging survey data and spatial data in compliance with German privacy legislation. Measures for storage and dissemination of enriched survey data, for example by providing restricted access to the data in a secured environment, also are explored.     

Gestalt and Functionality as Independent Dimensions of Mental Models in Science

Research in Science Education - In teaching sciences, models are often used to introduce, elaborate or simplify real-world phenomena or concepts. It is, however, often the case that misconceptions...     

Training International Social Change Agents: Transcending a U.S. Counseling Paradigm

Recommendations are offered for training counseling students to address international issues. The authors discuss, for instance, the importance of learning about cultures outside the United States, the role of bias in international work, the dangers of implementing mental health delivery systems based on models derived in the United States, how to broaden one's research methodology, and the role of social change. Through this article, the authors hope to inspire counseling social change agents to consider the practice of counseling beyond the borders of the United States.     

Are student exchange programs worth it?

The number of university students participating in exchange programs has risen sharply over the last decade. A survey of Swiss university graduates (classes of 1999 and 2001) shows that participation in student exchange programs depends significantly on the socio-economic background of students. We further analyze whether the participants benefit from additional advantages caused by these exchange programs. Analyses show that student exchange programs are associated with higher starting salaries and a higher likelihood of opting for postgraduate degrees. Analyses using instrumental variable estimations (IV), however, show that these outcomes are not causally related to participation in exchange programs.