The correspondence of public perceptions of graduates’ life chances and university departmental funding

Very little prior research has examined public perceptions of research funding and the life chances associated with various fields of study. In the present task, 315 members of the Austrian general public rated 34 higher-education courses in terms of funding cuts or increases, and the perceived life chances of graduates, respectively. The results showed a high degree of correspondence in the ratings of both questionnaires. Overall, professional and biological stream courses were rated the most favourably, whereas arts and humanities courses were rated the least favourably. Participants’ demographic variables had little influence on their decisions. The implications of these findings for the way higher education is managed and organised are discussed.     

Power Struggle,Submission and Partnership: Agency Constructions of Mothers of Children with ADHD Diagnosis in Their Narrated School Involvement

The contemporary education paradigm highlights the interdependency of home and school expertise. This discourse analysis study examines the narrated agentive possibilities of 18 Finnish mothers of children diagnosed with ADHD to influence and be involved in their child's schooling. Mothers' strong involvement endeavor is premised on their expertise concerning ADHD, distrust of teachers' adequate knowledge of and attitude towards their child, and anxiety for their child's wellbeing. However, our analysis reveals a gap between the mothers' narrated potential agency to fight for her child's well-being and their actual capability to be involved as intended, due to unequal institutional power relations between home and school. Educational responsibility, and the promise of recognition the diagnosis holds in educational social practices are discussed.     

Changes in substrate utilisation and protein catabolism during multiday cycling in well-trained cyclists

There is a paucity of studies that have evaluated substrate utilisation and protein catabolism during multiday strenuous exercise in athletes. Eleven well-trained male cyclists completed 3 h of race-simulated cycling on 4 consecutive days. Cyclist exercised 2 h postprandially and with carbohydrate supplementation (~50 g · h^?1) during exercise. Whole body substrate utilisation was measured by indirect calorimetry, protein catabolism from sweat and urine urea excretion, and blood metabolite concentration was evaluated. Protein catabolism during exercise was significantly greater on days 2–4 (29.9 ± 8.8; 34.0 ± 11.2; 32.0 ± 7.3 g for days 2, 3, and 4, respectively) compared to day 1 (23.3 ± 7.6 g), P < 0.05. Fat oxidation was greater at 21 km (~45 min) on days 2–4 (1.06 ± 0.23; 1.08 ± 0.25; 1.12 ± 0.29 g · min^?1) compared to day 1 (0.74 ± 0.23 g · min^?1, P < 0.05), but the rate of carbohydrate and fat oxidation was similar between days at 50 and 80 km. Whole body substrate utilisation is altered on subsequent days of multiday prolonged strenuous cycling that includes a quicker transition to greater fat utilisation from exercise onset and a 28–46% greater reliance on endogenous protein catabolism on all successive days.     

Der Einfluss von aufmerksamkeitslenkenden Instruktionen auf das Erlernen einer Schlagbewegung im Golf

Among other things instructions serve the purpose of directing the recipient’s attentional focus. Several studies have demonstrated the advantage of an attentional focus away from one’s body (external) and towards the effect of the movement over an attentional focus on the movement itself (internal). In contrast, other studies have shown that the advantage of an external focus cannot be generalized. The present study utilized a golf putting task to investigate the effectiveness of an internal versus an external focus. Furthermore, the present study investigated whether participants complied with the instructions with the respective focus during the learning phase. Moreover, in addition to the performance on the putting task the movement execution was also examined. The results showed that the internal as well as the external group switched between the internal and external focus and additionally modified a neutral focus. There was no correlation between hitting performance and movement variability, but a correlation between the neutral focus and the movement variability was found. The results challenge empirical analysis and the results of research about attentional focus.     

What is not working in working memory of children with literacy disorders? Evidence from a three-year-longitudinal study

The goals of this study were to explore the deficits in working memory associated with literacy disorders (i.e. developmental disorders of reading and/or spelling) and the developmental trajectories of these working memory deficits. The performance of 28 children with literacy disorders was compared to a non-disabled control group with the same group size at five bi-annual times of measurement in a three-year-longitudinal study beginning at the end of primary school (9.5 years of age). Storage capacity and central-executive working memory were assessed in phonological and visual-spatial modalities, the latter under static and dynamic conditions. Overall, children with literacy disorders were outperformed by their typical developing peers in all phonological and in dynamic visual-spatial storage and central-executive tasks except for the static visual-spatial storage task. Results at single times of measurement revealed that the most consistent deficit was found in the storage capacity of the phonological loop. An additional central-executive impairment is supported by low backward spans. The causes for output deficits in dynamic visual-spatial tasks and good performance under static visual-spatial condition are discussed.     

Creativity and Language Usage in Interactive and Integrated Projects

This paper aims at outlining the dual-focused approach used to train architecture students to work independently on re-development and re-usage concepts in an Erasmus IP （intensive programme） workshop, where English was used as the working language. The creative tasks were combined with communication skills （social and technical English, negotiation skills）, which were to enable the students to present their outcome publicly in the final presentation. The underlying concept is that students work in small international groups and develop their own method to address the given problem in the form of a real project. Through the project-based approach, students search for information that accompanies their project ideas, which helps them find a viable solution. The creative work process is completed by a thorough evaluation and intensive reflection phase in order to strengthen the students＇ learning experience. Additionally, the interdisciplinary approach, as well as the multinational aspect that originate from different cultural and educational backgrounds of the students, shall contribute to the interactive work process. This process of interaction is based on the idea of experiential learning that sees knowledge as the transformation of experience.     

An Exploration of Attitudes towards Modern Biotechnology: A study among Dutch secondary school students

Modern biotechnology will have a large impact on society and requires informed decision‐making and critical attitudes toward biotechnology among the public. This study aims to explore these attitudes in secondary education. For this purpose, a questionnaire was constructed according to the general tripartite theory of attitudes. A total of 574 Dutch secondary school students completed the questionnaire. Based on principal component analyses, several distinct and independent cognitive, affective, and behavioural factors were found, demonstrating that attitudes towards biotechnology are a multi‐component concept. In a cluster analysis on these factors, we found four interpretable clusters representing different groups of students. The four groups are labelled “confident supporter” (22%), “not sure” (42%), “concerned sceptic” (18%), and “not for me” (17%). These results indicate that there is a diverse appraisal of modern biotechnology among secondary school students. Suggestions for educational interventions are made.     

On the Roots of Difficulties in Learning about Cell Division: Process‐based analysis of students’ conceptual development in teaching experiments

Empirical investigations on students’ conceptions of cell biology indicate major misunderstandings of scientific concepts even after thorough teaching. Therefore, the main aim of our research project was to investigate students’ difficulties in learning this topic and to study the impact of learning activities on students’ conceptions. Using the Model of Educational Reconstruction, a four‐phase design was carried out. Firstly, there was the clarification of science subject matter. Secondly, students’ conceptions were investigated, and finally, the learning activities were designed. An evaluation of these learning activities was carried out using five teaching experiments, each with three 9^th grade students (15–16 years, Grammar school). Interpretation of students’ “pathways of thinking” and their conceptual change during instruction was framed theoretically by experiential realism. Theoretical framework, methods and outcomes of the study may contribute to a deeper understanding of students’ ways of thinking in the field of cell biology and reveal the process of conceptual development by using well planned learning activities.