Development of a Concept for Quality Management in Engineering Education

Due to the fact that the quality area has its roots firmly established primarily in the statistical research tradition, its rapid and extensive development mainly towards the management‐oriented area has created different kinds of problems. This paper discusses different consequences of this development. The paper further describes how quality issues are treated in various types of educational scenarios at the College of Applied Engineering and Maritime Studies at Chalmers University of Technology.     

Is teacher attrition a poor estimate of the value of teacher education? A Swedish case

Far from all who complete teacher education end up working as teachers throughout their entire career. At first sight the value of teacher education, in terms of efficiency, seems to be a failure. In the present article we argue that teacher attrition, when defined as whether one is working as teacher or not, is a too blunt measure to gauge whether teacher education has been valuable. With a unique dataset, where we have detailed information on 87 Swedish teacher graduates’ working life across 23 years, we can consider whether activities and/or experiences point to an apparent use of teacher education. In conclusion, we find that in order to get informative estimates of its value it is important to consider it from different perspectives and to consider attrition related to the total working time spent in educational settings across a career rather than percentage leaving teaching after a set of years     

Comparing bioenergetic models for the optimisation of pacing strategy in road cycling

Road cycling performance is dependent on race tactics and pacing strategy. To optimise the pacing strategy for any race performed with no drafting, a numerical model was introduced, one that solves equations of motion while minimising the finishing time by varying the power output along the course. The power output was constrained by two different hydraulic models: the simpler critical power model for intermittent exercise (CPIE) and the more sophisticated Margaria–Morton model (M–M). These were compared with a constant power strategy (CPS). The simulation of the three different models was carried out on a fictional 75 kg cyclist, riding a 2,000 m course. This resulted in finishing times of 162.4, 155.8 and 159.3 s and speed variances of 0.58, 0.26 and 0.29 % for the CPS, CPIE and M–M simulations, respectively. Furthermore, the average power output was 469.7, 469.7 and 469.1 W for the CPS, CPIE and M–M simulations, respectively. The M–M model takes more physiological phenomena into consideration compared to the CPIE model and, therefore, contributes to an optimised pacing strategy that is more realistic. Therefore, the M–M model might be more suitable for future studies on optimal pacing strategy, despite the relatively slower finishing time.     

Depicting Experiences

This paper argues that photography is a helpful tool in understanding the ways people experience the world. Five arguments are presented in order to support this statement, each built on the methodological idea that respondents are asked to take, or produce, their own pictures related to a particular phenomenon under investigation. The arguments are: new unconventional methods enhance educational inquiry; photos can serve as communication bridges between strangers; photography makes it easier to represent a situation; photos can be regarded as complex expressions of the photographer's relation to the world; finally, photos enhance the expressing of feelings. These arguments are further discussed in the context of outcomes of a study, which used photography to probe ecological understanding. It is concluded that a deliberate use of the methodology will enhance not only the way photos might be used in research but also enrich educational research aiming at capturing the way people experience and relate to the world surrounding them.     

The Playing Learning Child: Towards a pedagogy of early childhood

From children's own perspective, play and learning are not always separate in practices during early years. The purpose of this article is, first, to scrutinise the background and character of early years education in terms of play and learning. Second, to elaborate the findings of several years of research about children's learning in preschool related to the curriculum of early years education and, finally, to propose a sustainable pedagogy for the future, which does not separate play from learning but draws upon the similarities in character in order to promote creativity in future generations. Introducing the notions of act and object of learning and play (by act we mean how children play and learn and with the object we mean what children play and learn) we will chisel out an alternative early childhood education approach, here called developmental pedagogy, based on recent research in the field of play and learning, but also related to earlier approaches to early education.     

Knowledge management research & practice: visions and directions

This editorial paper outlines key directions for knowledge management research and practice. The editorial team presents the results from a small survey of academics and practitioners about the present and future of knowledge management, and the editors include their own informed views on how this journal can help promote scholarly inquiry in the field.     

Scaling of upper-body power output to predict time-trial roller skiing performance

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to establish the most appropriate allometric model to predict mean skiing speed during a double-poling roller skiing time-trial using scaling of upper-body power output. Forty-five Swedish junior cross-country skiers (27 men and 18 women) of national and international standard were examined. The skiers, who had a body mass (m) of 69.3 ± 8.0 kg (mean ± s), completed a 120-s double-poling test on a ski ergometer to determine their mean upper-body power output (W). Performance data were subsequently obtained from a 2-km time-trial, using the double-poling technique, to establish mean roller skiing speed. A proportional allometric model was used to predict skiing speed. The optimal model was found to be: Skiing speed = 1.057 · W ^0.556 · m ^?0.315, which explained 58.8% of the variance in mean skiing speed (P < 0.001). The 95% confidence intervals for the scaling factors ranged from 0.391 to 0.721 for W and from ?0.626 to ?0.004 for m. The results in this study suggest that allometric scaling of upper-body power output is preferable for the prediction of performance of junior cross-country skiers rather than absolute expression or simple ratio-standard scaling of upper-body power output.     

The Dog's Tale: Chinese,Hungarian and Swedish children's narrative conventions L'Histoire du Chien: Les conventions narratives chez les enfants Chinois,Hongrois et Suedois El Cuento del Perro: Convenciones en la forma de narrar de niños Chinos,Hungaros y Suecos

The purpose of this study was to explore children's (6-7 years) making up of their own stories in different cultures (China, Hungary and Sweden). Ninety-three children were asked individually to tell a story about a dog. They were supposed to invent the story themselves. Qualitative differences in children's life worlds, which could be related to their cultural backgrounds, stood out in the results. The characters used in the children's stories could be summarised in terms of family members, ordinary humans, unusual persons, harmless animals, dangerous creatures, and fantastic characters. The most characteristic events were: play and co-operation, conflicts and fights, death, and exchange of commodities. The Chinese children focused mainly on play and co-operation, while the Hungarian children focused on conflicts and the exchange of commodities. The Swedish children focused on play and death. The results are discussed in relation to traditions and practices of retelling and telling of stories and children's life worlds in different cultures. L'objectif de cet étude est d'explorer la forme dont les enfants (de 6-7 ans) construisent des histoires dans des cultures différentes. On a demandé à 93 enfants de raconter une histoire de leur propre invention sur un chien. Les différences existantes dans l'expérience de vie des enfants, susceptibles d'être mises en rapport avec leur milieu culturel, apparurent dans les résultats. Les personnages des histoires racontées entrent dans les catégories de membres de la famille, personnes ordinaires ou extraordinaires, animaux inoffensifs ou dangereux et personnages de fantaisie. Parmi les actions les plus characteristiques se comptent le jeu et la coopération, les conflicts et les disputes, la mort et l'échange d'objets. Les enfants chinois se sont concentrés sur le jeu et la coopération, les hongrois sur les conflicts et l'échange d'objets et les petis suédois sur le jeu et la mort. On discute les résultats de l'étude à la lumière des traditions, des pratiques narratives et de l'expérience de vie des enfants dans des cultures différentes. El objetivo de este estudio es explorar la forma en que niños (de 6 y 7 años) construyen sus propias historias en diferentes culturas (China, Hungría y Suecia). Se solicitó a 93 niños por separado que contaran una historia de su propia invención sobre un perro. Las diferencias existentes en la experiencia vital de estos niños, pasibles de ser relacionadas con sus respectivos medios culturales, se hicieron evidentes en los resultados. El tipo de personajes que aparecen en las historias entran en las siguientes categorías: miembros de la familia, seres humanos ordinarios o inusuales, animales inofensivos o peligrosos y personajes de fantasía. Entre las acciones más características se cuentan el juego y la cooperación, los conflictos y peleas, la muerte y el intercambio de objetos. Los niños chinos se centran en el juego y la cooperación, los húngaros en los conflictos y el intercambio de objetos y los niños suecos en el juego y la muerte. Los resultados del estudio se analizan en relación a las tradiciones y prácticas narrativas así como a la experiencia vital de los niños en diferentes las culturas.     

‘Science Slam’ and sportification processes in science

Abstract

Sport’s relation to society could be grasped in its connection to science. Thus, there seem to exist two parallel processes: the scientification of sport and the sportification of science. Undoubtedly, science has become an important part in the development of sport, particularly in elite sport. As regards the relation between science and sport, an opposite trend has also been observed, in which sport logic influences the (popular) presentation of science. In this respect, this essay talks about the ‘sportification of science’, by making reference to ‘Science Slam’ and ‘Grand Prix in Science’.