Mental testing and educational streaming in Ontario and Denmark in the early twentieth century: a comparative and transnational perspective

ABSTRACT

This article compares and contrasts the use of mental testing and the formation of educational streaming in Denmark and Ontario during the interwar years. In this sense, the article adds nuances to the meaning of internationalism as well as contributing to our knowledge about how ideas of testing practices circulated among countries and continents. One way ideas and practices circulated was via informal networks promoted by the education traveller. Key proponents of mental testing in both Denmark and Ontario travelled to continental Europe, England, and the United States studying and observing the practices and institutional arrangements associated with educational streaming. Our main findings are that the processes used to implement mental testing in the two countries differed significantly. Mental testing was implemented much later in Denmark than in Ontario. This was due to different contextual, cultural, and historical factors that promoted changes to the existing system, or, alternatively, represented a barrier or even obstructed changes to it. Nevertheless, mental testing was implemented in both education systems as a relatively coherent technology rooted in transnational movements and exchange, but was attended by highly different practices and local meaning-making.     

Experiences of Danish Business Expatriates in Russia: Power Distance in Organizational Communication

Rapid globalization of business processes stimulates many companies to dispatch their employees – business expatriates – on overseas assignments. Russia differs markedly from many other cultures in terms of specific communication norms and rules. Understanding such differences in organizational life is crucial for the success of business expatriates working there. This study employs in-depth interviews with eight Danish business expatriates who worked in Russia and examines the differences between the Danes and the Russians in terms of communication characteristics related to Hofstede’s cultural dimension power distance. This work enhances scholars’ empirical knowledge of power distance, which has rarely been investigated qualitatively.     

Trait Affection Given and Received: A Test of Hofstede’s Theoretical Framework

This study sought to address Hofstede and McCrae’s (2004) call for systematic cross-cultural comparisons of trait-like attributes. Specifically, we examined the extent to which Danish, Icelandic, Polish, and American adults’ trait affection given and trait affection received are (a) dependent on national origin, and (b) associated with Hofstede’s dimensions of cultures (i.e. individualism-collectivism, masculinity-femininity, power distance, and uncertainty avoidance). The participants (N = 606) completed a questionnaire in English that consisted of the trait affection given and trait affection received scales. Results of a multivariate analysis of variance and linear regression analyses revealed that people’s trait affection given and received are (a) dependent on national origin, and (b) associated with Hofstede’s dimensions of cultures.     

The History of Modern Organized Badminton and the Men’s Team Thomas Cup Tournaments, 1948–1979

Modern organized international badminton began with the founding of the International Badminton Federation (IBF) in 1934, consisting of nine founding member associations. The inaugural men’s Thomas Cup tournament began in 1948 when 10 countries took part. Malaya won the Cup four times in 1949, 1952, 1955, and 1967. When Indonesia took part in the tournament for the first time in 1957, there were 19 competing teams. Indonesia won the triannual tournament seven times from 1957 to 1979. Throughout the 11 Thomas Cup tournaments, only two Asian countries have won the Cup. The only European country, Denmark, qualified to play in the finals five times without a single win. Malaya (later known as Malaysia), Indonesia, and Denmark became leading Thomas Cup teams because they produced singles and doubles players that won many All-England Badminton Championship titles. The winners of these titles were generally considered the world champions. The key sources of information for this research consisted of the IBF annual statutes for listing of participating nations, tournament programmes, and rare specialized books on badminton and the Thomas Cup competition. English language newspapers such as the Singapore Free Press and the Straits Times published historical match results for checking the secondary data collected.     

The forgotten promise of e-government maturity: Assessing responsiveness in the digital public sector

Assessing e-government responsiveness is one of the major gaps in the currently dominant e-government maturity models. While we have a relatively large pool of models focusing on technological and organizational integration from a supply side perspective, measures of responsiveness of e-government systems from a user perspective are still lacking. Replicating a study from New Zealand and Australia, this study explores the response time and quality of e-mail response in Danish local and central governments (N = 175). Despite that Denmark is high ranking in international benchmark studies, we find that one third of central government agencies did not respond at all, and close to 80% of the ministries provided none or incomplete answers. Local government responds faster and provides answers that are more complete and accurate than those provided by central government. Implications for e-government are discussed.     

北欧四国图书馆法发展历程及现状分析与研究

回顾北欧四国即丹麦、芬兰、挪威及瑞典图书馆法的发展历程,并从9个方面对4部法典进行比较研究,包括:①图书馆性质;②图书馆经费来源;③图书馆服务标准;④图书馆资源建设;⑤专业人员任职;⑥图书馆发展与布局;⑦图书馆的管理体制;⑧图书馆资源共享建设;⑨图书馆法执行力度。在此基础上发现北欧四国的图书馆法具有宏观规划性、优秀的特殊用户群服务、图书馆事业资金获得有力保障及政府在图书馆事业中的责任明确4个特点。     

Examining emic viewpoints on a pedagogical development program’s long-term effects using Q methodology

To examine the long-term effects of pedagogical development, the study explored 56 Chinese university instructors’ viewpoints on their professional agency in implementing new pedagogical practices following a PBL program in Denmark. Q methodology was supplemented by a post-sorting survey and post-analysis interviews. An eight-factor solution emerged, indicating a high variation in participants’ subjective experiences of PBL implementation. Their perceived sources for agency enactment are both internal and external, crossing three phases in practice – readiness, implementation, and prospects. Despite suggesting positive long-term PD effects, the study also illustrates how university instructors’ agency enactment is constrained by contextual aspects, including a lack of surrounding acceptance and support. Practical implementations how PD programs may support long-term teacher learning through agency development are provided.     

丹麦职业教育面面观

在阐述丹麦职业教育历史、现状的基础上，着重分析丹麦职业教育的特点，并对其改革趋势作出探讨。     

Digitalisation in higher education: mapping institutional approaches for teaching and learning

This paper explores the digitalisation of teaching and learning understood as external processes, influenced by government and international trends and as internal processes within the institutions, in Denmark and Norway. These are countries with similarities regarding digitalisation and educational systems. In the internal processes, there was some use of digital technology in teaching and learning when initiated from administration including IT-staff, in collaboration with academic leaders. There was little or only limited reported use of technology for teaching and learning, when the processes were initiated by administration together with enthusiasts among faculty staff, who did not have leadership roles or influence on change. There was more reported use of technology in teaching and learning in Denmark than Norway. The paper discusses possible explanations for these findings and thus illuminates how processes of digitalisation are influenced by broader governance arrangements, institutional maturity and academic and administration staffs.     

‘Governments base performance-based funding on global rankings indicators’: A global trend in higher education finance or a global rankings literature fiction? A comparative analysis of four performance-based funding programs

For nearly two decades now, the rankings literature has continued to suggest that governments are adopting performance-based funding models which prioritize criteria favored by global rankings. This study examines this assertion by analyzing the performance-based funding programs of Austria, Denmark, Finland, and Sweden. The study finds that the orientation of performance-based funding on global rankings is weaker than it is commonly assumed. Except for Finland, the funding volume universities raise from this orientation is not substantial to influence the institutional performance. The study also analyzes the recent structural changes to performance-based funding in each jurisdiction. Policy implications are provided in the conclusion for higher education systems revising their performance-based funding or considering a shift to performance-based accountability.