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Why Returning to VET? Results of a Qualitative Comparative Study about English and German Car Mechatronics
Get PDFEducational choices, especially the influence of class on these choices have been a subject of lively international debate. However, thus far, there has been little international and comparative research with respect to vocational and education training (VET) decision making from a subject-oriented perspective. This paper considers occupational-biographical orientations of English and German car mechatronics and focuses on the roles of learning and gaining vocational qualifications. Drawing on the concept of occupational-biographical orientations, the paper describes three types of orientations based on analyses of findings from 11 autobiographical-narrative interviews with English and German car mechatronics. The interviews clearly showed that occupational-biographical orientations explained different views on the necessity of returning to (continuous) vocational education and training. They also demonstrated that subjective perceptions of the national VET system fostered particular occupational-biographical challenges, which supported or hindered existing learning attitudes. Overall, the findings suggested that occupational-biographical orientations exerted the most important influence on learning biographies and decisions to return to (continuous) VET
Interview with Joonas Laakso, Executive Producer at Next Games Oy, Finland
No full textInterview with Joonas Laakso, Executive Producer at Next Games Oy, Finlan
Posttraumatic stress in preschool children in foster care : The influence of the foster parents
Get PDFIntroduction. It can be argued that preschool children in foster care are at high risk for developing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and further mental health problems as consequence of the high exposure to potentially traumatic events. However, a systematic literature review (Publication I) showed that PTSD in this population has not been investigated yet. Previous studies have demonstrated that foster parentsa characteristics, such as foster parentsa stress, parenting, and family functioning, affect foster childrena s mental health in general, without considering the consequences of trauma exposure. The aim of the current dissertation project was to explore the distribution of PTSD in preschool children in foster care and to investigate how foster parents impact childrena s PTSD, further mental health symptoms, and therapeutic service utilization following trauma exposure. Finally, a meta-model integrating the impact of foster parents as well as the association between the childrena s outcomes PTSD and further mental health problems was developed and tested. Method. Data were collected in Germany using a cross-sectional design. Foster parents of 324 children aged 3 to 7 years completed online or paper-and-pencil questionnaires about childrena s PTSD, internalizing and externalizing symptoms, therapeutic service utilization, foster parentsa stress levels, parenting in disciplinary situations, and family functioning. Frequency analyses, regression models, and structural equation modeling were applied. Results. Approximately 45.4% of preschool children in foster care experienced potentially traumatic events. The prevalence of PTSD was estimated between 7.1% and 15.4% using a PTSD screening, the DSM-5, and the ICD-11 criteria. Foster parentsa stress was associated with childrena s PTSD (Publication II), further mental health problems (Publication III), and perceived need for therapy for the child (Publication IV). The findings concerning parenting were inconsistent, showing some evidence that laxness and verbosity as parenting styles moderate the impact of trauma exposure on externalizing symptoms (Publication III). Furthermore, an integrative meta-model excluding parenting in disciplinary situations fit the empirical data. Conclusions. The findings demonstrate the high mental health needs of trauma-exposed children in foster care. They also suggest that foster parents have an important and complex impact in the way children cope with trauma. Hence, child welfare agencies should properly prepare and support foster parents by enhancing their stress regulation and coping strategies. Further research is needed to identify dimensions of foster parentsa parenting behavior that are important for the posttraumatic adaption of preschool children in foster care
Contouritic depositional systems influenced by complex seafloor topography : Late Cenozoic seismoacoustic reconstructions from the Galicia and Angola Continental Margins
Get PDFContourites are sediment drift bodies that form under the persistent influence of bottom currents. As their morphology and composition records changes in the ambient current regime, they form excellent paleoceanographic archives. The shape and size of a contourite is determined by strength and variability of the bottom current as well as sediment supply, but also by the topographic framework with which the current interacts. Especially smaller scale topographic features such as seamounts are known to interact with and thereby amplify bottom currents, leading to the evolution of distinct contourite drifts. The interplay between topography and bottom current and the resulting depositional pattern are complex and not entirely understood. However, due to the associated amplification of currents the resulting deposits are often more sensitive to variations in the background hydrodynamic regime. This makes them especially valuable for paleoceanographic reconstruction. However, before that information can be utilized, the interaction mechanisms which ultimately shape the drift have to be understood in their entirety. Moreover, changes in topography, be it through burial by sediments, tectonic activity or even biogenic construction of topographic features, may cause similar changes in the interaction process as a variation in the current forcing. This project addresses interaction between currents and topography in two representative yet diverse study areas. At the Galicia Margin, a strongly dissected topography formed during the opening of the North Atlantic Ocean and was furthermore shaped by the Pyrenean and Betic orogenies. Various seafloor features, such as topographic obstacles and ridges have interacted with ocean density fronts passing through the transition zone between Mediterranean Outflow Water and Labrador Seawater, which was lowered during glacials and shoaling in deglacial periods. The second study area is located at the shallow Angola Margin, where the seafloor is actively deforming through gravity-driven salt tectonic processes. Extensional grabens open up in the process of salt rafting and are rapidly filled by sediments depositing under the influence of bottom currents. Furthermore Cold Water Corals grow in marked mound and ridge structures in the area, adding more variability to the already dynamic topography. Overall, the present thesis provides new insight into the interaction of bottom currents and small-scale topographic features and their role in shaping contourite depositional systems through numerous examples. Conceptual models of the influence of these interaction processes on sedimentary deposits were advanced and the influence of bottom current topography interaction in previously undisclosed settings was discovered. The detailed investigation of these processes is an important step to more holistic understanding to the role of bottom currents in shaping complex continental margins and also a step towards the deciphering of valuable paleoceanographic information archived in these systems
Oberflächensimulation und experimentelle Untersuchungen zur Mikrostrukturierung von Stahlwerkstoffen mittels schwingungsüberlagertem Planfräsen im Ultraschallbereich
Get PDFDie industrielle Produktion technischer Systeme ist im internationalen Wettbewerb geprägt durch steigende Anforderungen hinsichtlich Nachhaltigkeit, Ressourceneffizienz und Kosten, wodurch Oberflächen mit speziellen Eigenschaften zunehmend an Bedeutung gewinnen. Daher ist deren Funktionalisierung in vielen Forschungsbereichen fest verankert - beispielsweise mit dem Ziel einer verbesserten Haptik, der Erzeugung optischer Effekte oder um die Reibung in mechanischen wie auch fluidischen Systemen zu senken bzw. zu erhöhen. Ebenso können Funktionsoberflächen einen Beitrag zur Steigerung der Haftfestigkeit darauf applizierter Schichten und Schichtsysteme leisten, welche wiederum die Einsatzmöglichkeiten des Substratwerkstoffs erweitern. Im Rahmen des Schwerpunktprogramms 1676 Trockenumformen der DFG soll u. a. mittels CVD-Diamantschichten eine trockene Blechumformung von Aluminiumlegierungen mit beschichteten Stahlwerkzeugen realisiert werden, wozu eine mechanische Mikrostrukturierung der Substratoberfläche zur Gewährleistung einer ausreichenden Schichthaftung vorgesehen ist. Aufgrund der definierten Schneidengeometrie und Kinematik ist das schwingungsüberlagerte Fräsen im Ultraschallbereich als ein geeignetes Verfahren zur reproduzierbaren Herstellung definierter Feingestalten in den Fokus gerückt. Dazu wurden ein entsprechendes System in einem Hochpräzisionsbearbeitungszentrum implementiert und erste experimentelle Untersuchungen durchgeführt. Zur Strukturauslegung bzw. -modellierung wurde ein an der Professur Mikrofertigungstechnik der TU Chemnitz entwickeltes Oberflächensimulationstool genutzt, das anhand der relevanten Parameter eine virtuelle Mikrostruktur errechnet. Dabei konnte in ersten Versuchen bereits ein hohes Maß der Übereinstimmung mit den bearbeiteten Oberflächen festgestellt werden. Somit wurde eine Möglichkeit zur wirtschaftlichen Mikrostrukturierung von Bauteilen aus Stahlwerkstoffen geschaffen
Oral cancer via the bargain bin : the role of smokeless tobacco in the etiology of oral cancer
Get PDFBackground: Oral cancer combined with the other cancers of the head and neck region constitute the sixth most common cancer in the world. Oral cancer is a major public health challenge in South Asia. Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have some of the highest incidence and prevalence rates of oral cancer in the world. Approximately 16,000 new cases of oral cancer are diagnosed each year in Pakistan and around 6,000 Pakistanis lose their lives to this malignancy every year. There is a disconnect between the research findings from the developed countries and the developing countries, with regards to the risk of oral cancer associated with smokeless tobacco use. Given the differences in the composition of the smokeless tobacco products used in different parts of the world, it is imperative that the health risks related with each of these products are assessed on an individual basis. Methods: A case-control study was carried out in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan from September 2014 until May 2015, to quantify the risk of oral cancer associated with the use of Naswar (smokeless tobacco). Additionally, three systematic reviews (including meta-analyses) of observational studies and two narrative reviews were carried out to address the secondary objectives of this dissertation. Results: We found an increased risk of oral cancer associated with the use of smokeless tobacco products in South Asia. The use of smokeless tobacco was also associated with an elevated risk of oral potentially malignant disorders. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, Ever-users of Naswar had a 21-fold increase in the risk of oral cancer compared to Never-users Odds ratio (OR) =21.2 (95% Confidence Interval (CI), (8.4-53.8) . An elevated risk of oral cancer associated with Naswar use was found among both women and men. The risk of oral cancer increased with the increasing frequency, total duration, and the intensity of Naswar use. 70% of the oral cancer burden of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was attributable to Naswar. Discussion: The findings of the systematic reviews and the case-control study on Naswar are comparable to the existing literature. The results clearly demonstrate a high risk of oral cancer and related disorders, associated with the use of smokeless tobacco products like Naswar, Betel quid, and Gutkha. There is a lack of oral cancer research in Pakistan and the tobacco control policies of the country largely focus on tobacco smoking while neglecting smokeless tobacco. In order to tackle the growing burden of oral cancer in South Asia in general and Pakistan in particular, policies need to be in place to curb the use of smokeless tobacco products. These products need to be regulated and brought under the tobacco tax-net. Changes to the composition of these products, to make them less harmful to health, should also be looked into as an intervention
Accept your baptism, and die! Redemption, death and baptism in Bioshock Infinite
Get PDFIn 2013, self-described Christian and devout believer Breen Malmberg requested and received a refund for the game Bioshock Infinite (2013) from Valve, on the basis of his objections to an unskippable scene in the game. In the offending scene, which occurs early in the game, the game forces the protagonist, Booker DeWitt, to undergo a Christian baptismal ritual. The ritual is mandatory for the player in order to proceed with the game. Malmberg characterized the choice as extreme blasphemy . When the player decides to undergo the ritual, he is (almost) drowned in the process. That at least four of these baptismal rituals, all with lethal consequences, occur in Bioshock Infinite, a game whose narrative context is critical of the religiously inspired exceptionalism of the United States of America, is highly interesting. Developer Irrational Games has succeeded not only in incorporating religious beliefs, rituals and criticisms in a highly-complex narrative, but also in inviting (or even: forcing) the player to participate in ritual behavior itself
Multi-Black-Hole Configurations as Models for Inhomogeneous Cosmologies
Get PDFOn the largest scales, the Universe is homogeneous and isotropic, whereas on smaller scales, various structures immediately begin to emerge. The transition from an inhomogeneous spacetime to the homogeneous and isotropic Friedmann universe is not sufficiently understood yet. Modern cosmology rests on the hypothesis that the LambdaCDM-model applies and, indeed, this model is very successful. On the other hand, as the precision of observations steadily increases, it is more than likely that inhomogeneities will no longer be negligible in the future. For this reason, the study of inhomogeneous cosmological models is reasonable. In this thesis, we consider the question which Friedmann universe is the best fit to a particular given inhomogeneous spacetime, which is known as the fitting problem. We consider models in which matter is replaced by a discrete configuration of black holes, that is, we concentrate on vacuum solutions to Einstein's equations. Since the full system of the field equations is too complicated to find an exact time-dependent solution for the whole spacetime, we restrict ourselves to approximative models as well as solutions to the initial value problem. In the former case, we reconsider Swiss-cheese and Lindquist-Wheeler models. In both models, the spacetime around a mass is described by the Schwarzschild metric. In the latter case, we determine the spatial metric of a space-like hypersurface. We limit our attention to time-symmetric initial data characterised by the vanishing of the extrinsic curvature. In this case, we are able to find a solution for an arbitrary number of black holes using the conformal method. Clearly, it is not reasonable to assume that every configuration of black holes leads to a spacetime which may be approximated well by a Friedmann solution. Such an approximation should be possible if the masses are distributed somehow uniformly. The aim of this thesis is to clarify this statement and to provide criteria which allow quantitative statements about the degree of uniformity. We determine the parameters of the fitted dust universe, in particular the scale factor. Our considerations are supported by several example configurations. In particular, we provide a new method based on Lie sphere geometry to construct various configurations with a high degree of uniformity in a surprisingly simple fashion. Moreover, we provide a generalisation to an approximative inhomogeneous model given by Lindquist and Wheeler. In this case, it is possible to determine the parameters of the fitted Friedmann universe even if we do not know the exact solution. Under certain conditions, this model becomes similar to a Swiss-cheese model, allowing us to formulate first expectations on the time evolution, which is otherwise mostly disregarded within the framework of this thesis
Development of Computational Analysis Criteria Based on Laser Sensor Device to Identify the Surface Status of Micro-structured Coatings for Aerospace Industry
Get PDFIn 2009, the European Union decided that CO2 emissions on ship and aerospace industries must be reduced by 10% and 20% respectively. To fulfill these requirements, aerospace industries looking for new approaches to overcome this challenge and take technological gains. The use of bio-inspired micro-structured coatings, e.g.riblet structured based on shark skin; this is one of new technologies applied. In this context, quality control in manufacturing and maintenance of structured coatings is of extreme relevance specifically for aerospace industries to ensure the optimal surface structuring, to assist maintenance, to predict life time, and consequently to decide when to perform surface renewal. The mentioned requirements are met with an experimental fast sampling sensor setup using noncontacting laser probing. The theory behind the laser sensor device is based on Huygens-Fresnel diffraction theory combined with ray-tracing calculation methods. A computational tool was developed to perform analysis and treatment of output data provided by the laser sensor. This dissertation aims to present a methodology to evaluate the calculations implemented in this computational tool. It is used to interpret the obtained diffraction patterns, and as a tool to simulate the structured surface status from a given pattern. Thus, the software is developed to generate consistent information for analysis and decision-making regarding the surface structure and its maintenance. The software development is performed by using Object Oriented programming (OOP) and it is also integrated with database management systems (DBMS).Optics theory is discussed and applied to specific target, graphical renderization of pre-determined geometric micro-structured coatings are implemented and the fundamental outputs to evaluate the real status of the surface are described and treated to be a reliable knowledge database. Overcomming the experimental requirements to build a reliable theoretical base to implement consistent outputs to the proposed technique, this dissertation brings the analysis criteria identified to be applied in further studies, the investigation and application of well-known theoretical founding to be a starting to new techonolgies contributing to open new perspectives on this field, joining the necessary interdisciplinarity on computer science, physics and engineering to improve the knowledge on the field of quality assurance, applied, in this particular case, on aerospace industry
Three Types of Tightrope Dance in the Comeback Process: Preliminary Findings from a Longitudinal Study of Young People at the Margins of Upper Secondary School in Norway
Get PDFFewer than half of the young people attending vocational institutions in Norway complete their education within the allotted five years. Indeed, many of these students have non-linear paths to completion. However, it is not changes in the dropout rate that make this different from earlier generations but the expansion of formal education and the rise of the knowledge society and individualisation. The term tightrope biographies' is used here to encapsulate why individualisation cannot be thought of in terms of choice, because today's youth are often held accountable for their educational progression rather than this progression being viewed as dependent on institutional mechanisms. The present study characterises young people as tightrope dancers in their interactions with vocational schools. Selected data collected from ethnographic interviews during the ongoing longitudinal project Youth, Completion and Dropout in Telemark are used here to capture the voices of young people. These data focus on the non-linear educational careers of these youth when they re-enter schools and explore the stories they tell about dropping out and re-entering. These stories suggest that, to succeed, students need customised support throughout the process from school to the workplace and that many depend on this support. The study identifies three different ways of understanding these students as tightrope dancers trying to get back on track, characterising them as The Steady, The Shaky and The Shivering