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COVID-19-related school closures and mathematical performance - findings from a study with grade 3 students in Germany
Get PDFIntroduction: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, measures were taken that had a considerable impact on the situation in schools. In Germany, these measures lasted more than a year and ranged from school closures and distance learning to alternating teaching phases with small groups. In the present study, we examined whether third-grade students’ mathematics performance changed in different content domains before and after the COVID-19-related changes in school.
Methods: In a repeated cross-sectional design, we compared two cohorts of third graders (2019: N = 1,905; 2021: N = 3,203) based on standardized mathematics tests, constructed according to the German National Educational Standards, which allowed for a differential competence diagnostic for five content domains. Generalized linear mixed models were used to model item and person properties and assess their effects on performance.
Results: There was a significant drop in performance overall. While the drop in the content domain Numbers & Operations was smaller than the overall drop in performance, the content domains Space & Shape and Data, Frequency, Probability were more affected.
Discussion: The findings of this study may be explained by the results of numerous surveys of students, teachers, and parents, which indicated that a lot of time was spent on exercises and reproduction tasks during distance learning
Student conceptions of the production of cow's milk - An exploratory interview study with 6th- and 10th-grade students
Get PDFThe production of food and the associated livestock farming contribute significantly to climate change and the global loss of biodiversity, hindering the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). To promote responsible consumption and production of food (SDG 12), ensuring that students understand the production of our food, the associated livestock farming, and the interrelatedness of production and consumption is essential. Thus, Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is an important tool for achieving the SDGs. To develop effective teaching and learning strategies to educate students about the production of food from livestock, it is important to identify students' existing conceptions of this topic. Thus, this study examined sixth-grade (n = 4; MAge = 12 years; SDAge = 0.7 years; 50% female) and tenth-grade students' (n = 4; MAge = 16 years; SDAge = 0 years; 50% female) conceptions of milk production, focusing on dairy farming, the milking process and techniques, and the production of cow's milk. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with students from Osnabrück (Lower Saxony) to elicit student conceptions. The evaluation of the students' conceptions was carried out using qualitative content analysis. The results largely indicated that both sixth and tenth graders had realistic conceptions of dairy farming and the milking process and techniques. However, some students also expressed romanticized conceptions of pasture grazing and calf rearing. In addition, unrealistic statements regarding the formation of milk were identified. The conceptions of the sixth and tenth graders were compared, and with a few exceptions, no significant differences were found between the two cohorts. However, the tenth graders tended to have more differentiated conceptions about milk production than the sixth graders. In conducting the analysis, it became clear that students' conceptions of the production of milk are influenced by individual primary experiences with dairy farms. Finally, based on these results, educational recommendations for the school teaching framework in the context of ESD and implications for further research are presented
The impact of participatory interventions on pro-social behaviour in environmental and natural resource management. Evidence from the lab and the field.
No full textUnresolved social dilemmas that inhibit pro-social behaviour are at the root of most pressing global environmental issues such as climate change, ecological degradation and water scarcity. Meeting these challenges through purely externally imposed (‘top-down’) solutions can be ineffective or even counterproductive. It has been suggested, therefore, that participation of the relevant concerned, affected and interested actors (i.e. the stakeholders) in the environmental policy process is critical to attaining socially desirable outcomes. Yet, the experimental evidence regarding the impacts of participatory interventions on pro-social behaviour is still insufficient and scattered. In this chapter, we contribute to bridging this gap. We review lab and field experimental and quasi-experimental evidence on the potential of participatory interventions to trigger pro-social behaviour in the context of natural resources and environmental management. In sum, the results of the reviewed studies suggest that participatory interventions have the potential to influence actors’ institutional context, understandings, beliefs, emotions and preferences, thereby fostering pro-social behaviour. Ultimately, outcomes would depend on the design of the participatory process and the methods applied to facilitate stakeholders’ interactions. Particularly adequate to foster pro-social behaviour in collective action challenges seem to be interventions aimed at inducing stakeholders to deliberate on their (individual and collective) actions and facilitating the collective development and implementation of concrete solutions for stakeholders’ social dilemmas (i.e. collective-action challenges). Solely inducing problem awareness or consulting stakeholders about their preferred (policy) options seems not enough to trigger and sustain pro-social behaviour
Postprocessing of NWP Precipitation Forecasts Using Deep Learning
Get PDFThis study analyzes the potential of deep learning using probabilistic artificial neural networks (ANNs) for postprocessing ensemble precipitation forecasts at four observation locations. We split the precipitation forecast problem into two tasks: estimating the probability of precipitation and predicting the hourly precipitation. We then compare the performance with classical statistical postprocessing (logistical regression and GLM). ANNs show a higher performance at three of the four stations for estimating the probability of precipitation and at all stations for predicting the hourly precipitation. Further, two more general ANN models are trained using the merged data from all four stations. These general ANNs exhibit an increase in performance compared to the station-specific ANNs at most stations. However, they show a significant decay in performance at one of the stations at estimating the hourly precipitation. The general models seem capable of learning meaningful interactions in the data and generalizing these to improve the performance at other sites, which also causes the loss of local information at one station. Thus, this study indicates the potential of deep learning in weather forecasting workflows
Sammeln, Lesen, Schreiben - Lektüre- und Schreibpraktiken der Hohenzollernfrauen im 18. Jahrhundert
Get PDFDie Funktionen einer Fürstinnenbibliothek werden mithilfe der Definition und Bewertung von
mehreren Einflussfaktoren durch den Vergleich der Bibliotheken von vier Schwestern der
Hohenzollern-Dynastie untersucht. Gegenstand der Untersuchung sind folgende Töchter von
Friedrich Wilhelm I. und Sophia Dorothea von Hannover: Wilhelmine, Markgräfin von
Bayreuth; Philippine Charlotte, Fürstin von Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel; Luise Ulrike, Königin
von Schweden; und Anna Amalie, Äbtissin von Quedlinburg. Nach der Rekonstruktion der
Sozialisation am preußischen Hof liegt der Fokus auf den durch unterschiedliche soziale
Stellungen bedingten differierenden Lebensläufen. Die verschiedenen Biografien waren
gleichbedeutend mit heterogenen Erwartungen, Aufgaben und Interessen, welche sich in den
Bibliotheken widerspiegelten. Das Konzept der 5-Faktor-Methode, basierend auf
bibliothekswissenschaftlichen Forschungsergebnissen und Pierre Bourdieus soziokultureller Klassentheorie, ermöglicht eine vergleichende Analyse der Prozesse des Sammelns und Lesens
von Büchern. Der Übergang vom Lesen zum Schreiben wird durch die schriftlichen
Erzeugnisse der Frauen im Kontext ihres Buchbesitzes reflektiert.
Die Untersuchung konnte für die Forschung bezüglich Fürstinnenbibliotheken eine
übertragbare Methodik entwickeln und diese anhand der Hohenzollernfrauen erproben. Die
daraus resultierenden Erkenntnisse bestätigten zum einen die Effektivität der Methode, zum
anderen wurden essenzielle Ergebnisse zur Funktion von Bibliotheken für aristokratische
Frauen erhoben. Der Buchbesitz sowie der Nutzen, der ihm auf dynastischer, kultureller und
emotionaler Ebene zukam, beleuchteten die verschiedenen Facetten der Aufgabenbereiche und
Handlungsräume von Fürstinnen des 18. Jahrhunderts. Die vielfältigen Rollen einer Fürstin als
dynastische Vermittlerin, politische Akteurin, Förderin der Künste und Agentin des
Kulturtransfers manifestierten sich in unterschiedlichen Ausprägungen im Buchbestand. Eine
Bibliothek war dadurch Reflexion der Prozesse der Identitätsfindung und -bekundung der
Besitzerin
Managing Organizational Development – The Interrelation of New Information Technology and Organizational Diagnosis
Get PDFGlobalization, rapidly changing financial markets, competitive environments, and differing consumer demands force today’s organizations to anticipate and react quickly. Organizations are faced with challenges to stay continuously in contact with their workforce and drive organizational change initiatives, especially when distributed globally. New information technology promises a meaningful way to overcome challenges and support arising business needs, such as company-wide standard software packages implemented to manage work processes. Further, high expectations are ascribed to online administered feedback channels to stay in touch on employee experiences. On the one hand, online feedback channels enable organizational diagnosis. On the other hand, organizational diagnosis is needed to successfully support the implementation of new technologies. Based on this interaction between new information technology and organizational diagnosis, the present work examines owing questions on both: Study 1 provides a foundation by investigating, if organizational attitude surveys administered online within a cross-cultural setting represent psychometrical equivalence to their more traditional counterparts of paper-pencil surveys. Study 2 explores if recently introduced new online feedback methods, such as Prediction Markets, are comparable to traditional online attitude surveys and can provide valid information for organizational diagnosis to support management activities. Study 3 focuses on how organizational diagnosis supports the implementation of new information technologies, such as company-wide standard software by building on and extending the Technology Acceptance Model. An overarching framework organizes the rationale for the studies and helps to contextualize the present research project. In sum, each of the appended research papers contributes to the understanding on how information technology can enable organizational diagnosis and how organizational diagnosis supports the implementation of new technologies. The discussion of remaining questions as well as limitations of the present project highlight considerations for future studies and demonstrate the theoretical as well as practical relevance of the issue
Catalytic mechanism of P-loop fold nucleoside triphosphatases unraveled by large-scale comparative structure analysis
Get PDFThough P-loop fold nucleoside triphosphatases (also known as Walker NTPases) are
ubiquitous, their catalytic mechanism remains unclear. In these proteins, hydrolysis of
ATP or GTP is initiated by interaction with an activating partner (usually another
protein domain), which is accompanied by insertion of stimulatory moiety(ies) (usually
arginine or lysine residues) into the catalytic site. Based on our automatized
comparative structure analysis of 3136 Mg-NTP-containing catalytic sites, we identified
those with stimulator(s) inserted into catalytic sites and analysed the patterns of
stimulatory interactions. In most cases, at least one stimulator twists gamma-phosphate
counter-clockwise by linking the oxygen atoms of alpha- and gamma-phosphates; the
twisted gamma-phosphate is stabilized by a hydrogen bond with the backbone amino
group of the fourth residue of the Walker A motif. In the remaining cases, the
stimulators only interact with gamma-phosphate. The ubiquitous mechanistic
interaction of diverse stimulators with the gamma phosphate group suggests its
twist/rotation as the trigger for NTP hydrolysis. Based on our comparative structure
analysis, we propose a common scheme of activated catalysis for P-loop NTPases. In this
scheme, a hydrogen bond (H-bond) between the strictly conserved, Mg-coordinating
Ser/Thr of the Walker A motif ([Ser/Thr]WA) and the conserved aspartate of the Walker B
motif (AspWB) plays the key role. We found that this H-bond is very short in the
structures with bound transition state analogs. Given that a short hydrogen bond (also
known as a low-barrier hydrogen bond) implies parity of pK values of the H-bond
partners, we suggest that the proton affinities of these two residues reverse upon
activation so that the proton relocates from [Ser/Thr] WA to AspWB. The anionic [Ser/Thr]WA
alkoxide withdraws then a proton from the would-be nucleophile (either a water
molecule or a sugar moiety in some P-loop kinases), and the nascent anion attacks the
gamma-phosphate group. When gamma-phosphate breaks away, the trapped proton
relays from AspWB, via [Ser/Thr]WA, to beta-phosphate and compensates for its
developing negative charge
Eyes on the road: brain computer interfaces and cognitive distraction in traffic
No full textNovel wearable neurotechnology is able to provide insight into its wearer's cognitive processes and offers ways to change or enhance their capacities. Moreover, it offers the promise of hands-free device control. These brain-computer interfaces are likely to become an everyday technology in the near future, due to their increasing accessibility and affordability. We, therefore, must anticipate their impact, not only on society and individuals broadly but also more specifically on sectors such as traffic and transport. In an economy where attention is increasingly becoming a scarce good, these innovations may present both opportunities and challenges for daily activities that require focus, such as driving and cycling. Here, we argue that their development carries a dual risk. Firstly, BCI-based devices may match or further increase the intensity of cognitive human-technology interaction over the current hands-free communication devices which, despite being widely accepted, are well-known for introducing a significant amount of cognitive load and distraction. Secondly, BCI-based devices will be typically harder than hands-free devices to both visually detect (e.g., how can law enforcement check when these extremely small and well-integrated devices are used?) and restrain in their use (e.g., how do we prevent users from using such neurotechnologies without breaching personal integrity and privacy?). Their use in traffic should be anticipated by researchers, engineers, and policymakers, in order to ensure the safety of all road users
Translating a Keyword in Migration Politics
Get PDFThe German expression ‘Gastarbeiter’ is currently a loanword, transliteration, or claque in about 30 languages. Historically, it refers to migrants who moved through state-run recruitment systems designed to organize a temporary labor transfer between nation-states. Besides its significance as a process-generated category of past migration regimes and discourses, the concept has morphed into a ubiquitous descriptive and analytical term, frequently used in academic text, policy-making, and the media. It is employed to classify migrants that seemingly fit the temporary labor migration-model far beyond the recruitment systems of the Trentes Glorieuses. ‘Guest worker system’ describes a whole class of migration policies – past, present and future. Rarely, however, is much attention or consideration given to the complex, troubling layers of meaning inscribed into this word throughout its journey of more than a hundred years. Meanings that allow the term to deliver its core function: the production of social order. Instead, it often seems to possess a romantic air or the pseudo-neutrality of a seemingly objective technical term. As a contribution to the reflexive turn in migration studies, this paper leverages conceptual history to explore the production, re-production, and co-production of what ‘Gastarbeiter’ or ‘guest worker’ means, and how these meanings were translated between languages and discourses, across time and space. To this end, we look at the history of the term ‘Gastarbeiter’ since it was coined by Max Weber at the end of the First World War in Germany and then focus on its transfer into American English as ‘guest worker’ from the 1960s to the 1980s. This translation did not only matter for the re-negotiation of migration between the United States and Mexico during that time. It turned a German word into a global concept that fundamentally changed the production of what migration means to societies
Gastarbeiter
Get PDFWer oder was war und ist ein ‚Gastarbeiter‘? Eigentlich scheint sich der Begriff ganz eindeutig auf diejenigen Arbeitsmigrant:innen zu beziehen, die zwischen 1955 und 1973 über die bilateralen Anwerbeabkommen aus den ‚Anwerbeländern‘ in die Bundesrepublik migrierten. Im Bild des ‚Gastes‘ war die Erwartungshaltung einer Rückkehr verankert, ein dauerhafter Verbleib war politisch nicht vorgesehen. Der folgende Beitrag argumentiert, dass der Begriff ‚Gastarbeiter‘ trotz seiner scheinbaren Eindeutigkeit in Geschichte und Gegenwart vielfältig, asynchron und ambivalent verwendet wurde und wird. In seinen Entwicklungslinien bewegt sich der Wortgebrauch zwischen beschönigender Adaption, rassistischer Projektionsfläche und indifferentem Sammelbegriff. Zur Uneindeutigkeit und Langlebigkeit des Begriffs trug maßgeblich seine alltägliche gesellschaftliche Verwendung bei. Das Wort wurde ‚von unten‘ geprägt und erhielt erst dadurch Einzug in den politischen Diskurs. Der ‚Gastarbeiter‘ ist keinesfalls eine Wortschöpfung der politischen Amtssprache der Arbeitsmigration. Speziell in den noch jungen 2020er Jahren wird der Begriff erneut auf vielfältige Weise umgedeutet