Forschungsinformationssystem der Universität Bamberg
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Geht das auch? : Aus (internationalen) Large-Scale-Assessments wie PISA, PIRLS und NEPS lernen
No full textThe green transition of firms : the role of evolutionary competition, adjustment costs, transition risk, and positive externalities in green technology adoption
Full text linkWe propose an evolutionary competition model to investigate the green transition of firms, highlighting the role of adjustment costs, state-dependent transition risk, and positive externalities in green technology adoption. Firms base their decisions to adopt either green or brown technologies on relative performance. To incorporate the costs of switching to another technology into their decision-making process, we adopt a novel, ad hoc crafted, replicator dynamics. Our global analysis reveals that increasing transition risk, e.g., by threatening to impose stricter environmental regulations, effectively incentivizes the green transition. Economic policy recommendations derived from our model further suggest maintaining high transition risk regardless of the industry’s level of greenness. Subsidizing the costs of adopting green technologies can reduce the risk of a failed green transition. While positive externalities in green technology adoption can amplify the effects of green policies, they do not completely eliminate the possibility of a failed green transition. Finally, evolutionary pressure reduces the extent of green economic policies required to ensure a successful green transition
Do corpus data on World Englishes inspire tolerance of variation in ELT professionals? : An experimental questionnaire study with native English speaking teachers
Full text linkThe present study aims to show that – given the status of English as a pluricentric global language and as a lingua franca – Corpus Linguistics has important and unique contributions to make to English Language Teaching (ELT). Desirable innovations arguably involve popularizing the use of corpus concordancing as a tool to put native speaker intuitions on a firmer empirical footing, and imbuing ELT practitioners with an awareness that variation –in particular (but not only) between geographical varieties – is an inherent and legitimate characteristic of language in use. To support these points, a quasi-experimental questionnaire study with 76 native English speaking teachers based at German universities is reported, which demonstrates the promises but also the obstacles of such an approach
Public Opinion on the Politics of AI Alignment : Cross-National Evidence on Expectations for AI Moderation From Germany and the United States
Full text linkRecent advances in generative AI have raised public awareness, shaping expectations and concerns about their societal implications. Central to these debates is the question of AI alignment—how well AI systems meet public expectations regarding safety, fairness, and social values. However, little is known about what people expect from AI-enabled systems and how these expectations differ across national contexts. We present evidence from two surveys of public preferences for key functional features of AI-enabled systems in Germany (n = 1800) and the United States (n = 1756). We examine support for four types of alignment in AI moderation: accuracy and reliability, safety, bias mitigation, and the promotion of aspirational imaginaries. U.S. respondents report significantly higher AI use and consistently greater support for all alignment features, reflecting broader technological openness and higher societal involvement with AI. In both countries, accuracy and safety enjoy the strongest support, while more normatively charged goals—like fairness and aspirational imaginaries—receive more cautious backing, particularly in Germany. We also explore how individual experience with AI, attitudes toward free speech, political ideology, partisan affiliation, and gender shape these preferences. AI use and free speech support explain more variation in Germany. In contrast, U.S. responses show greater attitudinal uniformity, suggesting that higher exposure to AI may consolidate public expectations. These findings contribute to debates on AI governance and cross-national variation in public preferences
Can misinformation be tolerated? : Analyzing the influence of disinformation on financial market fluctuations
Full text linkIn this study, we explore the dynamics of price fluctuations, caused by predatory trading, in the context of misinformation. Key findings include: a diminishing effect of misinformation on price fluctuations over time, undermining long-term market manipulation; a baseline fluctuation size anchored in factual market data, regardless of misinformation; and the inability of misinformation to reduce fluctuations, only to inflate them. A novel contribution of this research is quantifying a threshold of misinformation that markets can tolerate without any additional fluctuations to be expected, with a higher tolerance observed in more liquid stocks and markets with lower information asymmetry. Interestingly, widespread misinformation can sometimes lead to less severe fluctuations, suggesting a complex market response to distorted information. Additionally, we examine the neutralizing effect of contradictory misinformation, presenting challenges in using market data to identify misinformation. The study further highlights the dynamic nature of markets’ tolerance to misinformation, influenced by ongoing information updates, offering strategic implications for market interventions and stability
Navigating the power shift : a comparative study of electricity grid remunicipalization in medium-sized German cities
No full textNotes on Gödel’s and Scott’s variants of the ontological argument
No full textNotes on Kurt Gödel’s modal ontological argument and Dana Scott’s variant of it are presented. These remarks, supported by experimental studies with a proof assistant system for classical higher-order logic, implicitly answer some questions the authors have received over the last decade(s). In addition, some new insights resulting from the conducted experiments are reported
British and American standards in the English classroom : Using corpora to overcome doubts about ‘correct’ usage
Full text linkBritish and American English are both recognized as target varieties in institutionalized ELT settings. However, these are on an unequal footing when it comes to the impact they have on learners and the reactions they evoke among teachers. The present contribution discusses the problem of standards in English as a pluricentric language, the ideal of consistency in the use of one or the other, their representation in teaching materials and potential alternatives, as well as current linguistic research on varieties and their mutual influence. A quasi-experimental questionnaire study involving more than 400 nonnative teachers of English confirms the expectation that language professionals’ intuitions about acceptability are constrained by the variety they know best. Advocating a pedagogy that takes into account the role of English as an international lingua franca and concomitant variation, the study demonstrates that corpus literacy, widely taught in the linguistic components of teaching degrees, should also be routinely applied as a practical tool empowering teachers to transcend limitations resulting from their language contact biographies. The final sections point to the challenges of adopting an ELF-aware mindset in institutional settings and ways of overcoming these
Selbstwirksamer durch Research-based Blended Learning? : Befunde zur Entwicklung der forschungsbezogenen Selbstwirksamkeitserwartungen von Grundschullehramtsstudierenden
No full textThe Importance of Being Understood : Intercultural Communication in Social Professions as a Tightrope Walking
Full text linkGlobal migration continues to reshape demographic and societal landscapes, requiring close attention to refugee integration and the intercultural communication it demands. This study aims to understand how social professionals navigate intercultural encounters with refugee families in the context of family education and counselling. Using a qualitative longitudinal design, we conducted repeated expert interviews with professionals from 33 institutions in 2016 and 2019 to examine communication patterns, challenges, and evolving dynamics over time. The findings show that limited language proficiency initially posed the greatest barrier, hindering effective communication and leading to misunderstandings and frustration; however, this challenge diminished as refugees’ language skills and mutual intercultural empathy improved. Nonverbal communication also played a significant role, with differences in chronemics, kinesics, and proxemics contributing to cultural disfluency and heightened uncertainty. Sudden cultural heterogeneity and information overload further intensified stress and communicative apprehension among professionals. Overall, intercultural encounters were experienced as both enriching and demanding. The study concludes that verbal and nonverbal competencies, awareness of cultural display rules, and reflexive engagement are central to effective communication across cultures. These insights hold practical implications for social professions supporting vulnerable groups and offer guidance for policymakers seeking to strengthen institutional responsiveness to evolving intercultural settings