Comparison of two human-machine-interfaces for cooperative maneuver-based driving

In the project "Conduct-by-Wire" which is founded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) cooperative maneuver based driving is examined. In this paper two different input devices (gesture recognition and tactile touch display) are compared in a simulator study with 29 participants. It shows that the major advantage of the gesture recognition is that there is no need for the driver to take his gaze off the road. In contrast, the number of gazes at the tactile touch display is significantly higher. The major advantage of the tactile touch display is that no input errors occurred during the test drives. Conversely, the gesture recognition was significantly worse. Nevertheless, further work is needed to decide which input device is the best.     

Examining the Association of Welfare State Expenditure,Non-profit Regimes and Charitable Giving

This paper explores cross-country variations in charitable giving and investigates the association of welfare state policies with private philanthropy. Hypotheses are drawn from crowding-out theory and considerations about the influence of a country’s mixed economy of welfare. We add to the on-going discussion concerning the crowding-out hypothesis with empirical evidence by looking at specific charitable subsectors people donate to across countries. Using Eurobarometer survey data that include 23 countries, we find no evidence for a crowding-out effect, but rather a crosswise crowding-in effect of private donations. Moreover, giving behaviour differs between non-profit regimes.     

Prokrastination als Coaching-Anliegen

Procrastination refers to non-deliberately delaying intended actions in the absence of external constraints that force one to do. It occurs frequently and can have negative consequences both for the procrastinating individual and the organizational unit in which he or she works. Procrastination tendencies of individuals themselves or of other people that they are working with can be topics that are addressed in coaching processes. The Temporal Motivation Theory provides a theoretical framework that is well suited as a guideline for structuring the coaching process in those instances and for selecting appropriate coaching tools.     

Comparing Service Use of Early Head Start Families of Children With and Without Disabilities

The current study compared patterns of service utilization reported by Early Head Start (EHS) families of children with and without disabilities by secondary analysis of data from the longitudinal investigation of the effectiveness of EHS. Findings reveal comparable positive trends for both groups of families for receipt of services corresponding to EHS performance standards promoting child and family development, family support, and health care. Service challenges remain in the low use of dental services overall and the higher use of acute health care services for children with disabilities. Future research should examine causes and outcomes of service use.     

Zur Nachhaltigkeit von Bildungsaufstiegen

The educational expansion has led as a whole to an upgrade of the educational level of the population and, for the individuals, to educational improvement. This paper examines how sustainable these educational improvements are, in other words weather the children of the educationally improved have the same educational opportunities as the children of those whose level of education is traditionally high. The results show that the social heredity transmission of educational success is based on a mechanism that covers several generations, with the result that the educational level of the grandparents still has a considerable effect on the educational opportunities of the grandchildren, a low educational level of grandparents has a negative effect on that of their grandchildren. This phenomenon is demonstrated using the Socio-Economic Panel. An empirically-based outline explanation that takes the theoretical perspectives of Bourdieu as its starting point is then developed. The results show that the upward mobility due to educational expansion is to some degree only transient, which challenges the notion of the sustainability of educational improvement.     

A Therapeutic Summer Weekend Camp for Grieving Children: Supporting Clinical Practice Through Empirical Evaluation

Through collaborative action-oriented community research, agency-based clinicians, and university-based researchers engaged in a two-year theory-driven evaluation of a therapeutic summer camp for grieving children. The evaluation examined the camp practice model and children’s engagement in therapeutic camp activities and psychosocial functioning based on the camp staff and parental caregivers’ assessments. The first year findings led to a synergistic decision-making process that strengthened one of camp therapeutic activities. The overall results reveal a high consistency among staff on assessments of engagement and psychosocial functioning, and parental caregivers’ satisfaction with the camp. Limitations of research evaluation and implications for practice are considered.     

Lehramtsstudierende reflektieren und evaluieren ihr Unterrichtshandeln — zum Potenzial des Tagebuch-Ansatzes

The improvement in teacher education becomes more and more relevant in multiple perspectives. Mainly the development of teacher competencies in different phases of professional development is important. In practical studies these competencies already may be fostered very early in teacher education. This paper describes a concept based on the diary-approach. The concept combines self-reflection and self-evaluation of teacher students with a mentoring system, and represents an approach for improvement in teacher education.