Ethnische Bildungsungleichheit zu Schulbeginn

The present paper aims to explain ethnic educational inequality upon starting school, it considers as an example the children’s school readiness, and focuses on preschool attendance as a main determinant. The start of the children’s school career is mainly presumed to be influenced by the skills acquired in their preschool years. On the basis of the data of the school entrance examination of the City of Osnabrück for the years 2000 to 2005, ethnic differences at the end of their preschool time can be detected. These differences still persist when controlling for family background. However, when the duration of preschool attendance is taken into account, the ethnic effect on school readiness decreases, disappearing completely when additionally controlling for the children’s cognitive and linguistic skills. Further analyses show that preschool attendance affects school readiness both directly and indirectly (via cognitive and linguistic skills). The results emphasize the relevance of preschool attendance within the framework of preschool education.     

票据变造论——兼评我国《票据法》第9条

本文从票据伪造和变造的区别入手,界定票据变造的涵义,进而论述票据变造的构成要件和责任的分配与承担,从上述票据变造的相关原理中,引发对我国<票据法>第9条的相关思考,揭示其存在的矛盾之处,从而提出废止"票据金额、日期、收款人名称不得更改"的规定以及修正票据变造相关立法的建议.     

Lehrexzellenz – Lehrkompetenz: Herausforderungen für Neuberufene mit Coaching begegnen

Excellence and competence are terms referring to recent developments in higher education especially concerning the quality of teaching. The discussion about teaching excellence can be interpreted as increasing stress upon universities. Teaching competence on the other side is extensively a matter of the individual lecturer. As such they are expected to focus on their educational beliefs, their teaching conceptions, and their disposable teaching methods on new mission statements that are committed to teaching excellence. This article deals with the question how the recruitment of new professors is carried out in universities of applied sciences considering the mentioned teaching excellence. The coaching program for professors that have recently been appointed at the Cologne University of Applied Sciences is presented as a forceful in-house procedure that is oriented toward the development of teaching competence.     

Internationalization of family firms: the effect of ownership and governance

Despite family firm’s dominant role in economies worldwide, there is little empirical knowledge on their internationalization. Drawing on a sample of Austrian firms, this paper investigates the impact of family influence and various governance factors on internationalization. The findings reveal an inverted U-shaped relationship between family influence and internationalization. Family firms with medium family influence are the most internationally active companies. This indicates that concerning internationalization the advantages of being a family firm are highest when the family’s ownership share and involvement in management and governance boards is not too extensive. Additionally, neither the incumbent generation, nor the level of non-family executives in the management board, nor the existence of a supervisory board has a significant influence on going international. Since advisory boards seem to foster internationalization, they might be an adjuvant means of equipping family firms with the necessary capabilities, know-how and contacts to operate internationally.     

人类学视角下的学术考察与文化旅行——以林耀华《凉山夷家》为个案分析

林耀华的《凉山夷家》是早期人类学、民族志写作的代表作。这里以此为个案,研究了林先生与以往考察凉山的调查报告不同的特点,并将他本人和他的调查对象作为跨文化之间的学术旅行来进行论证,突显了彝汉之间作为旅行者关系的差异及其学者研究纵深的学术特征。在民族国家的建构及其政治背景下,林耀华关于"他者"的文化写作不是通过捕捉"他者"的奇异来肯定"我者",他既制作了差异又模糊了差异。凉山自身的经验所具有的价值,凉山所具有的"经验系统",需要我们以更加多维的视角和更加开阔的视野去阐释和言说。从这个历史和民族意义上说,《凉山夷家》的写作行为本身提供了一种民族志写作的范例。     

系统观视域下高等教育高质量发展的创新举措

系统是自然和社会一切事物存在的方式。当前,系统观已被提到治国理政的新高度。高等教育系统是教育系统的子系统,在系统观视域下审视高等教育,是基于“两个大局”背景下,为建立高等教育系统结构与功能的和谐关系、把握演化和调控规律,实现高等教育高质量发展而做出的理性思考。尝试运用系统科学有关原理,从整体全局审视高等教育,提出高等教育高质量发展的创新举措,以期为高等教育的实践探索提供一定的参考。     

A fractal approach to implement cooperative learning in German classrooms

The development of skills necessary to master the challenges of culturally heterogeneous classrooms is impeded seriously by linear teaching/learning procedures within the majority of educational institutions. One of the most serious obstacles is the systematic organisation of teaching according to strictly separated subject matter areas. This article describes an approach to implement cooperative learning by radically changing the organisational structure of teaching as well as the roles of teachers and students. Because this approach tries to create similar structures and processes within all organisational units from staff level to the level of cooperative teams of students, it is called a fractal model of implementation.

All students of the same grade are assigned to one of several ‘learning islands’ that comprehend those subject matter areas, which can easily be linked to each other. In our study 12th grade students will access the topic of ‘energy’ on three ‘islands’ under the perspectives of natural sciences/mathematics, linguistics, and social sciences. According to a modified version of Jigsaw learning, the students take turns as inhabitants of each of the learning islands. A team of teachers introduces the overlapping topics. Each student has to complete the assignments of one of the disciplines represented on the learning island in order to become an ‘expert’, while other students on the same learning island will become experts for the other subject matter areas. Later, back in their ‘basic teams’ they will share their different expert knowledge, teaching each other and learning from each other with increasing self‐responsibility. The teachers are available during this phase of learning as moderators of group dynamics, learning procedures, and as subject matter experts. This organizational principle is realised on all levels of the teaching/learning system, from structuring a complete grade level according to learning islands, breaking them down into expert groups, teams, and finally individual learners.

First observations and interviews with selected teachers and students show that the fractal learning model is accepted widely both by students and teachers — but there are some students and teachers who seem to b & overwhelmed by the complexity of the new situation. This difference must be taken into account if we want to promote learning in processes of social exchange.     

Organisational safety climate and occupational accidents and injuries: an epidemiology-based systematic review

It is widely accepted among practitioners and researchers that a good safety climate results in improved safety. However, there is a lack of systematic and detailed reviews summarising and evaluating the scientific evidence underpinning the relationship between safety climate and injuries and accidents in a company. The current research addresses this gap and studies the association of safety climate with accidents and injuries at work. Nine databases were searched for quantitative studies. After eligibility and quality selection, 17 peer-reviewed papers were analysed. Quality assessment was developed applying the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies (STROBE) guidelines, together with 9 appraisal criteria from Berra and colleagues (2008), Downs and Black (1998) and the appraisal tool from the University of Cardiff Weightman, Mann, Sander, & Turley, (2004). An evaluation summary statement was then constructed analysing the strength of the evidence provided by each study. Although 15 of the 17 studies included in this review provided full or partial support for the association of safety culture with accidents/injuries at work, scientific evidence is still unclear on the causal relationship between these two variables. Research is needed, especially longitudinal and intervention studies, to demonstrate in detail this association, which has been widely accepted in the area of occupational health and safety.     

Improving quality of life after breast cancer: prevention of other diseases

Many women with breast cancer will be diagnosed at an early stage through screening programmes. Furthermore, most women affected by breast cancer will not die from it but from other diseases, owing to recent improvements in treatment. This article assesses whether breast cancer survivors suffer more frequently from other diseases. Specifically, it examines whether they have a higher incidence of other cancers, cardiovascular events and osteoporotic fractures. Women with breast cancer and three or more co-morbid conditions have a 20-fold higher rate of mortality from causes other than breast cancer and a 4-fold higher rate of all-cause mortality when compared with patients who have none. Breast cancer survivors are at increased risk of other cancers, such as stomach, colorectal and lung. Radiotherapy, trastuzumab and aromatase inhibitors increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. However, tamoxifen does not, although it is associated with an increased risk of venous thromboembolism. Aromatase inhibitors, but not tamoxifen, increase the risk of osteoporotoic fracture and bisphosphonate therapy should be considered.