Die Hochschulbibliotheken in der Schweiz

Wie in nahezu allen Ländern, so spielt auch in der Schweiz das universitäre und allgemein-politische Umfeld der wissenschaftlichen Bibliotheken für deren Entstehung, deren grundsätzliche Ausrichtung und deren zukünftige Weiterentwicklung eine wesentliche Rolle. Obwohl die Schweizerische Hochschulpolitik nach wie vor primär durch die föderale, sprich kantonale Ebene bestimmt wird, gewinnt im Zeitalter von Bologna und im Kontext eines globalen Wettbewerbs der Wissenschaften ein einheitlicher nationaler Ansatz zunehmend an Bedeutung. Für die Bibliotheken bedeutet dies, dass die Kooperation auf nationaler Ebene, die Entwicklung kooperativer Projekte mit landesweiter Ausstrahlung und die Schaffung von Serviceeinrichtungen für alle wissenschaftlichen Bibliotheken des Landes zunehmend in den Vordergrund treten. Aufbauend auf den mit dem Schweizer Konsortium erzielten Erfahrungen, konnte im Jahr 2007 ein weiteres nationales Projekt lanciert werden, dass sich im Sinne eines nationalen Portals mit einer fokussierten Präsentation wissenschaftlich relevanter Informationsressourcen befasst. In dieser "Elektronischen Bibliothek Schweiz" (E-lib.ch) sollen Mehrwertdienstleistungen, fachspezifische Informationsangebote, professionelle Erschließung der Inhalte und direkte Nutzungs- und Bestellmöglichkeiten integriert präsentiert werden. Neben den zukunftsorientierten Projekten auf nationaler Ebene gibt es hierzu parallel eine größere Zahl bibliotheksbzw. lokalspezifischer Aktivitäten, die sich alle mehr oder weniger intensiv mit der elektronischen Zukunft bibliothekarischer Arbeit befassen. Hierzu gehören beispielsweise die Themen Open Access, Archivierung von Dokumenten aus der eigenen Institution, Digitalisierung von relevanten Printmaterialien und Langzeitarchivierung von primären Forschungsdaten.

Strengthening Undergraduates’ Appreciation of Engineering Ethics through a Simulated Stakeholder Meeting on Offshore Wind Energy Development

The need for deepening students’ appreciation for the importance of engineering ethics remains ever present. However, accomplishing this learning outcome can be challenging, as the principles often come across as abstract and distant to many undergraduates. To combat these challenges, a group-based assignment and corresponding in-class role-playing activity were developed for an upper-level ocean engineering elective course, based on a local case study about offshore wind energy development. The new pedagogical approach aims to present engineering ethics in a more tangible and relatable way by requiring students to role-play a real-world scenario from their own university’s backyard. Students worked on small teams to represent six stakeholder groups – transportation regulators, recreation and tourism, developers and engineers, commercial fisheries, as well as the pro- and anti-wind factions of the public – tasked with selecting the next location for an offshore wind farm. To prepare for the in-class activity, each team crafted an opening statement based on individualized dossiers provided by their instructor, as well as through performing their own independent research. During class, a stakeholder meeting was simulated, beginning with opening statements and site proposals from each team, followed by a round of negotiations and rebuttals, with the ultimate goal of agreeing on a location for development. Following the in-class exercise, students completed individual reflections to self-assess growth in their knowledge and skill development from participating in the simulated meeting. This paper presents the assignments and lesson plan for the newly created ethics role-playing activity, which could be adapted to represent the pressing engineering development issues relevant to any region. Further, this work explores the efficacy of this new pedagogical approach in meeting learning outcomes related to engineering ethics by analyzing student reflections following their participation in the role-playing exercise. Qualitative analysis of student work demonstrates deep engagement with the material, growth in performing research, and strengthened communication skills. Lastly, suggestions for improving the ethics role-playing activity and corresponding assignments are provided

Baryonic resonances close to the Kbar-N threshold: the case of Sigma(1385)^+ in pp collisions

We present results of an exclusive measurement of the first excited state of the Sigma hyperon, Sigma(1385)^+, produced in p+p -> Sigma^+ + K^+ + n at 3.5 GeV beam energy. The extracted data allow to study in detail the invariant mass distribution of the Sigma(1385)^+. The mass distribution is well described by a relativistic Breit-Wigner function with a maximum at m_0 = 1383.2 +- 0.9 MeV/c^2 and a width of 40.2 +- 2.1 MeV/c^2. The exclusive production cross-section comes out to be 22.27 +- 0.89 +- 1.56 +3.07 -2.10 mu b. Angular distributions of the Sigma(1385)^+ in different reference frames are found to be compatible with the hypothesis that 33 % of Sigma(1385)^+ result from the decay of an intermediate Delta^{++} resonance.Comment: 12 pages; 12 figures; submitted to PR

A Large Scale Double Beta and Dark Matter Experiment: GENIUS

The recent results from the HEIDELBERG-MOSCOW experiment have demonstrated the large potential of double beta decay to search for new physics beyond the Standard Model. To increase by a major step the present sensitivity for double beta decay and dark matter search much bigger source strengths and much lower backgrounds are needed than used in experiments under operation at present or under construction. We present here a study of a project proposed recently, which would operate one ton of 'naked' enriched GErmanium-detectors in liquid NItrogen as shielding in an Underground Setup (GENIUS). It improves the sensitivity to neutrino masses to 0.01 eV. A ten ton version would probe neutrino masses even down to 10^-3 eV. The first version would allow to test the atmospheric neutrino problem, the second at least part of the solar neutrino problem. Both versions would allow in addition significant contributions to testing several classes of GUT models. These are especially tests of R-parity breaking supersymmetry models, leptoquark masses and mechanism and right-handed W-boson masses comparable to LHC. The second issue of the experiment is the search for dark matter in the universe. The entire MSSM parameter space for prediction of neutralinos as dark matter particles could be covered already in a first step of the full experiment - with the same purity requirements but using only 100 kg of 76Ge or even of natural Ge - making the experiment competitive to LHC in the search for supersymmetry. The layout of the proposed experiment is discussed and the shielding and purity requirements are studied using GEANT Monte Carlo simulations. As a demonstration of the feasibility of the experiment first results of operating a 'naked' Ge detector in liquid nitrogen are presented.Comment: 22 pages, 12 figures, see also http://pluto.mpi-hd.mpg.de/~betalit/genius.htm

Teaching Wind Energy to Engineering and Education Undergraduates Through Community Engagement

Rhode Island\u27s adoption of the Next Generation Science Standards in 2013 [1] established a pressing need to provide elementary schools with support for integrating engineering in our local district\u27s classrooms. Wind energy was identified as an appropriate instructional topic, both for its relevance to Rhode Island [2], and for its strength as a tool for studying the engineering design process. Education and engineering undergraduates collaborated to educate local fourth graders about engineering design and wind energy. While supporting the need for engineering education in the community, this project also deepened learning for both education and engineering students at Roger Williams University

Bridging Education and Engineering Students through a Wind Energy-Focused Community Engagement Project

Regional growth in offshore wind energy development, changes to the state’s K-12 science standards, and a desire to deepen undergraduate student learning coalesced to inspire an interdisciplinary community engagement project bridging university courses in engineering and education. The project consists of three main activities: a professional development event for local fourth grade teachers, five classroom lessons designed and taught by undergraduate engineering and education majors, and a final celebration event, all focused around the topics of wind energy and engineering design. This spring, the project was carried out for the third consecutive year, though each year’s implementation has been unique due to the timing of the onset of COVID-19. Analysis of responses from the Teaching Engineering Self-Efficacy Scale and an end-of-semester course survey demonstrate growth in student learning and transferrable skills from participating in the semester-long project. Additionally, exploration of students’ narrative work provides a richness to further understanding their growth and challenges they confronted. This interdisciplinary community engagement project will continue into future years, with improvements informed by the findings of this work, most notably with the hope of returning to a fully in-person delivery of lessons to fourth-graders

A multi-year study of engineering self-efficacy in the US: exploring gender differences in a small engineering program. International Journal of Gender

This study presents the baseline results of an ongoing study at a small liberal arts university in the US and explores the gender differences in engineering selfefficacy, preparedness, and engagement in undergraduate engineering students. Data from the first timepoint of the survey was used to identify factors such as high school grade point average (GPA), math preparedness, high school mentoring, and college extracurricular involvement, and their correlations with engineering selfefficacy, as measured by the Longitudinal Assessment of Engineering Self-Efficacy (LAESE) scale. Investigation of LAESE subscales revealed that students (regardless of gender) who entered college having previously studied calculus reported greater engineering self-efficacy. Results indicate that women enter college with greater math preparation and high school GPA, however, self-efficacy is not any stronger than that of their male peers. However, women had greater coping self-efficacy and math outcome expectations compared to their male peers. These findings suggest a pipeline issue, where only the women with strong preparation self-identify as being capable of earning an engineering degree. The study also provides information about the differential experiences of women in engineering and suggests future factors to explore more deeply, such as mentoring and club involvement

Standardisation of neonatal clinical practice

The International Fetal and Newborn Growth Consortium for the 21st Century (INTERGROWTH-21st) is a large-scale, population-based, multicentre project involving health institutions from eight geographically diverse countries, which aims to assess fetal, newborn and preterm growth under optimal conditions. Given the multicentre nature of the project and the expected number of preterm births, it is vital that all centres follow the same standardised clinical care protocols to assess and manage preterm infants, so as to ensure maximum validity of the resulting standards as indicators of growth and nutrition with minimal confounding. Moreover, it is well known that evidence-based clinical practice guidelines can reduce the delivery of inappropriate care and support the introduction of new knowledge into clinical practice. The INTERGROWTH-21st Neonatal Group produced an operations manual, which reflects the consensus reached by members of the group regarding standardised definitions of neonatal morbidities and the minimum standards of care to be provided by all centres taking part in the project. The operational definitions and summary management protocols were developed by consensus through a Delphi process based on systematic reviews of relevant guidelines and management protocols by authoritative bodies. This paper describes the process of developing the Basic Neonatal Care Manual, as well as the morbidity definitions and standardised neonatal care protocols applied across all the INTERGROWTH-21st participating centres. Finally, thoughts about implementation strategies are presented