SNSF Career Tracker Cohorts (CTC) Newsletter 2022/2

As in our previous newsletter, we explore our first longitudinal dataset to give insights on working conditions and changes of professional values in the last years. The data include the first four waves (2018–2021) of the CTC-18 cohort, which consists of people who applied for Early Postdoc.Mobility or Postdoc.Mobility in fall 201

SNSF Career Tracker Cohorts (CTC) Newsletter 2023/1

This year marks the fifth anniversary of the CTC study, and we are looking forward to continuing with the monitoring. Before we start the spring surveys, we are preparing the data collected last fall (2022), when 633 study participants completed a CTC monitoring survey, resulting in an overall response rate of 59%

Accuracy of Be-9-data and its influence on Be-10 cosmogenic nuclide data

A Be-9-solution has been chemically prepared from phenakite (Be2SiO4) mineral grains as commercial Be-9-solutions are too high in long-lived Be-10. The solution is intended to be used as a carrier for radiochemical separation of Be-10 to be measured by accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS). Thus, accurate data of the Be-9-concentration of this solution is essential to guarantee for high-accuracy Be-10 data in the future. After devastating preliminary results (similar to 8 % standard deviation), eight laboratories finally produced twelve individual results by four different analytical methods. A certain lab and method bias might be identified by sophisticated statistical evaluation. Some laboratories also (grossly) underestimate their uncertainties. Thus, the simple weighted mean of this round-robin exercise needed to be corrected by introducing additional allowances (Paule-Mandel-approach). The final result has been calculated to (2,246 +/- A 11) mu g Be-9/(g solution) with a reasonably low weighted standard deviation of 0.49 %. The maximum deviation of a single lab value from the weighted mean is 2.4 % when removing one Grubbs outlier (11 % off from the mean) from the data set. As Be-10-data, which is usually calculated from measured Be-10/Be-9 by AMS and stable Be-9, cannot be more accurate than the determined Be-9-concentration, it seems highly advisable to establish or improve quality assurance by having self-made carrier-solutions analysed at more than a single lab and regularly taking part in round-robin exercises

PISA 2015: Schülerinnen und Schüler der Schweiz im internationalen Vergleich

In PISA 2015 erreichen die 15-Jährigen in der Schweiz erneut einen Spitzenplatz in Mathematik, die Ergebnisse in Naturwissenschaften liegen deutlich über dem OECD-Mittel, das Leseergebnis liegt im OECD-Mittel. Der Bericht behandelt unter anderem die Frage der Vergleichbarkeit der Ergebnisse von PISA 2015 mit den Ergebnissen früherer PISA-Erhebungen, da die Tests erstmals auf Computer und nicht mehr auf Papier durchgeführt wurden. Das wissenschaftliche Konsortium kommt unter anderem zum Schluss, dass PISA 2015 eher als ein Neubeginn, als eine Fortschreibung der früheren PISA-Zyklen zu sehen ist und Vergleiche über die Zeit nur eingeschränkt möglich sind. Im Bericht wird ebenfalls eine Auswahl an Ergebnissen aus den Tests und aus dem Schülerfragebogen dargestellt