Indikatoren für eine bedarfsorientierte Finanzierung frühkindlicher Bildung - Sozialraumdaten als valide Proxies für Einzeleinrichtungen?

The main purpose of the study is to investigate whether regional data are able to finance early childhood education settings according to their need. Against the background of constraints in public resources on the one hand and the challenge to tackle educational inequality on the other hand, the current academic and political discussion regards needs-based resource allocation to be a promising answer to both demands. This requires the indicators used to allocate resources to accurately capture the characteristics that result in a greater financial need of educational institutions with respect to educational inequalities. In this regard, policy makers often face a dilemma between available data on the one hand and the quality of these data on the other hand. A possible solution to this dilemma could be the use of statistical data on the level of city districts as an objective and non-manipulable indicator that is easily at hand. However, the employment of these data is only valid if the districts’ social composition is similar to the composition of the settings in those districts. I employ data on different needs indicators on both levels in one municipality and analyze their correlation. The results indicate that the characteristics of the districts and their respective preschool settings do not match sufficiently to be an adequate indicator in needs-based resource allocation. (DIPF/Orig.)Die Studie untersucht, ob vorliegende Daten der kommunalen Sozialberichterstattung sinnvoll eingesetzt werden können, um Kindertageseinrichtungenbedarfs orientiert zu finanzieren. Vor dem Hintergrund begrenzter öffentlicher Finanzmittel und der Herausforderung, bestehende Bildungsungleichheiten abzubauen, erscheint akademischen und politischen Diskussionen zufolge eine bedarfsorientierte Finanzierung von Bildungseinrichtungen als geeignete Strategie, beide Anforderungen gleichermaßen zu erfüllen. Eine solche Ressourcenallokation erfordert den Einsatz von Indikatoren, die den Mittelbedarf der Einrichtungen hinreichend genau erfassen. Häufig ist die Suche nach Indikatoren durch ein Spannungsverhältnis zwischen einer ausreichenden Datenverfügbarkeit und -qualität gekennzeichnet. Ein möglicher Ausweg könnte die Verwendung von statistischen Daten auf Stadtteilebene sein, die im Rahmen der kommunalen Sozialberichterstattung vorliegen und zugleich objektiv und nicht-manipulativ sind. Dies setzt voraus, dass die in der Sozialraumstatistik berichtete soziale Komposition der Stadtteile ausreichend genau die Komposition in den Einrichtungen widerspiegelt. Um dies zu überprüfen, werden verschiedene Bedarfsindikatoren auf beiden Analyseebenen mit Hilfe von Korrelationsanalysen zueinander in Beziehung gesetzt. Die Ergebnisse verweisen darauf, dass die Eigenschaften der Stadtteile und der in diesen liegenden Kindertageseinrichtungen nicht ausreichend übereinstimmen. (DIPF/Orig.

The Impact of Early Positive Results on a Mathematics and Science Partnership: The Experience of the Institute for Chemistry Literacy Through Computational Science

After one year of implementation, the Institute for Chemistry Literacy through Computational Science, an NSF Mathematics and Science Partnership Institute Project led by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s Department of Chemistry, College of Medicine, and National Center for Supercomputing Applications, experienced statistically significant gains in chemistry content knowledge among students of the rural high school teachers participating in its intensive, year-round professional development course, compared to a control group. The project utilizes a two-cohort, delayed-treatment, random control trial, quasi-experimental research design with the second cohort entering treatment one year following the first. The three-year treatment includes intensive two-week summer institutes, occasional school year workshops and year-round, on-line collaborative lesson development, resource sharing, and expert support. The means of student pre-test scores for Cohort I (η=963) and Cohort II (η=862) teachers were not significantly different. The mean gain (difference between pre-test and post-test scores) after seven months in the classroom for Cohort I was 9.8 percentage points, compared to 6.7 percentage points for Cohort II. This statistically significant difference (p\u3c.001) represented an effect size of .25 standard deviation units, and indicated unusually early confirmation of treatment effects. When post-tests were compared, Cohort I students scored significantly higher than Cohort II and supported the gain score differences. The impact of these results on treatment and research plans is discussed. concentrating on the effect of lessening rural teachers’ isolation and increasing access to tools to facilitate learning

Serial section registration of axonal confocal microscopy datasets for long-range neural circuit reconstruction

ManuscriptIn the context of long-range digital neural circuit reconstruction, this paper investigates an approach for registering axons across histological serial sections. Tracing distinctly labeled axons over large distances allows neuroscientists to study very explicit relationships between the brain's complex interconnects and, for example, diseases or aberrant development. Large scale histological analysis requires, however, that the tissue be cut into sections. In immunohistochemical studies thin sections are easily distorted due to the cutting, preparation, and slide mounting processes. In this work we target the registration of thin serial sections containing axons. Sections are first traced to extract axon centerlines, and these traces are used to define registration landmarks where they intersect section boundaries. The trace data also provides distinguishing information regarding an axon's size and orientation within a section. We propose the use of these features when pairing axons across sections in addition to utilizing the spatial relationships amongst the landmarks. The global rotation and translation of an unregistered section are accounted for using a random sample consensus (RANSAC) based technique. An iterative nonrigid refinement process using B-spline warping is then used to reconnect axons and produce the sought after connectivity information

Long range digital neural circuit reconstruction

poste

Benchmarking G2B eServices in the US: A Survey to Identify Maturity Levels Based on the Mystery User Approach

As public administrations are increasingly transforming towards customer-oriented service providers, the availability of municipal E-Services increases. Particularly, E-Services addressed to Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) representing 90 % of all enterprises in the U.S. are of interest. While generic surveys on E-Government portals are conducted manifold, surveys dedicated to Government-to-Business (G2B) E-Services are neglected. Thus, the paper presents the status quo by illustrating the results of a benchmarking survey. The survey analyzes the offer of G2B E-Services in 50 U.S. large and capital cities. Furthermore, the identified criteria for the survey provide a basis for a maturity model. The study is accomplished according to the “Procedural model for the Benchmarking of Service” – DIN PAS 1014 and is conducted with the “Mystery User” approach. The findings of the survey address academic research as well as administration practice in the context of E-Government

Segregation in der Kindertagesbetreuung in Deutschland. Ergebnisse zu regionalen Verteilungsmustern auf Basis nationaler Bildungsstudien

Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) is believed to contribute to educational equality and to serve social inclusion and democracy. Segregation in day-care centres counteracts these aims but has hardly been researched so far. We explore ethnic/linguistic and social segregation in Germany using data from the National Educational Panel Study (NEPS) and the Early Childhood Education and Care Quality Study in the Socio-Economic Panel (K2ID-SOEP). We find pronounced differences in preschool composition that point to ethnic/linguistic and social segregation that differs for population groups as well as between regions and states. We discuss political implications of our findings. (DIPF/Orig.)Frühkindliche Bildung und Betreuung soll zum Abbau von Bildungsungleichheit beitragen und Inklusion fördern. Segregation in Kindertageseinrichtungen wirkt diesen Zielen entgegen, ist aber bisher kaum erforscht. Wir untersuchen ethnische/sprachliche und soziale Segregation in Deutschland anhand von Daten des Nationalen Bildungspanels (NEPS) und der Studie „Kinder und Kitas in Deutschland“ im Rahmen des Sozio-ökonomischen Panels (K2ID-SOEP). Wir finden Unterschiede in der Zusammensetzung der Einrichtungen, die für Bevölkerungsgruppen unterschiedlich ausgeprägt ist und zwischen Regionen und Bundesländern variiert. Wir diskutieren die Implikationen unserer Ergebnisse. (Autor*innen

Mantique et herméneutique

Il faut commencer avec deux dieux, Apollon et Hermès. Apollon est le dieu de la musique. C’est pourquoi il tient une lyre sous le bras. Mais il est aussi – cela a souvent été négligé, notamment par Nietzsche – le dieu de « la violence différée » (G. Colli). Car il tient dans l’autre main l’arc avec lequel il décoche les flèches qui répandent la peste, par exemple dans l’armée grecque devant Troie. Et il est enfin le dieu de la prophétie, le dieu de l’oracle de Delphes, le dieu de l’interpréta..

One Stop eGovernment for Small and Medium- Sized Enterprises (SME): A Strategic Approach and Case Study to Implement the EU Services Directive

In view of EU services directive, providers of public services are required to reengineer their product and process organization. Of the underlying information systems and the IT infrastructure this has direct influence on the organization. The fundamental requirements include the establishment of points of single contact for enterprises and the procedures and formalities relating to access to a service activity and to the exercise thereof by electronic means. In addition to the federal and regional authorities, the municipalities are especially affected by this, as they hold most of the process and decision-making authorities of the government services sector. Virtualization and bundling of service goods will be subsequently introduced as essential differentiation criteria. In doing so, the degree of virtualization of public services is already high in many places. Nevertheless, this development with respect to the bundling of services is still in the initial phase. This article presents a strategic approach to the bundling of public services. The strategy approach will substantiated for the state capital of Düsseldorf in terms of a “One-Stop eGovernment” with main focus on small and medium-sized enterprises