TVET Teachers and Trainers: Concepts in Academic Education and Research

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The first shall be last: Serial position effects in the case contestants evaluate each other

We analyze competitions where the contestants evaluate each other and find the first contestant to be disadvantaged. We suspect that this is due to information diffusion, Bayesian belief updating taking place in course of the contest and initial uncertainty about a contestant's relative quality.Serial Position Effects, Ordering Effects

Resilience in Cancer Patients

Background: Being diagnosed with cancer and undergoing its treatment are associated with substantial distress that can cause long-lasting negative psychological outcomes. Resilience is an individual’s ability to maintain or restore relatively stable psychological and physical functioning when confronted with stressful life events and adversities. Posttraumatic growth (PTG) can be defined as positive life changes that result from major life crises or stressful events.Objectives: The aims of this study were to 1) investigate which factors can strengthen or weaken resilience and PTG in cancer patients and survivors; 2) explore the relationship between resilience and PTG, and mental health outcomes; and 3) discuss the impact and clinical implications of resilience and PTG on the process of recovery from cancer.Methods: A literature search was conducted, restricted to PubMed from inception until May 2018, utilizing the following key words: cancer, cancer patients, cancer survivors, resilience, posttraumatic growth, coping, social support, and distress.Results: Biological, personal, and most importantly social factors contribute to cancer patients’ resilience and, consequently, to favorable psychological and treatment-related outcomes. PTG is an important phenomenon in the adjustment to cancer. From the literature included in this review, a model of resilience and PTG in cancer patients and survivors was developed.Conclusions: The cancer experience is associated with positive and negative life changes. Resilience and PTG are quantifiable and can be modified through psychological and pharmacological interventions. Promoting resilience and PTG should be a critical component of cancer care

Regimes of atomic diffraction: Raman versus Bragg diffraction in retroreflective geometries

We provide a comprehensive study of atomic Raman and Bragg diffraction when coupling to a pair of counterpropagating light gratings (double diffraction) or to a single one (single diffraction) and discuss the transition from one case to the other in a retroreflective geometry as the Doppler detuning changes. In contrast to single diffraction, double Raman loses its advantage of high diffraction efficiency for short pulses and has to be performed in a Bragg-type regime. Moreover, the structure of double diffraction leads to further limitations for broad momentum distributions on the efficiency of mirror pulses, making the use of (ultra) cold ensembles essential for high diffraction efficiency.Comment: 16 pages, 14 figure

Wir Weltfremden: Rezension zu "Die Weltfremdheit des Menschen: Schriften zur philosophischen Anthropologie" von Günther Anders

Günther Anders: Die Weltfremdheit des Menschen: Schriften zur philosophischen Anthropologie. München: C.H. Beck 2018. 978-3-406-72697-

Berufliches Gymnasium für Ingenieurwissenschaften: Grundüberlegungen, inhaltliche Konzeption und curriculare Umsetzung am Beispiel der Bundesländer Nordrhein-Westfalen und Sachsen-Anhalt

Der vorliegende BBP-Arbeitsbericht 90 „Berufliches Gymnasium für Ingenieurwissenschaften – Grundüberlegungen, inhaltliche Konzeption und curriculare Umsetzung am Beispiel der Bundesländer Nordrhein-Westfalen und Sachsen-Anhalt“ bildet die grundlegend überarbeitete und um die Bildungsgangkonzeption des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalens erweiterte Neufassung des 2013 (in der 1. Auflage, zuletzt in der 3. Auflage 02/2015) erschienenen IBBP-Arbeitsberichts 80 „Ingenieurwissenschaften – Grundüberlegungen, inhaltliche Konzeption und Lehrplanentwurf für einen gymnasialen Bildungsgang an berufsbildenden Schulen in Sachsen‐Anhalt

Architecture in the Anthropocene: Toward an Ecological Pedagogy of Parts and Relationships

This paper was presented at the 2020 Schools of Thought Conference hosted by the Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture at the University of Oklahoma.The impact of human activity on the global climate has started to cause physical repercussions that form, transform, and inform the natural and built environment. These repercussions have been materializing in a variety of ways, from sea level rise to wildfires, from health-threatening pollution to contamination of air, soil, and water. Architectural education in the age of climate crisis must tackle ecological challenges and respond to the impacts of global environmental change. This paper uses three curricular components as a case study to demonstrate how architectural education may be able to address global challenges through the lens of ecology, showcasing (1) Design Studios, (2) Seminar Courses, and (3) International Initiatives. This methodological approach is strongly connected to a pedagogy based on flat hierarchies, personal engagement, and collective awareness of the individuals within a course environment. The content-based pedagogy around ecology becomes a guide for both architecture and architectural pedagogy. The aim is to provide students with an understanding of how the formal relationship between the (geometric) parts of space becomes an integral part of the emerging systems within the changing environment. This paper also highlights the importance of travel components in contemporary architectural curricula, promoting a global-campus concept that is based on international academic and professional partnerships. Concrete examples of interdisciplinary and inter-university collaborations are provided to connect teaching components to research projects. The paper concludes by relating teaching and research endeavors to the current transition of traditional architecture programs to STEM-affiliated disciplines.Ye

Discrepancies in dyadic coping: associations with distress and quality of life in couples facing early stage dementia

OBJECTIVES: Due to an aging population, the number of persons living with dementia (PWDs) is increasing worldwide. Romantic partners, as informal caregivers (IC) of PWDs, are often adopting additional tasks. The concept of dyadic coping (DC) addresses how couples cope with stress together. For dyadic coping to be successful, efforts of both partners should be equal. The current study examines how discrepancies in PWDs and ICs perspectives on DC relate to distress and quality of life in each partner within couples facing early stage dementia (ESD). METHODS: A total of 37 mixed-sex couples including one partner with ESD completed self-report questionnaires. Discrepancies in reciprocity (comparing provided or received levels of DC between partners), equity (each partner balancing own levels received and provided), and congruence (the agreement about levels of DC exchanged between partners) and their covariation with distress and quality of life (QoL) of each partner were measured. RESULTS: Both partners indicated a discrepancy in reciprocity: PWDs reported receiving more DC than ICs reported receiving, which was associated with higher QoL in PWDs and lower QoL in ICs. Inequities were found in ICs only, who reported receiving less DC, than providing. No relation between inequities and distress or QoL was found. ICs reported more incongruencies than PWDs did, which was associated with higher QoL and less depression in partners. DISCUSSION: A redivision of tasks and roles in the early stage of dementia is associated with different experiences and views between partners. Whereas ICs take over most household and care tasks within the couple, their effort was considered less helpful by PWDs than by ICs. A high care burden is associated with a compromised quality of ICs' social life and living conditions. The clinical implications of the results are discussed

Characterization of sequence variants in the cardiac ion channel genes KCNH2 and SCN5A

The present thesis describes the identification and characterization of sequence variants in the cardiac ion channel genes KCNH2 and SCN5A. The variants were found in sudden cardiac death victims, in patients with ion channel diseases and in their family members. The results support the growing awareness that carriership of a single mutation often fails to predict the clinical phenotype and that additional genetic modifications may influence the clinical manifestation of the disease

Duales Studium Berufsbildung: Erfahrungen mit der Kooperation zwischen der Otto-von-Guericke-Universität Magdeburg und der Siemens AG

Dual Studieren ist aktuell auf einer hohen Wahrnehmungsebene. Das Bundesinstitut für Berufsbildung (BIBB) und die Hochschulrektorenkonferenz (HRK) haben sich in den vergangenen Jahren mit eigenen Studien und Positionspapieren in die Diskussion um die Entwicklung und Zukunft dieses Bildungsformats eingeschaltet. Die Otto-von-Guericke-Universität Magdeburg hat zusammen mit der regionalen Wirtschaft Initiativen ins Leben gerufen und führt derzeit interne Diskussionen um die zukünftige Ausgestaltung entsprechender Studiengänge