Transition from low-threshold vocational education and training to work in Switzerland: factors influencing objective and subjective career success

Context: There are currently two low-threshold vocational education and training (VET) options in Switzerland for young people at risk: A two-year programme for a Federal VET certificate and a practical training programme designed for young people with special needs. In the present study, we looked at transitions from these programmes to the labour market. Possible influences on objective and subjective indicators of career success, such as social background, personal disposition, and training, were considered. Methods: Data were collected from 418 apprentices in the French- and German-speaking parts of Switzerland at three measurement points: t1, at the beginning of training; t2, upon completion of training; and t3, 10 months later. Participants responded to a written questionnaire. Findings: Ten months after completing their apprenticeships, the majority of participating young people were either employed or continuing their education. Results of the multinomial logistic and linear regressions showed a differentiated, rather than uniform, picture depending on the criteria for career success. The background factors of gender and school (9th grade) were associated with objective success after the apprenticeship ended but not with subjective career success (hypothesis 1). For the variables concerning person disposition and agency (hypothesis 2), we found two plausible associations: A positive attitude towards life helped with unemployment avoidance and a highly self-rated school performance was associated with later satisfaction. As predicted in hypothesis 3, situational factors related to the VET company and school showed a number of significant but sometimes weak associations with objective and subjective career success. Additionally, competencies and support of VET trainers related to continuance in the learned profession. Conclusions: The career development paths of young people are influenced by various background and personality factors, as well as the training situation. VET trainers should be aware of their crucial role and understand how their interventions affect apprentices’ self-perceptions and perceptions of their learned professions, which consequently influence their motivations and career aspirations. The situation at the VET school (as a learning and social place) is equally important, especially because of the aim to increase permeability for further training. Young people not in employment, education or training (NEET) are of particular concern. Even though this group is smaller in Switzerland than in most other countries, a number of problematic symptoms can be detected during apprenticeship that point to the need for the prevention of a later NEET status. (DIPF/Orig.

Fossil Record – the palaeontological journal of the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin

Fossil Record – the palaeontological journal of the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin Fossil Record ist die wissenschaftliche paläontologische Zeitschrift des Museums für Naturkunde Berlin. Sie ist ISI-gelistet und international ausgerichtet. Seit 2014, zeitgleich mit einem Verlagswechsel zu Copernicus Publications, wurde Fossil Record zu einer Open Access Online-Zeitschrift und weist 2017 einen Impaktfaktor von 1,25 auf. Der freie Zugriff der wissenschaftlichen Gemeinschaft auf Artikel und Volltexte im Internet sorgt für eine sichtbare Wahrnehmung in der wissenschaftlichen Gemeinschaft und ist attraktiv für Autorinnen und Autoren. Fossil Record publiziert englischsprachige Originalarbeiten auf allen Gebieten der Paläontologie einschließlich der Taxonomie und Systematik, Paläoökologie und Evolution fossiler Organismen. Es werden exzellente materialbasierte Arbeiten publiziert, mit Bezug zu prozessorientierten paläobiologischen Fragestellungen aller taxonomischen Gruppen (Wirbeltiere, Wirbellose, Pflanzen und Mikrofossilien). Zwei Hefte erscheinen pro Jahr, wenn gewünscht auch in Druckversion mit hochauflösenden Abbildungen. Alle Manuskripte durchlaufen einen Peer-Review Prozess mit mindestens 2 Reviews. Es besteht außerdem die Möglichkeit, umfassendere Manuskripte wie z.B. Doktorarbeiten und Monographien im Fossil Record zu publizieren. Publikationskosten (APCs) werden momentan vom Herausgeber beglichen. Museum für Naturkunde Berlin – Leibniz-Instuítut für Evolutions- und Biodiversitätsforschung, Invalidenstrasse 43, 10115 Berli

Simulation of vibrating droplets using a phase field approach

Droplet vibration is an important phenomenon in many technical applications. Correctly predicting the occurring behaviour such as droplet detachment is a challenge for numerical simulations. In this work, a so‐called Navier‐Stokes‐Korteweg model that couples a gas‐liquid phase field to the Navier‐Stokes equations is used to simulate a droplet on a horizontally vibrating surface. Additionally, the equilibrium state of a static droplet on a fixed wall is simulated and the eigenshapes of the static system are investigated. It is found that this static eigenvalue analysis yields possible modes of the dynamic system, and some of the obtained eigenshapes can be recovered in the dynamic simulation

Detection of metastable electronic states by Penning trap mass spectrometry

State-of-the-art optical clocks achieve fractional precisions of $10^{-18}$ and below using ensembles of atoms in optical lattices or individual ions in radio-frequency traps. Promising candidates for novel clocks are highly charged ions (HCIs) and nuclear transitions, which are largely insensitive to external perturbations and reach wavelengths beyond the optical range, now becoming accessible to frequency combs. However, insufficiently accurate atomic structure calculations still hinder the identification of suitable transitions in HCIs. Here, we report on the discovery of a long-lived metastable electronic state in a HCI by measuring the mass difference of the ground and the excited state in Re, the first non-destructive, direct determination of an electronic excitation energy. This result agrees with our advanced calculations, and we confirmed them with an Os ion with the same electronic configuration. We used the high-precision Penning-trap mass spectrometer PENTATRAP, unique in its synchronous use of five individual traps for simultaneous mass measurements. The cyclotron frequency ratio $R$ of the ion in the ground state to the metastable state could be determined to a precision of $\delta R=1\cdot 10^{-11}$, unprecedented in the heavy atom regime. With a lifetime of about 130 days, the potential soft x-ray frequency reference at $\nu=4.86\cdot 10^{16}\,\text{Hz}$ has a linewidth of only $\Delta \nu\approx 5\cdot 10^{-8}\,\text{Hz}$, and one of the highest electronic quality factor ($Q=\frac{\nu}{\Delta \nu}\approx 10^{24}$) ever seen in an experiment. Our low uncertainty enables searching for more HCI soft x-ray clock transitions, needed for promising precision studies of fundamental physics in a thus far unexplored frontier

Helsingør Statement on poly- and perfluorinated alkyl substances (PFASs)

In this discussion paper, the transition from long-chain poly- and perfluorinated alkyl substances (PFASs) to fluorinated alternatives is addressed. Long-chain PFASs include perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids (PFCAs) with 7 or more perfluorinated carbons, perfluoroalkyl sulfonic acids (PFSAs) with 6 or more perfluorinated carbons, and their precursors. Because long-chain PFASs have been found to be persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic, they are being replaced by a wide range of fluorinated alternatives. We summarize key concerns about the potential impacts of fluorinated alternatives on human health and the environment in order to provide concise information for different stakeholders and the public. These concerns include, amongst others, the likelihood of fluorinated alternatives or their transformation products becoming ubiquitously present in the global environment; the need for more information on uses, properties and effects of fluorinated alternatives; the formation of persistent terminal transformation products including PFCAs and PFSAs; increasing environmental and human exposure and potential of adverse effects as a consequence of the high ultimate persistence and increasing usage of fluorinated alternatives; the high societal costs that would be caused if the uses, environmental fate, and adverse effects of fluorinated alternatives had to be investigated by publicly funded research; and the lack of consideration of non-persistent alternatives to long-chain PFASs

AIMSurv: First pan-European harmonized surveillance of Aedes invasive mosquito species of relevance for human vector-borne diseases

Human and animal vector-borne diseases, particularly mosquito-borne diseases, are emerging or re-emerging worldwide. Six Aedes invasive mosquito (AIM) species were introduced to Europe since the 1970s: Aedes aegypti, Ae. albopictus, Ae. japonicus, Ae. koreicus, Ae. atropalpus and Ae. triseriatus. Here, we report the results of AIMSurv2020, the first pan-European surveillance effort for AIMs. Implemented by 42 volunteer teams from 24 countries. And presented in the form of a dataset named “AIMSurv Aedes Invasive Mosquito species harmonized surveillance in Europe. AIM-COST Action. Project ID: CA17108”. AIMSurv2020 harmonizes field surveillance methodologies for sampling different AIMs life stages, frequency and minimum length of sampling period, and data reporting. Data include minimum requirements for sample types and recommended requirements for those teams with more resources. Data are published as a Darwin Core archive in the Global Biodiversity Information Facility- Spain, comprising a core file with 19,130 records (EventID) and an occurrences file with 19,743 records (OccurrenceID). AIM species recorded in AIMSurv2020 were Ae. albopictus, Ae. japonicus and Ae. koreicus, as well as native mosquito species

Différentes fréquences de cyber-harcèlement entre les niveaux d’enseignement – quelles sont les effets de l’utilisation des médias électroniques?

In dieser Studie wurde die Häufigkeit von Cyberviktimisierung unter Schüler(innen)n der Sekundarstufe I untersucht. Diesbezüglich wurden Bildungsgangunterschiede analysiert und geprüft, ob das Ausmass an kommunikativer Nutzung elektronischer Medien unter den Jugendlichen allfällige Unterschiede zwischen den Schultypen erklären kann. Von den teilnehmenden 804 Siebtklässler(inne)n berichteten 17.7% in den letzten zwei Monaten via elektronischer Medien belästigt worden zu sein, wobei die Täterschaft überwiegend ausserhalb der eigenen Schulklasse verortet wurde. Mehrebenenanalysen zeigten, dass Schüler(innen) des niedrig qualifizierenden Bildungsgangs die meisten Opfererfahrungen berichteten und dieser Effekt durch die stärker ausgeprägte kommunikative Nutzung elektronischer Medien in dieser Schülergruppe partiell mediiert wurde. (DIPF/Orig.)Cette étude a examiné les fréquences de cyber-harcèlement parmi les élèves de l’école secondaire I et ces différences entre les niveaux d’enseignement. De plus, il a été testé si l’intensité d’utilisation des médias électroniques de communication entre les adolescents peut expliquer ces différences. 17.7 % des participants de la 7ème année scolaire ont rapporté qu’ils avaient subi des harcèlements par l’intermédiaire des médias électroniques. Les auteurs de ces harcèlements provenaient principalement de l’extérieur de la classe. Les analyses multiniveaux ont montré que les élèves des niveaux d’enseignement à exigences élémentaires étaient les plus souvent les victimes. Cet effet était transmis partiellement par l’intensité de leur utilisation des médias électroniques. (DIPF/Orig.