Muss der Bildungsauftrag des Kindergartens "eigenständig" sein?

Die institutionellen Bezugspunkte, gegen die sich in der Vergangenheit wie heute die Forderung nach Eigenständigkeit des Bildungsauftrages des Kindergartens richtet, sind die Familie und die Schule. Gegenüber der Familie besagt sie, dass der Kindergarten nicht nur einen sozialpädagogischen Betreuungsauftrag habe, sondern auch einen pädagogischen Bildungsauftrag neben der Familie; gegenüber der Schule besagt sie, dass der Bildungsauftrag nicht oder nicht in erster Linie als vorschulischer, d.h. auf die Schule bezogener Bildungsauftrag zu definieren sei. Gegenüber der Familie hat sich die Eigenständigkeitsforderung durchgesetzt. Gegenüber der Schule lassen sich in der gegenwärtigen Diskussion zwei Positionen unterscheiden: die traditionalistische will die strikte Abgrenzung des Kindergartens zur Schule aufrechterhalten; daneben hat sich eine Reformposition herausgebildet, welche die beiden Bereiche in ein Verhältnis der Kontinuität setzen will. In dem Artikel wird dafür plädiert, den Ausdruck vom "eigenständigen Bildungsauftrag des Kindergartens" aus der Diskussion zu nehmen, weil er unklar ist, zu Verwirrung führt und die Kommunikation mit der Grundschulpädagogik belastet. (DIPF/Orig.)The institutional points of reference against which the demand for independence of the educational mission of kindergarten was directed in the past are the family and the school. With regard to the family, it is said that kindergarten does not only have a socio-pedagogical mission of care, but also a pedagogical mission of education besides the family. As regards the school, it is stated that the educational mission is not - at least not primarily - to be defined as a preschool, i.e. school-related, mission. With regard to the family, the demand for independence has been asserted successfully. As regards the school, two positions may be distinguished in the recent discussion: the traditionalist position which wants to maintain the strict delimitation between kindergarten and school; in addition, a reform position has emerged which aims at creating a relationship of continuity between the two sectors. The author pleads for eliminating the concept of the "independent educational mission of kindergarten" from the debate, because it is unclear, leads to confusion, and strains communication with elementary school pedagogics. (DIPF/Orig.

Vorschulreform und der wissenschaftliche Status der "Pädagogik der frühen Kindheit" als Teildisziplin der Erziehungswissenschaft

Mit der ersten Vorschulreform in den 1970er Jahren entstanden nach semiakademischen Vorläufern die ersten Konturen einer Pädagogik der frühen Kindheit als Teildisziplin der Erziehungswissenschaft. Mit dem Ende der Reform stagnierte sie auf niedrigem Ausbaustand im disziplinären Gefüge der Sozialpädagogik. Mit der gegenwärtigen Vorschulreform stellt sich die Frage, ob die Pädagogik der frühen Kindheit von ihr profitieren und sich in Richtung einer teildisziplinären Eigenständigkeit weiterentwickeln und konsolidieren kann. (DIPF/Orig.)With the first reform of preschool education during the 1970s and following several semi-academic precursors, the first contours of a pedagogy of early childhood emerged as a sub-discipline of educational science. With the end of the reform movement, this theoretical construct stagnated on a rather low level of elaboration within the disciplinary structure of sociopedagogics. With the present reform of preschool education, the question arises whether the pedagogy of early childhood could profit from this reform movement and whether it could thus continue to develop into a consolidated independent sub-discipline. (DIPF/Orig.

Hybrid antenna design for an optically powered SHF RFID transponder applicable in metals

This paper presents a hybrid antenna design for an optically powered super high frequency (SHF) radio frequency identification transponder applicable for the integration into metal. The key feature of the antenna is its ability to receive microwave signals at SHF for data communication and optical signals for the power supply of the transponder. The antenna design is based on a circular waveguide which is filled with a bundle of polymer optical fibers to guide light to the photodiodes. In addition, a transition is placed within the circular waveguide to transfer the waveguide mode of the SHF signal into a microstrip mode which is a more suitable structure for the integration of electronic transponder components. This paper discusses the constraints and solutions for the aforementioned combination of SHF microwave and light. The figures of merit of the optical power supply are presented, including considerations of the light distribution and the obtained power as a function of the incident angle and the used polymer optical fiber diameter. Furthermore, the measured gain and return loss of the SHF antenna structure is compared to the simulated results. © Cambridge University Press and the European Microwave Association, 2013

Scalable production of iPSC-derived human neurons to identify tau-lowering compounds by high-content screening

Lowering total tau levels is an attractive therapeutic strategy for Alzheimer's disease and other tauopathies. High-throughput screening in neurons derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) is a powerful tool to identify tau-targeted therapeutics. However, such screens have been hampered by heterogeneous neuronal production, high cost and low yield, and multi-step differentiation procedures. We engineered an isogenic iPSC line that harbors an inducible neurogenin 2 transgene, a transcription factor that rapidly converts iPSCs to neurons, integrated at the AAVS1 locus. Using a simplified two-step protocol, we differentiated these iPSCs into cortical glutamatergic neurons with minimal well-to-well variability. We developed a robust high-content screening assay to identify tau-lowering compounds in LOPAC and identified adrenergic receptors agonists as a class of compounds that reduce endogenous human tau. These techniques enable the use of human neurons for high-throughput screening of drugs to treat neurodegenerative disease

Resolution of intramolecular dipoles and push-back effect of individual molecules on a metal surface

Molecules consisting of a donor and an acceptor moiety can exhibit large intrinsic dipole moments. Upon deposition on a metal surface, the dipole may be effectively screened and the charge distribution altered due to hybridization with substrate electronic states. Here, we deposit Ethyl-Diaminodicyanoquinone molecules, which exhibit a large dipole moment in gas phase, on a Au(111) surface. Employing a combination of scanning tunneling microscopy and non-contact atomic force microscopy, we find that a significant dipole moment persists in the flat-lying molecules. Density-functional theory calculations reveal that the dipole moment is even increased on the metal substrate as compared to the gas phase. We also show that the local contact potential across the molecular islands is decreased by several tens of meV with respect to the bare metal. We explain this by the induced charge-density redistribution due to the adsorbed molecules, which confine the substrate's wavefunction at the interface. Our local measurements provide direct evidence of this so-called push-back or cushion effect at the scale of individual molecules.Comment: This document is the unedited Author's version of a Submitted Work that was subsequently accepted for publication in Journal of Physical Chemistry

Quantifying Dynamics in Tropical Peat Swamp Forest Biomass with Multi- Temporal LiDAR Datasets

Tropical peat swamp forests in Indonesia store huge amounts of carbon and are responsible for enormous carbon emissions every year due to forest degradation and deforestation. These forest areas are in the focus of REDD+ (reducing emissions from deforestation, forest degradation, and the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks) projects, which require an accurate monitoring of their carbon stocks or aboveground biomass (AGB). Our study objective was to evaluate multi-temporal LiDAR measurements of a tropical forested peatland area in Central Kalimantan on Borneo. Canopy height and AGB dynamics were quantified with a special focus on unaffected, selective logged and burned forests. More than 11,000 ha were surveyed with airborne LiDAR in 2007 and 2011. In a first step, the comparability of these datasets was examined and canopy height models were created. Novel AGB regression models were developed on the basis of field inventory measurements and LiDAR derived height histograms for 2007 (r(2) = 0.77, n = 79) and 2011 (r(2) = 0.81, n = 53), taking the different point densities into account. Changes in peat swamp forests were identified by analyzing multispectral imagery. Unaffected forests accumulated on average 20 t/ha AGB with a canopy height increase of 2.3 m over the four year time period. Selective logged forests experienced an average AGB loss of 55 t/ha within 30 m and 42 t/ha within 50 m of detected logging trails, although the mean canopy height increased by 0.5 m and 1.0 m, respectively. Burned forests lost 92% of the initial biomass. These results demonstrate the great potential of repetitive airborne LiDAR surveys to precisely quantify even small scale AGB and canopy height dynamics in remote tropical forests, thereby featuring the needs of REDD+

Zafar, Capital of Himyar, Ibb Province, Yemen: First Preliminary Report: Summer 1998 and Autumn 2000, Second Preliminary Report: 2002, Third Preliminary Report: 2003, Fourth Preliminary Report: 2004

In 1998, the Heidelberg University Expedition to Zafar, in the Yemenite Highlands, initiated a programme of excavation, mapping and training. Zafar was the capital of the tribal confederation known to the outside world as Himyar, which for some 250 years dominated the entire Arabian Peninsula politically and militarily. The mapping showed the ancient walled city to be worthy of its name with a core area comprising some 1000 x 1200 m. The 2000 season concentrated on the excavation of a late Himyarite cemetery on a mountain slope called al-Asima/Salm. During the 2002 season, a foundation at the southern foot of the famous Husn Raydan was excavated, the site museum was newly installed and all of the inscriptions were photographed. In 2003, we photographed the entire collection of sculptures and began excavation on the south-western flank of the Husn Raydan in what appears to be magazines. Finally, in 2004 excavation was taken up in an area 10 m to the south, where a corner of a large limestone building came to light. Parts of the site were investigated by means of magnetometer survey. Until this time, experts described Zafar as utterly ruined and decadent in terms of its material culture. The foregoing contains the first preliminary report of the fieldwork in Zafar, a project which attempts to illuminate the latter part of the late pre-Islamic period

Depolarization and cAMP Elevation Rapidly Recruit TrkB to the Plasma Membrane of CNS Neurons

AbstractHere, we describe a novel mechanism for the rapid regulation of surface levels of the neurotrophin receptor TrkB. Unlike nodose ganglion neurons, both retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) and spinal motor neurons (SMNs) in culture display only low levels of surface TrkB, though high levels are present intracellularly. Within minutes of depolarization or cAMP elevation, surface TrkB levels increase by nearly 4-fold, and this increase is not blocked by cycloheximide. These findings suggest that activity and cAMP elevation rapidly recruit TrkB to the plasma membrane by translocation from intracellular stores. We propose that a fundamental difference between peripheral nervous system (PNS) and central nervous system (CNS) neurons is the activity dependence of CNS neurons for responsiveness to their peptide trophic factors and that differences in membrane compartmentalization of the receptors underlie this difference

RBFOX1, encoding a splicing regulator, is a candidate gene for aggressive behavior

The RBFOX1 gene (or A2BP1) encodes a splicing factor important for neuronal development that has been related to autism spectrum disorder and other neurodevelopmental phenotypes. Evidence from complementary sources suggests that this gene contributes to aggressive behavior. Suggestive associations with RBFOX1 have been identified in genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of anger, conduct disorder, and aggressive behavior. Nominal association signals in RBFOX1 were also found in an epigenome-wide association study (EWAS) of aggressive behavior. Also, variants in this gene affect temporal lobe volume, a brain area that is altered in several aggression-related phenotypes. In animals, this gene has been shown to modulate aggressive behavior in Drosophila. RBFOX1 has also been associated with canine aggression and is upregulated in mice that show increased aggression after frustration of an expected reward. Associated common genetic variants as well as rare duplications and deletions affecting RBFOX1 have been identified in several psychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorders that are often comorbid with aggressive behaviors. In this paper, we comprehensively review the cumulative evidence linking RBFOX1 to aggression behavior and provide new results implicating RBFOX1 in this phenotype. Most of these studies (genetic and epigenetic analyses in humans, neuroimaging genetics, gene expression and animal models) are hypothesis-free, which strengthens the validity of the findings, although all the evidence is nominal and should therefore be taken with caution. Further studies are required to clarify in detail the role of this gene in this complex phenotype