From public offices to the cultural or economic sector. How Dutch nobility kept its elite positions during the 20th century.

Dutch noble families have held more elite positions than high bourgeois families during the 20th century, and this relative advantage hardly changed over several generations. In this paper we test on of the possible explanations of this ‘constant noble advantage hypothesis’, using a sample of members of noble and high bourgeois families born in the 20th century. We assume that Dutch nobility made a strategic shift from the public sector (diplomacy, local government) towards to the private sector (financial or service sector). The analyses confirm a move by the successive generations of Dutch nobility away from public elite positions towards more elite positions in the cultural and business sector. Although this move into elite position in other sectors does not fully compensate for the decline of elite positions in the public sector, it highlights an important part of the explanation of the ‘constant noble advantage’. Dutch high bourgeoisie did not made this move outside the public sector during the same period.nobility; elite; cultural and business sector; constant noble advantage

The influence of conceptual user models on the creation and interpretation of diagrams representing reactive systems

In system design, many diagrams of many different types are used. Diagrams communicate design aspects between members of the development team, and between these experts and the non-expert customers and future users. Mastering the creation of diagrams is often a challenging task, judging by particular errors persistently found in diagrams created by undergraduate computer science students. We assume a possible misalignment between human perception and cognition on the one hand and the diagrams’ structure and syntax on the other. This article presents the results of an investigation of such a misalignment. We focus on the deployment of so-called 'conceptual user models' (mental models, created by users in their mind) at the creation of diagrams. We propose a taxonomy for mental mappings, used for categorization of representations. We describe an experiment where naive and novice subjects created one or several diagrams of a familiar task. We use our taxonomy for analysing these diagrams, both for the represented task structure and the symbols used. The results indeed show a mismatch between mental models and currently used diagram techniques

The contribution of a pre-entry Matching Week to prospective students' understanding of a degree programme and study choice

The contribution of a pre-entry Matching Week to prospective students’ understanding of a degree programme and study choice The University of Amsterdam developed a pre-entry study check (Matching Week) in order to improve the transition from secondary education into university education. Before enrolment, prospective students attended a one-week programme aimed at checking their study choice. Based on their achievement during the Matching Week they received a non-binding study advice. A survey (N=2772) indicated that the week helped students to get a better understanding of a degree programme and complemented other study choice activities. Moreover, participants tended to follow the study advice and the advice seems to be an indicator for student attrition during the year.Teaching and Teacher Learning (ICLON