Horizontal Stratification in Access to Danish University Programmes

In this paper, we use register data to examine horizontal stratification within university institutions and university fields of study in Denmark, a country that has experienced a reduction of the social class gap in access to higher education. First, we argue that it is important to use a relatively detailed classification of parents’ occupations to determine how students are endowed with different forms of capital, even when their parents would typically be characterised as belonging to the same social group. Second, we distinguish among disciplines and among university institutions to explain the dynamics of horizontal stratification in the Danish university system. Using unique and exhaustive register data, including all higher education institutions and the entire 1984 cohort as of the age of 24, we uncover distinct differences in the magnitude and type of horizontal stratification in different fields of study and university institutions. Most importantly, we find distinct patterns of horizontal stratification by field of study and parental occupation that would have remained hidden had we used more aggregated classifications for field of study and social origin.</jats:p

Social ulighed i adgangen til danske universitetsuddannelser

I denne artikel giver jeg et overblik over den sociale ulighed i adgangen til universitetsuddannelser i Danmark. Jeg fokuserer på ulighederne i chancer for at opnå en universitetsuddannelse for 35-årige, afhængig af deres sociale baggrund. Artiklen tegner både det brede billede i forhold til adgang til bachelor-, kandidat- og ph.d.-uddannelser, men jeg kigger også specifikt på uligheden i forhold til at opnå bestemte universitetsuddannelser. Jeg finder at der er en betydelig social skævhed i forhold til at opnå en universitetsuddannelse generelt, men at denne skævhed varierer voldsomt på tværs af universitetsinstitutioner og specifikke uddannelser. Unge med akademiker- og arbejderklasseforældre har for eksempel stort set lige stor chancer for at læse Erhvervsøkonomi på Aalborg Universitet, mens Statskundskab på Københavns Universitet er den uddannelse hvor uligheden er allerstørst – den har akademikerbørn 23 gange så mange chancer for at opnå, som arbejderklassebørn ha

Klasse og kultur på danske universitetsuddannelser

Denne artikel beskæftiger sig med social ulighed på lange videregående uddannelser i Danmark. Ved at betragte de interne forskelle i det danske universitetsfelt undersøges omfanget og karakteren af den sociale differentiering på de lange videregående uddannelser. For at forstå disse sociale differentieringsprocesser anlægges et henholdsvis makro- og mikrosociologisk perspektiv på betydningen af social klasse og kulturel praksis på uddannelserne, og der stilles det overordnede spørgsmål: Hvad er sammenhængen mellem unges valg af videregående uddannelse, deres sociale oprindelse og de kulturelle praktikker på de forskellige videregående uddannelser? Empirien udgøres af såvel registerdata som af feltarbejde på tre udvalgte universitetsuddannelser, og der bruges følgelig såvel kvantitative som kvalitative metoder. Analysen af universitetsfeltet viser at der er meget stor forskel på de forskellige uddannelsers sociale profil, at der er en tydelig klassestruktur i det danske universitetsfelt, at den kulturelle praksis der kendetegner udvalgte uddannelser kan forstås meningsfuldt i sammenhæng med denne klassestruktur, og endelig at det kræver bestemte forudsætninger at mestre kulturen på de forskellige uddannelser. Søgeord: Social differentiering, social klasse, videregående uddannelser, universitetsstuderende, uddannelseskultur, uddannelsesvalg. ENGELSK ABSTRACT: Jens Peter Thomsen: Social Class and Culture in Danish Universities In this article I address the question of social inequality in higher education. By looking at the horizontal stratification in the Danish university field I examine the extent and nature of the processes of social differentiation within the different university programs. In order to understand the processes of differentiation, a macro- and micro-sociological perspective on the significance of social class and cultural practice in the university programs is applied. The main question is: What is the relationship between young people’s choice of university program, social class origin and the cultural practices in the different university programs? National register data as well as fieldwork carried out in three different university programs make up the empirical basis of the research, and both quantitative and qualitative methods are applied. The analysis of the university field shows that: A) The university field is highly structured by social class, B) there are great differences in the class characteristics of the student body in the different programs, C) the class structure in the university field is closely related to the cultural practices characterizing specific programs, and finally, D) that students from certain social backgrounds are better prepared than other students for the practical mastery of these cultural practices. Key words: Higher education, social class, horizontal stratification, university students, educational cultures, choice of higher education

Validation of a Tool for the Initial Dynamic Design of Mooring Systems for Large Floating Wave Energy Converters

Mooring of floating wave energy converters is an important topic in renewable research since it highly influences the overall cost of the wave energy converter and thereby the cost of energy. In addition, several wave energy converter failures have been observed due to insufficient mooring systems. When designing these systems, it is necessary to ensure the applicability of the design tool and to establish an understanding of the error between model and prototype. The present paper presents the outcome of an experimental test campaign and construction of a numerical model using the open-source boundary element method code NEMOH and the commercial time-domain mooring analysis tool OrcaFlex. The work used the wind/wave energy converter Floating Power Plant as a case study, which is defined as a large floating structure with a passive mooring system. The investigated mooring consists of a three-legged turret system with synthetic lines, and it was tested for both operational and extreme events. In order to understand the difference between the model and experimental results, no tuning of the model was done, besides adding drag elements with values found from a simplified methodology. This resembles initial design cases where no experimental data are available. Generally good agreement was found for the tensions in the lines when the drag element was applied, with some overestimation of the motions. The main cause of difference was found to be underestimation of linear damping. A model was tested with additional linear damping, and it illustrated that a final analysis needs to use experimental data to achieve the best results. However, the analyses showed that the investigated model can be used without tuning in initial investigations of mooring systems, and it is expected that this approach can be applied to other similar systems

Screening of Available Tools for Dynamic Mooring Analysis of Wave Energy Converters

The focus on alternative energy sources has increased significantly throughout the last few decades, leading to a considerable development in the wave energy sector. In spite of this, the sector cannot yet be considered commercialized, and many challenges still exist, in which mooring of floating wave energy converters is included. Different methods for assessment and design of mooring systems have been described by now, covering simple quasi-static analysis and more advanced and sophisticated dynamic analysis. Design standards for mooring systems already exist, and new ones are being developed specifically forwave energy converter moorings, which results in other requirements to the chosen tools, since these often have been aimed at other offshore sectors. The present analysis assesses a number of relevant commercial software packages for full dynamic mooring analysis in order to highlight the advantages and drawbacks. The focus of the assessment is to ensure that the software packages are capable of fulfilling the requirements of modeling, as defined in design standards and thereby ensuring that the analysis can be used to get a certified mooring system. Based on the initial assessment, the two software packages DeepC and OrcaFlex are found to best suit the requirements. They are therefore used in a case study in order to evaluate motion and mooring load response, and the results are compared in order to provide guidelines for which software package to choose. In the present study, the OrcaFlex code was found to satisfy all requirements