Recognizing mathematical talent : an approach using discriminant analysis

The aim of this paper is to extract mathematically talented students out of a group of arbitrary high school students. We do this by applying a stepwise discriminant analysis modified for ordinal data to the results of German high school students at the international mathematics competition ?Kangaroo of Mathematics?. It turns out that three of the thirty given problems are enough to discriminate between laureates, which we assume to be mathematically talented, and non-laureates. The three chosen problems are from different mathematical fields. --Discriminant analysis for ordinal data,discrete kernel estimation,testing mathematical talent,multiple choice competition

Educational expansion and its heterogeneous returns for wage workers

The paper examines the evolution of returns to education in the West German labour market over the last two decades. During this period, graduates from the period of educational expansion in the sixties and seventies entered the labour market and an upgrading of the skill structure took place. In order to tackle the issues of endogeneity of schooling and its heterogeneous returns we apply two estimation methods: Wooldridge?s (2004) approach that relies on conditional mean independence and Garen?s (1984) control function approach that requires an exclusion restriction. For the population of workers from the GSOEP, we find that both approaches produce estimates of average returns to education that decrease until the late 1990s and increase significantly afterwards. In the observation period, the gender gap in returns to education seems to vanish. Furthermore, we find that the so called ?baby boomer? cohort has the lowest average return to education in young ages. However, this effect disappears when they become older. --Educational expansion,correlated random coefficient model,heterogeneous returns to education,conditional mean independence

Educational Expansion and Its Heterogeneous Returns for Wage Workers

This paper examines the evolution of returns to education in the West German labour market over the last two decades. During this period, graduates from the period of educational expansion entered the labour market and an upgrading of the skill structure took place. In order to tackle the issues of endogeneity of schooling and its heterogeneous returns we apply two estimation methods: Wooldridge's (2004) approach that relies on conditional mean independence and Garen's (1984) control function approach that requires an exclusion restriction. For the population of workers from the SOEP, we find that both approaches produce estimates of average returns to education that decrease until the late 1990s and increase afterwards. The gender gap in returns to education seems to vanish. Furthermore, we find that the so-called "baby boomer" cohort has the lowest average return to education in young ages. However, this effect disappears over time.Returns to Education, Human Capital, Skill Upgrading, Wage Work

Language and ethnic national identity in Europe: the importance of Gaelic and Sorbian to the maintenance of associated cultures and ethno cultural identities

As many other ethno-cultural identities in Europe, the collective self perceptions of Scotland's Gaels and the Sorbs of Lusatia are undergoing considerable changes. Proceeding from the post-structuralist premise that discourse plays a crucial part in the generation of knowledge, power and social behaviour (Foucault, Derrida, Lyotard), the study addresses the ways in which the Gaelic and Sorbian elites incorporate the language aspect into narratives on cultural continuity and considers the implications of accelerated language shift towards English/German and the survivalist promotion of the ancestral medium for the maintenance of group boundaries. Its primary empirical data corpus comprises more than 100 interviews and a questionnaire survey (n=201) conducted during the late 1990s in peripheral parts of the Ghidhealtachd and bilingual territories of Lusatia, publications by Gaelic and Sorbian organisations, and relevant items from the local and national media. A brief exploration of the ways in which the two communities came to think of themselves as distinct reveals that a substantial legacy of cultural nationalism and pan-Slavism allowed the Sorbian intelligentsia to sustain a strong sense of ethnic difference throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, whereas Scotland's Gaels have never overtly embraced this paradigm in political terms. Their elite was confronted with its premises during their reinvention as Scotland's Celts and combined linguistic patriotism with calls for socioeconomic improvements during the 1880s, but it has been rather reluctant to portray contemporary and future users of the ancestral language as a distinct nation or ethnic group. To the present day, Gaels are inclined to perceive themselves to be a key component, and arguably the kernel, of the Scottish nation. The most significant overlap between Gaelic- and Sorbian-related revival discourses has been the notion that a complete decline of the traditional medium would seal the fate of the associated culture, though the underlying rationales indicate a gradual shift from an essentialising agenda of preservation and exclusion to a more liberal and pluricentric approach. A desire to withstand the homogenising forces of capitalist globalisation fuels purist attitudes with regard to specific cultural forms, many of which are thought to depend on the traditional medium and put native speakers with heartland links into positions of authority. At the same time, the Gaelic and Sorbian heritage are treated as sources of alternative values and wisdom, in which context Gaelic/Sorbian language ability is primarily valued as an access tool. Tensions between essentialist and dynamic perspectives also occur over the development of the languages themselves. They are enhanced by the assumption that the 'survival' of Gaelic and Sorbian depends in part on individuals who acquire and transmit them outside the bilingual districts, where an ability in the minority medium is more likely to generate subcultural, regional and political identities than a radical ethno-cultural reorientation. According to this study's findings, the linguocentric agendas of many Gaelic and Sorbian organisations can neither be attributed to a naive belief in linguistic determinism nor be dismissed as an entirely symbolic ingredient for the restoration of justice and pride where historic circumstances inflicted marginalisation and oppression. They are based on a justified concern that the complete demise of a linguistic boundary would make it impossible to generate separate discursive spaces, to which Gaelic and Sorbian culture have in most locations become reduced and for which a separate literature and separate electronic media are indispensable

Traditional and modern positions within the debate on definition and content of African philosophy

Die vorliegende Arbeit beschäftigt sich mit den Fragen, ob es eine afrikanische Philosophie gibt, und wenn ja, wie diese aussieht. Diese Fragen sind in der Untersuchung des Komplexes afrikanischer Philosophie fast unumgänglich und werden in zahlreichen Einleitungen von Schriften zu dem Thema eingehend angesprochen, indem der Autor für eine Einordnung seiner Position Stellung zu den Fragen bezieht. Auch in Europa haben sie noch heute eine hohe Aktualität, da die afrikanische Philosophie an europäischen Universitäten noch wenig erforscht und geringfügig vertreten ist. Die Behandlung der Fragen steht vor der grundlegenden Herausforderung, die Begriffe „afrikanisch“ und „Philosophie“ in Einklang zu bringen: Gibt es lediglich Philosophie in Afrika oder eine eigenständige afrikanische Philosophie? Ist unter „Philosophie“ eine strikte methodische Wissenschaft zu verstehen, wie sie beispielsweise an europäischen Universitäten vertreten ist? Oder ist unter „Philosophie“ die Liebe zur Weisheit, das heißt, Weisheitslehre zu verstehen, wie sie auch im traditionell-kulturellen Afrika betrieben wird? Erstere Philosophiedefinition wird von professionellen afrikanischen Philosophen vertreten, welche im Titel dieser Arbeit unter „moderne Positionen“ gefasst werden, da sie sich selbst als „Modernisten“ den „Traditionalisten“, welche die zweite Philosophiedefinition vorziehen, gegenüberstellen. Diese Philosophiedefinition setzt voraus, dass Philosophie an analytische Vorgehensweisen gebunden sind, welche die professionellen Positionen im traditionell-kulturellen Afrika noch nicht nachgewiesen sehen. Die Untersuchungen werden von dem grundsätzlichen Problem begleitet, dass nur wenige Schriften in Afrika auffindbar und erhalten sind. „Traditionelle Positionen“ plädieren – ähnlich der Vertreter interkultureller Philosophie – für eine breit gefasste Definition von Kultur und Philosophie, um so keiner Kultur den Anspruch auf Philosophie zu verwehren und ein eurozentristisches Monopol zu vermeiden. Der Gegenseite von professionellen Philosophen wird eine westlich-geprägte Ansicht auf die Definition und den Inhalt von Philosophie vorgeworfen, welche sich beispielsweise in der Einseitigkeit ausdrückt, die gegenwärtig westlich-vorherrschende Analytik in Afrika zu fordern. Aus diesen gegenübergestellten Positionen entbrannte in den 1970er Jahren in afrikanischen Philosophiekreisen die sogenannte „Große Debatte“, deren Streitpunkte in der vorliegenden Arbeit herausgearbeitet werden. Hierfür wurde die Arbeit in zwei Teile gegliedert: der erste Teil macht den Versuch, die afrikanische Philosophie in Perioden und Schulen zu gliedern und geschichtlich darzustellen. Da die grundsätzliche Frage, ob es eine afrikanische Philosophie überhaupt gibt, noch heute diskutiert wird, bleibt die geschichtliche Aufstellung eine unter mehreren. Der zweite Teil der Arbeit stellt ausgewählte Streitpunkte der Debatte in einem Diskussionsteil untersuchend dar

Kompetenzförderliche Potenziale unterhaltender Computerspiele

Basierend auf Konzepten der beruflichen und der Medienkompetenz sowie dem Forschungsstand zu Computerspielen werden sieben Kriterien zur Beurteilung des kompetenzförderlichen Potenzials von Computerspielen vorgestellt, die in einer Analyse von 30 populären Spielen zur Anwendung kamen. Die Analyse ergibt förderliche Potenziale für kognitive und persönlichkeitsbezogene Kompetenz sowie für Sensomotorik. Die Förderungspotenziale für Medien- und soziale Kompetenz fallen bei den untersuchten Singleplayer-Spielen gering aus. Einer Förderung sozialer Kompetenz steht zudem der in ethisch-normativer Hinsicht fragwürdige Gehalt vieler Spiele entgegen. Anhand der Ergebnisse wird diskutiert, ob und wie kompetenzförderliche Potenziale populärer Computerspiele in pädagogischen Kontexten zu nutzen sind. Weitergehende Forschungsperspektiven werden insbesondere in Hinblick auf die Restriktionen eines rein medienanalytischen Zugangs zur Bestimmung des kompetenzförderlichen Potenzials erörtert. (DIPF/Orig.)Based on both concepts of vocational and media competence as well as the current state of research of computer games, I shall present seven criteria for examining computer games\u27 potentialities to foster one \u27s competence in various aspects. Here, a selection of 30 popular computer games has served as the object of my study. My analysis reveals that, on the one hand, there are useful potentialities when looking at cognitive, personality related and sensorimotor skills. On the other hand however, the study of so-called single player games has shown that their benefits for media and social competence have been reduced to a minimum. Further on, the ethically normatively problematic content of most of those games is in itself very often a hindrance for the promotion of social competence. On the basis of these results, further research perspectives shall be discussed and how these potentialities can be used within an educational context. (DIPF/Orig.

Smile Dear

Woman wearing veil over headhttps://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/cht-sheet-music/11305/thumbnail.jp

Nanocluster-rich SiO2 layers produced by ion beam synthesis: electrical and optoelectronic properties

The aim of this work was to find a correlation between the electrical, optical and microstructural properties of thin SiO2 layers containing group IV nanostructures produced by ion beam synthesis. The investigations were focused on two main topics: The electrical properties of Ge- and Si-rich oxide layers were studied in order to check their suitability for non-volatile memory applications. Secondly, photo- and electroluminescence (PL and EL) results of Ge-, Si/C- and Sn-rich SiO2 layers were compared to electrical properties to get a better understanding of the luminescence mechanism

Letter to Sally Curtis AsKew regarding award of a SEAALL scholarship, December 28, 1994

A letter from Carol Gebel to Sally Curtis AsKew accepting the scholarship awarded to her