Why Does Height Matter for Educational Attainment? Evidence from German Pre-Teen Children

Several studies have shown that body height is positively associated with educational attainment. In this paper, we investigate the mechanisms behind this relationship using data on German pre-teen students. We show that (i) taller children are more likely to enroll in ‘Gymnasium’, the most academic secondary school track, and that (ii) primary school teachers give better recommendations to taller students. This holds even when controlling for academic achievement and parental background. In addition, we present some evidence that height and social skills are positively associated already at age 2-3. Our results imply that controlling for social skills would significantly reduce estimates of the height-school premium. With respect to education policy, our findings suggest that early school tracking might increase disadvantages for students with low social skills.height, educational tracking, educational attainment, social skills

A new instrument – motivational postures in practice:Action research into the role of motivational postures in the enforcement of social security legislation in the Netherlands

Based on previous research on enforcement of social security in the Netherlands, we introduced the perspective “smart enforcement” (Hertogh, Bantema, Weyers, Winter & De Winter). When we ignore other factors and circumstances, we see that the (experienced) sanctioning is not, but the (experienced) persuasion is related to compliance. The extent to which beneficiaries comply with the obligations of their benefit depends on the perceived chance of being caught and the profit that is expected from the violation. Our research shows that the motivational postures of beneficiaries are important for compliance. The individual profile of beneficiaries can be mapped based on five "motivational postures" distinguished by Valerie Braithwaite: commitment, capitulation, resistance, disengagement and game playing. The first two attitudes are characterized by a positive attitude toward the law and law enforcement, and the remaining three attitudes are characterized by an increasing negative attitude. A person can have multiple motivational postures at the same time. "Commitment" and "capitulation" have a positive relationship with compliance, while "resistance," "disengagement" and "game playing” are negatively related to compliance. The level of compliance in social security benefits not so much from "more" enforcement, but from "smarter" enforcement. In other words, the effectiveness of enforcement in social security is not only determined by tougher or softer measures, but also by the extent to which the enforcement style is tailored to the specific backgrounds and expectations of the beneficiary. The principle of "smart enforcement" is that the individual profile of the beneficiary must be taken into account as much as possible when setting up the enforcement relationship. Enforcers should be able to match their behavior to the profile of beneficiaries. To help employees determine the profile of their clients, we developed an electronic analysis tool (the ‘prototype’). We tested the prototype at one social assistance agency in the Netherlands. After the test-phase, we interviewed beneficiaries and employees about their experiences with the prototype

Competence-based Personnel Scheduling through Production Data

Personnel scheduling closes the missing link between personnel and production planning in manufacturing companies. Personnel scheduling has a significant impact on the development of employee competencies and the achievement of production goals. Nevertheless, in industrial practice the performance of the employee is not considered in production planning. According to the 5th Global Productivity Study of the Proudfoot Consulting 37% of working time is wasted, which is mainly due to a lack of planning and control. A major reason is the difficult measurability of employee competence and performance. In this paper, a method that describes the influence of employees on the processing and set-up time and its implementation at a manufacturer of thread parts is shown. For this, production data is statistically evaluated to predict the employee's influence. This information will be used by an algorithm for personnel scheduling. Thus, the highest possible competence development can be achieved in accordance with the utilization of the production. © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier

Detecting the Upturn of the Solar 8^8B Neutrino Spectrum with LENA

LENA (Low Energy Neutrino Astronomy) has been proposed as a next generation 50 kt liquid scintillator detector. The large target mass allows a high precision measurement of the solar $^8$B neutrino spectrum, with an unprecedented energy threshold of 2 MeV. Hence, it can probe the MSW-LMA prediction for the electron neutrino survival probability in the transition region between vacuum and matter-dominated neutrino oscillations. Based on Monte Carlo simulations of the solar neutrino and the corresponding background spectra, it was found that the predicted upturn of the solar $^8$B neutrino spectrum can be detected with 5 sigma significance after 5 y

Lust und Schmerz als sexuelle Konzepte? Warum es im vormodernen China keinen Sadomasochismus gab

In der altchinesischen philosophischen und erotischen Literatur finden sich offenbar keine sexuellen Konzepte, die sich als sadistisch oder masochistisch deuten lassen. Der Sadomasochismus war im vormodernen China, auch wenn er gelegentlich praktiziert worden zu sein scheint, keine signifikante sexuelle Vorliebe. Allerdings kannte das alte China durchaus die Verbindung von Lust und Schmerz, und zwar in der konfuzianischen Kindespietät, die in der Kaiserzeit als höchste Tugend galt und in teilweise bizarren Geschichten exem­plifiziert wurde