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While the 1960s and 1970s still knew permanent education (Council of Europe), recurrent education (OECD) and lifelong education (UNESCO), over the past 20 years, lifelong learning has become the single emblem for reforms in (pre-) primary, higher and adult education systems and international debates on education. Both highly industrialized and less industrialized countries embrace the concept as a response to the most diverse economic, social and demographic challenges - in many cases motivated by international organizations (IOs).
Yet, literature on the nature of this influence, the diffusion of the concept among IOs and their understanding of it is scant and usually focuses on a small set of actors. Based on longitudinal data and a large set of education documents, the work identifies rapid diffusion of the concept across a heterogeneous, expansive and dynamic international field of 88 IOs in the period 1990-2013, which is difficult to explain with functionalist accounts.
Based on the premises of world polity theory, this paper argues that what diffuses resembles less the bundle of systemic reforms usually associated with the concept in the literature and more a surprisingly detailed model of a new actor " the lifelong learner.
For decades a worldwide decline of biological diversity has been reported. Landscapes are influenced by several kinds of anthropogenic disturbances. Agricultural land use, application of fertilizers and pesticides and the removal of corridors simplify and homogenize a landscape whereas others like road constructions lead to fragmentation. Both kinds lead to a constraint of habitats, reduce living environment and gene pool, hinder gene flow and change the functional characteristics of species. Furthermore, it facilitates the introduction of alien species. On the other hand, disturbances of different temporal and spatial dimensions lead to a more diverse landscape because they prevent competitive exclusion and create niches where species are able to coexist.
This study focuses on the complexity of disturbance regimes and its influence on phytodiversity. It differs from other studies that mostly select one or few disturbance types in including all identifiable disturbances. Data were derived from three study sites in the north of Bavaria and are subject to different land-use intensities. Two landscapes underlie agriculture and forestry, of which one is intensively used and the second one rather moderate and small-scaled. The third dataset was collected on an actively used military training area. The first part of the study deals with the influence of disturbance regimes on phytodiversity, first with the focus on military disturbances, afterwards in comparison with the agricultural landscapes. The second part examines the influence of disturbance regimes on red-listed species, the distribution of neophytes and generalist plant species and the homogenization of the landscape. All analyses were conducted on landscape and local scale.
A decisive role was played by the variety of disturbance types, especially in different temporal and spatial dimensions and not by single kinds of disturbances, which significantly was proven in the military training area with its multiple and undirected disturbance regime. Homogeneous disturbance regimes that typically are found in agricultural landscapes led to a reduced species number. On local scale, the abiotic heterogeneity which originated of recent and historical disturbances superimposed the positive effects of disturbance regimes, whereas dry and nutrient-poor sites showed a negative effect. Due to a low tree density and moderate treatment species numbers were significantly higher in forest in the training area than in the two agricultural landscapes.
Numbers of red-listed species were positively correlated to the total number of species in all three sites. However, the military training area showed a significantly higher abundance within the area in comparison to the agricultural landscapes where rare species were mostly found on marginal strips. Furthermore, numbers of neophytes and generalist species were lower and consequently homogenization.
In conclusion, the military training area is an ideal landscape from a nature conservation point of view. The moderately used agricultural area showed high species numbers and agricultural productivity. However, yield is too low to withstand either abandonment or land-use intensification.
Modern agriculture is a dominant land use in Europe, although it has been associated with negative effects on biodiversity in agricultural landscapes. One species-rich insect group in agro-ecosystems is the Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies); however, the populations of a number of Lepidoptera species are currently declining. The aims of this thesis were to assess the amount and structure of field margins in agricultural landscapes, study the effects of realistic field margin input rates of agrochemicals (fertilizer and pesticides) on Lepidoptera, and provide information on moth pollination services.
In general, field margins are common semi-natural habitat elements in agro-ecosystems; however, data on the structure, size, and width of field margins is limited. An assessment in two German agricultural landscapes (4,000 ha each) demonstrated that many of the evaluated field margins were less than 3 m wide (Rhineland‐Palatinate: 85% of margin length; Brandenburg: 45% margin length). In Germany, risk mitigation measures (such as buffer zones) to reduce pesticide inputs to terrestrial non-crop habitats do not have to be established by farmers next to narrow field margins. Thus, narrow field margins receive inputs of agrochemicals, especially via overspray and spray drift. These field margins were used as a development habitat for caterpillars, but the mean abundance of caterpillars was 35 – 60% lower compared with that in meadows. Caterpillars were sensitive to realistic field margin input rates of insecticide (pyrethroid, lambda-cyhalothrin) in a field experiment as well as in laboratory experiments. Moreover, 40% fewer Hadena bicruris eggs were observed on Silene latifolia plants treated with this insecticide compared with control plants, and the flowers of these insecticide-treated plants were less likely to be pollinated by moths. In addition, realistic field margin input rates of herbicides can also affect Lepidoptera. Ranunculus acris L. plants treated with sublethal rates of a sulfonylurea herbicide were used as host plants for Mamestra brassicae L. caterpillars, which resulted in significantly lower caterpillar weights, increased time to pupation, and increased overall development time compared with caterpillars feeding on control plants. These results might have been caused by lower nutritional value of the herbicide-treated plants or increased concentrations of secondary metabolites involved in plant defense. Fertilizer applications slightly increased the caterpillar abundance in the field experiment. However, fertilizers reduce plant diversity in the long term and thus, most likely, also reduce caterpillar diversity.
Moths such as Noctuidae and Sphingidae have been observed to act as pollinators for numerous plant species, including a number of Orchidaceae and Caryophyllaceae. Although in temperate agro-ecosystems moths are less likely to act as the main pollinators for crops, they can pollinate non-crop plants in semi-natural habitats. Currently, the role of moths as pollinators appears to be underestimated, and long-term research focusing on ecosystems is necessary to address temporal fluctuations in their abundance and community composition.
Lepidoptera represent a diverse organism group in agricultural landscapes and fulfill essential ecosystem services, such as pollination. To better protect moths and butterflies, agrochemical inputs to (narrow) field margins habitats should be reduced, for example, via risk mitigation measures and agro-environmental schemes.
Global crop production increased substantially in recent decades due to agricultural intensification and expansion and today agricultural areas occupy about 38% of Earth’s terrestrial surface - the largest use of land on the planet. However, current high-intensity agricultural practices fostered in the context of the Green Revolution led to serious consequences for the global environment. Pesticides, in particular, are highly biologically active substances that can threaten the ecological integrity of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Although the global pesticide use increases steadily, our field-data based knowledge regarding exposure of non-target ecosystems such as surface waters is very restricted. Available studies have by now been limited to spatially restricted geographical areas or had rather specific objectives rendering the extrapolation to larger spatial scales questionable.
Consequently, this thesis evaluated based on four scientific publications the exposure, effects, and regulatory implications of particularly toxic insecticides` concentrations detected in global agricultural surface waters. FOCUS exposure modelling was used to characterise the highly specific insecticide exposure patterns and to analyse the resulting implications for both monitoring and risk assessment (publication I). Based on more than 200,000 scientific database entries, 838 peer-reviewed studies finally included, and more than 2,500 sites in 73 countries, the risks of agricultural insecticides to global surface waters were analysed by means of a comprehensive meta-analysis (publication II). This meta-analysis evaluated whether insecticide field concentrations exceed legally accepted regulatory threshold levels (RTLs) derived from official EU and US pesticide registration documents and, amongst others, how risks depend on insecticide development over time and stringency of environmental regulation. In addition, an in-depth analysis of the current EU pesticide regulations provided insights into the level of protection and field relevance of highly elaborated environmental regulatory risk assessment schemes (publications III and IV).
The results of this thesis show that insecticide surface water exposure is characterized by infrequent and highly transient concentration peaks of high ecotoxicological relevance. We thus argue in publication I that sampling based on regular intervals is inadequate for the detection of insecticide surface water concentrations and that traditional risk assessment concepts based on all insecticide concentrations including non-detects lead to severely biased results and critical underestimations of risks. Based on these considerations, publication II demonstrates that out of 11,300 measured insecticide concentrations (MICs; i.e., those actually detected and quantified), 52.4% (5,915 cases; 68.5%) exceeded the RTL for either water (RTLSW) or sediments. This indicates a substantial risk for the biological integrity of global water resources as additional analyses on pesticide effects in the field clearly evidence that the regional aquatic biodiversity is reduced by approximately 30% at pesticide concentrations equalling the RTLs. In addition, publication II shows that there is a complete lack of scientific monitoring data for ~90% of global cropland and that both the actual insecticide contamination of surface waters and the resulting ecological risks are most likely even greater due to, for example, inadequate sampling methods employed in the studies and the common occurrence of pesticide mixtures. A linear model analysis identified that RTLSW exceedances depend on the catchment size, sampling regime, sampling date, insecticide substance class, and stringency of countries` environmental regulations, as well as on the interactions of these factors. Importantly, the risks are significantly higher for newer-generation insecticides (i.e., pyrethroids) and are high even in countries with stringent environmental regulations. Regarding the latter, an analysis of the EU pesticide regulations revealed critical deficiencies and the lack of protectiveness and field-relevance for current presumed highly elaborated FOCUS exposure assessment (publication IV) and overall risk assessment schemes (publication III). Based on these findings, essential risk assessment amendments are proposed.
In essence, this thesis analyses the agriculture–environment linkages for pesticides at the global scale and it thereby contributes to a new research frontier in global ecotoxicology. The overall findings substantiate that agricultural insecticides are potential key drivers for the global freshwater biodiversity crisis and that the current regulatory risk assessment approaches for highly toxic anthropogenic chemicals fail to protect the global environment. This thesis provides an integrated view on the environmental side effects of global high-intensity agriculture and alerts that beside worldwide improvements to current pesticide regulations and agricultural pesticide application practices, the fundamental reformation of conventional agricultural systems is urgently needed to meet the twin challenges of providing sufficient food for a growing human population without destroying the ecological integrity of global ecosystems essential to human existence.
Aquatic macrophytes can contribute to the retention of organic contaminants in streams, whereas knowledge on the dynamics and the interaction of the determining processes is very limited. The objective of the present study was thus to assess how aquatic macrophytes influence the distribution and the fate of organic contaminants in small vegetated streams. In a first study that was performed in vegetated stream mesocosms, the peak reductions of five compounds were significantly higher in four vegetated stream mesocosms compared to a stream mesocosm without vegetation. Compound specific sorption to macrophytes was determined, the mass retention in the vegetated streams, however, did not explain the relationship between the mitigation of contaminant peaks and macrophyte coverage. A subsequent mesocosm study revealed that the mitigation of peak concentrations in the stream mesocosms was governed by two fundamentally different processes: dispersion and sorption. Again, the reductions of the peak concentrations of three different compounds were in the same order of magnitude in a sparsely and a densely vegetated stream mesocosm, respectively, but higher compared to an unvegetated stream mesocosm. The mitigation of the peak reduction in the sparsely vegetated stream mesocosm was found to be fostered by longitudinal dispersion as a result of the spatial distribution of the macrophytes in the aqueous phase. The peak reduction attributable to longitudinal dispersion was, however, reduced in the densely vegetated stream mesocosm, which was compensated by compound-specific but time-limited and reversible sorption to macrophytes. The observations on the reversibility of sorption processes were subsequently confirmed by laboratory experiments. The experiments revealed that sorption to macrophytes lead to compound specific elimination from the aqueous phase during the presence of transient contaminant peaks in streams. After all, these sorption processes were found to be fully reversible, which results in the release of the primarily adsorbed compounds, once the concentrations in the aqueous phase starts to decrease. Nevertheless, the results of the present thesis demonstrate that the processes governing the mitigation of contaminant loads in streams are fundamentally different to those already described for non-flowing systems. In addition, the present thesis provides knowledge on how the interaction of macrophyte-induced processes in streams contributes to mitigate loads of organic contaminants and the related risk for aquatic environments.
Engineered nanoparticles are emerging pollutants. Their increasing use in commercial products suggests a similar increase of their concentrations in the environment. Studying the fate of engineered colloids in the environment is highly challenging due to the complexity of their possible interactions with the main actors present in aquatic systems. Solution chemistry is one of the most central aspects. In particular, the interactions with dissolved organic matter (DOM) and with natural colloids are still weakly understood.
The aim of this work was to further develop the dedicated analytical methods required for investigating the fate of engineered colloids in environmental media as influenced by DOM. Reviewing the literature on DOM interactions with inorganic colloids revealed that a systematic characterization of both colloids and DOM, although essential, lacks in most studies and that further investigations on the fractionation of DOM on the surface of engineered colloids is needed. Another knowledge gap concerns the effects of DOM on the dynamic structure of colloid agglomerates. For this question, analytical techniques dedicated to the characterization of agglomerates in environmental media at low concentrations are required. Such techniques should remain accurate at low concentrations, be specific, widely matrix independent and free of artefact due to sample preparation. Unfortunately, none of the currently available techniques (microscopy, light scattering based methods, separation techniques etc.) fulfills these requirements.
However, a compromise was found with hydrodynamic chromatography coupled to inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (HDC-ICP-MS). This method has the potential to size inorganic particles in complex media in concentration ranges below ppb and is element specific; however, its limitations were not systematically explored. In this work, the potential of this method has been further explored. The simple size separation mechanism ensures a high flexibility of the elution parameters and universal calibration can be accurately applied to particles of different compositions and surface chemistries. The most important limitations of the method are its low size resolution and the effect of the particle shape on the retention factor. The implementation of HDC coupled to single particle ICP-MS (HDC-SP-ICP-MS) offers new possibilities for the recognition of particle shape and hence the differentiation between primary particles and homoagglomerates. Therefore, this coupling technique is highly attractive for monitoring the effects of DOM on the stability of colloids in complex media. The versatility of HDC ICP MS is demonstrated by its successful applications to diverse samples. In particular, it has been used to investigate the stability of citrate stabilized silver colloids in reconstituted natural water in the presence of different types of natural organic matter. These particles were stable for at least one hour independently of the type of DOM used and the pH, in accordance with a coauthored publication addressing the stability of silver colloids in the River Rhine. Direct monitoring of DOM adsorption on colloids was not possible using UV and fluorescence detectors. Preliminary attempts to investigate the adsorption mechanism of humic acids on silver colloids using fluorescence spectroscopy suggest that fluorescent molecules are not adsorbed on silver particles. Several solutions for overcoming the encountered difficulties in the analysis of DOM interactions are proposed and the numerous perspectives offered by further developments and applications of HDC-(SP)-ICP-MS in environmental sciences are discussed in detail.
Traditional Driver Assistance Systems (DAS) like for example Lane Departure Warning Systems or the well-known Electronic Stability Program have in common that their system and software architecture is static. This means that neither the number and topology of Electronic Control Units (ECUs) nor the presence and functionality of software modules changes after the vehicles leave the factory.
However, some future DAS do face changes at runtime. This is true for example for truck and trailer DAS as their hardware components and software entities are spread over both parts of the combination. These new requirements cannot be faced by state-of-the-art approaches of automotive software systems. Instead, a different technique of designing such Distributed Driver Assistance Systems (DDAS) needs to be developed. The main contribution of this thesis is the development of a novel software and system architecture for dynamically changing DAS using the example of driving assistance for truck and trailer. This architecture has to be able to autonomously detect and handle changes within the topology. In order to do so, the system decides which degree of assistance and which types of HMI can be offered every time a trailer is connected or disconnected. Therefore an analysis of the available software and hardware components as well as a determination of possible assistance functionality and a re-configuration of the system take place. Such adaptation can be granted by the principles of Service-oriented Architecture (SOA). In this architectural style all functionality is encapsulated in self-contained units, so-called Services. These Services offer the functionality through well-defined interfaces whose behavior is described in contracts. Using these Services, large-scale applications can be built and adapted at runtime. This thesis describes the research conducted in achieving the goals described by introducing Service-oriented Architectures into the automotive domain. SOA deals with the high degree of distribution, the demand for re-usability and the heterogeneity of the needed components.
It also applies automatic re-configuration in the event of a system change. Instead of adapting one of the frameworks available to this scenario, the main principles of Service-orientation are picked up and tailored. This leads to the development of the Service-oriented Driver Assistance (SODA) framework, which implements the benefits of Service-orientation while ensuring compatibility and compliance to automotive requirements, best-practices and standards. Within this thesis several state-of-the-art Service-oriented frameworks are analyzed and compared. Furthermore, the SODA framework as well as all its different aspects regarding the automotive software domain are described in detail. These aspects include a well-defined reference model that introduces and relates terms and concepts and defines an architectural blueprint. Furthermore, some of the modules of this blueprint such as the re-configuration module and the Communication Model are presented in full detail. In order to prove the compliance of the framework regarding state-of-the-art automotive software systems, a development process respecting today's best practices in automotive design procedures as well as the integration of SODA into the AUTOSAR standard are discussed. Finally, the SODA framework is used to build a full-scale demonstrator in order to evaluate its performance and efficiency.
Animationen können in instruktionalen Kontexten genutzt werden, um Wissen über Sachverhalte zu vermitteln, die Prozesse oder Abläufe beinhalten. So können dynamische Sachverhalte explizit dargestellt werden und müssen nicht vom Lerner selbst in Gedanken hergestellt, sondern nur anhand der Animation nachvollzogen werden. Dies sollte sich positiv auf den Wissenserwerb auswirken. Dabei stellen Animationen mit ihrer besonderen Eigenschaft der Darstellung zeitlicher Abläufe besondere Herausforderungen an den Lerner. Das menschliche Informationsverarbeitungssystem unterliegt bestimmten Begrenzungen im Hinblick auf die Wahrnehmung von Geschwindigkeiten. Zu schnelle und zu langsame Geschwindigkeiten können beispielsweise nur schwer wahrgenommen und dementsprechend auch nicht kognitiv verarbeitet werden. Die Zielsetzung der Arbeit, die sich daraus ergibt, war eine systematische Untersuchung der Wirkung unterschiedlicher Präsentationsgeschwindigkeiten auf das Wahrnehmen und Verstehen eines dynamischen Sachverhaltes anhand einer Animation.
Um die Fragestellungen der Arbeit beantworten zu können, wurden vier experimentelle Studien durchgeführt. Die Pilotstudie hatte das Ziel, sowohl das Lernmaterial als auch den entwickelten Wissenstest zu evaluieren. In Studie 1 wurde der Frage nach dem Einfluss der Präsentationsgeschwindigkeit auf den Wissenserwerb beim Lernen mit einer interaktiven Animation nachgegangen.
Die Studien 2 und 3 untersuchten den Einfluss verschiedener Reihenfolgen von Geschwindigkeiten auf den Wissenserwerb. Hier ging es um eine systematische Erfassung der perzeptuellen und kognitiven Verarbeitung dynamischer Informationen in zwei verschiedenen Geschwindigkeiten mittels Blickbewegungsmessung (Studie 2) und wiederholten Testungen des Wissenserwerbs zwischen den einzelnen Lernphasen (Studie 3).
Die Ergebnisse der Studien deuten darauf hin, dass bei langsamer Geschwindigkeit Wissen über Ereignisse auf untergeordneter zeitlicher Ebene erworben wurde und dass je schneller eine Animation gesehen wurde, umso mehr anteiliges Wissen auf einer übergeordneten zeitlichen Ebene erworben wurde (Studie 1), aber eindeutige Aussagen über den Einfluss der Geschwindigkeit auf den Wissenserwerb auf verschiedenen zeitlichen Hierarchieebenen lassen sich aufgrund der Ergebnisse der Studien nicht machen. Im Hinblick auf die Lernförderlichkeit verschiedener Arten der Sequenzierung von Geschwindigkeiten zeigten sich auch keine eindeutigen Ergebnisse. Aufgrund der Analyse der Blickbewegungsdaten deutet sich jedoch an, dass die Reihenfolge "langsam - schnell" den Bedingungen auf Seiten der Lerner eher entgegen kommt als die Reihenfolge "schnell - langsam".
Immersion into narrative worlds - theoretical and empirical approaches to audience experience
(2015)
Die vorliegende Dissertation widmet sich dem Phänomen des Erlebens der Rezeption von audiovisuellen narrativen unterhaltenden Medieninhalten. Dieses wird zunächst in die Rezeptions- und Wirkungsforschung eingeordnet und für das weitere Vorgehen konkretisiert: Transportation und Narrative Engagement stellen aktuell die beiden wichtigsten Konzepte der Medienpsychologie bezüglich der Nutzung und Wirkung von Geschichten dar.
Anschließend werden drei Fragestellungen bearbeitet. Bisher standen Forscher und Forscherinnen vor dem Problem der Manipulation des Rezeptionserlebens. Daher wurden in der vorliegenden Arbeit zwei Verfahren vorgeschlagen und in vier experimentellen Studien geprüft. Der Einsatz von Rezensionen erwies sich als geeignet, um bei allen narrativen unterhaltenden Texten das Rezeptionserleben ökonomisch zu manipulieren. Weiterhin gibt es bislang kein etabliertes Verfahren zur rezeptionsbegleitenden Messung des Rezeptionserlebens.
In dieser Arbeit wurde ein Verfahren aus einer Kombination von Real Time Response Measurement (RTR), Secondary Task Reaction Times (STRT) und der Erhebung der Lidschlagfrequenz entwickelt. Vor allem RTR war in der Lage, die im Zusammenhang mit dem Rezeptionserleben auftretenden emotionalen Prozesse zu erfassen. Die Befürchtung, die rezeptionsbegleitenden Messmethoden könnten das Rezeptionserleben verhindern, wurde in einer weiteren experimentellen Studie größtenteils entkräftet. Zuletzt wurde der Prozess des Zusammenfassens des Rezeptionserlebens in ein postrezeptives Urteil thematisiert. Nach der Entwicklung eines Rahmenmodells der Beantwortung postrezeptiver Skalen wurde in einer weiteren Studie die Bedeutung verschiedener Verlaufsparameter für das postrezeptive Urteil untersucht. Vier ausgesuchte Parameter zusammen können das postrezeptive Urteil besser erklären als der Verlaufs-Mittelwert. Die Arbeit schließt mit einer Diskussion, in der unter anderem die dynamische und die postrezeptive Messung des Rezeptionserlebens aufeinanderrnbezogen werden und hinsichtlich ihrer Bedeutung kritische Würdigung erfahren.
Placing questions before the material or after the material constitute different reading situations. To adapt to these reading situations, readers may apply appropriate reading strategies. Reading strategy caused by location of question has been intensively explored in the context of text comprehension. (1) However, there is still not enough knowledge about whether text plays the same role as pictures when readers apply different reading strategies. To answer this research question, three reading strategies are experimentally manipulated by displaying question before or after the blended text and picture materials: (a) Unguided processing with text and pictures and without the question. (b) Information gathering to answer the questions after the prior experience with text and pictures. (c) Comprehending text and pictures to solve the questions with the prior information of the questions. (2) Besides, it is arguable whether readers prefer text or pictures when the instructed questions are in different difficulty levels. (3) Furthermore, it is still uncertain whether students from higher school tier (Gymnasium) emphasize more on text or on pictures than students from lower school tier (Realschule). (4) Finally, it is rarely mentioned whether higher graders are more able to apply reading strategies in text processing and picture processing than lower graders.
Two experiments were undertaken to investigate the usage of text and pictures in the perspectives of task orientation, question difficulty, school and grade. For a 2x2(x2x2x2) mixed design adopting eye tracking method, participants were recruited from grade 5 (N = 72) and grade 8 (N = 72). In Experiment 1, thirty-six 5th graders were recruited from higher tier (Gymnasium) and thirty-six 5th graders were from lower tier (Realschule). In Experiment 2, thirty-six 8th graders were recruited from higher tier and thirty-six were from lower tier. They were supposed to comprehend the materials combining text and pictures and to answer the questions. A Tobii XL60 eye tracker recorded their eye movements and their answers to the questions. Eye tracking indicators were analyzed and reported, such as accumulated fixation duration, time to the first fixation and transitions between different Areas of Interest. The results reveal that students process text differently from pictures when they follow different reading strategies. (1) Consistent with Hypothesis 1, students mainly use text to construct their mental model in unguided spontaneous processing of text and pictures. They seem to mainly rely on the pictures as external representations when trying to answer questions after the prior experience with the material. They emphasize on both text and pictures when questions are presented before the material. (2) Inconsistent with Hypothesis 2, students are inclined to emphasize on text and on pictures as question difficulty increases. However, the increase of focus on pictures is more than on text when the presented question is difficult. (3) Different from Hypothesis 3, the current study discovers that higher tier students did not differ from lower tier students in text processing. Conversely, students from higher tier attend more to pictures than students from lower tier. (4) Differed from Hypothesis 4, 8th graders outperform 5th graders mainly in text processing. Only a subtle difference is found between 5th graders and 8th graders in picture processing.
To sum up, text processing differs from picture processing when applying different reading strategies. In line with the Integrative Model of Text and Picture Comprehension by Schnotz (2014), text is likely to play a major part in guiding the processing of meaning or general reading, whereas pictures are applied as external representations for information retrieval or selective reading. When question is difficulty, pictures are emphasized due to their advantages in visualizing the internal structure of information. Compared to lower tier students (poorer problem solvers), higher tier students (good problem solvers) are more capable of comprehending pictures rather than text. Eighth graders are more efficient than 5th graders in text processing rather than picture processing. It also suggests that in designing school curricula, more attention should be paid to students’ competence on picture comprehension or text-picture integration in the future.
Massenprozessmanagement
(2015)
This dissertation answers the research question which basically suitable approaches and which necessary information technologies are to be considered for the management of business processes in large amounts (Mass Business Process Management, MBPM) in service companies. It could be shown that for the execution of mass processes a special approach that uses methods of the manufacturing industry is necessary. The research aim to develop an MBPM approach for service companies was accomplished by using the Design Science Research approach and is explained in this dissertation in consecutive steps. For the development of the MBPM approach a longitudinal indepth case study was conducted with a business process outsourcing provider to gain insights from his approach. Outsourcing providers have to produce their services in a very efficient and effective way, otherwise they will not be able to offer their products at favorable conditions. It was shown that the factory-oriented approach of the out-sourcing service provider in the observation period of ten years was suitable to execute mass processes of highest quality, at constantly decreasing prices with less and less people.
The assumed need for research concerning MBPM was verified on the basis of an extensive literature research based on the Journal Rating VHB-Jourqual and other literature sources. As many approaches for the introduction of BPM were found, a selection of BPM approaches was analyzed to gain further insights for the development of the MBPM approach. Based on the analysis and the comparison of the different BPM approaches as well as the comparison with the approach of the process outsourcing provider it was found, that BPM and MBPM differ in many aspects. MBPM has a strong operational focus and needs intensive IT support. The operative focus mainly shows in the operative control of processes and people as well as in the corresponding high demands on process transparency. With detailed monitoring and fine grained process measurements as well as timely reporting this process transparency is achieved. Information technology is needed for example to conduct process monitoring timely but also to give internal as well as external stakeholders the desired overview of the current workload and of the invoicing of services.
Contrary to the approach of the process outsourcing provider it could also been shown, that change management can influence the implementation, the continuous operation and the constant change associated with MBPM in a positive way.
“Mittelstand” businesses are the backbone of the German economy. To operate effectively, these businesses require sufficient financing provided through adequate financing instruments. Yet, which characteristics do capital seekers value in adequate financing instruments? Despite the macroeconomic relevance of the topic, only few empirical studies exist to this date, which examine the financing behaviour of “Mittelstand”. For the paper at hand, all PREPS financed German businesses were asked to fill out an online survey. PREPS is a standardized mezzanine financing instrument, which was offered to “Mittelstand” businesses with a high degree of credit worthiness - primarily to finance business growth. PREPS financed businesses are of particular interest for this research as they can choose from the greatest variety of financing options amongst their peers due to their size and credit worthiness. Financing instruments differ in terms of rights and obligations associated with them. Depending on their design, financing contracts can fulfil a variety of functions beyond the obvious supply of liquidity, such as financial transformation, influencing of behaviours, and signalling private information. The paper at hand suggests that the businesses in question selected the same financing instrument, however, for different reasons. Furthermore, the degree of appreciation for certain characteristics of the financing instrument varies with business and situation specific context. When exploring individual hypotheses on how individual factors influence this degree of appreciation for certain financing characteristics, this paper builds on core capital structure theories as well as recent empirical insights in regards to financing behaviour. In addition, the paper examines several explorative hypotheses.
Die Basis für die Untersuchung bilden die theoretischen Erkenntnisse zur Transition und zum Fremdsprachenunterricht. In der Studie wurden saarländische Grundschullehrer und Gymnasiallehrer zu für den Fremdsprachenunterricht relevanten Aspekten befragt. Aus den Ergebnissen wurden Konsequenzen für die Bildungspolitik und die Unterrichtspraxis abgeleitet.