WAKING (TO) THINKING BEING: A STUDY OF EDUCATION, METAPHYSICS, MIND, AND LANGUAGE

This dissertation articulates the basic aims and achievements of education. It recognizes language as central to thinking, and philosophy and education as belonging profoundly to one another. The first step is to show that although philosophy can no longer claim to dictate the foundations of knowledge or of disciplines of inquiry, it still offers an exceptionally general level of self-understanding. Education is equally general and faces a similar crisis of self-identity, of coming to terms with reality. Language is the medium of thought and the repository of historical mind; so a child’s acquisition of language is her acquisition of rational freedom. This marks a metaphysical change: no longer merely an animal, she comes to exercise her powers of rationality, transcending her environment by seeking and expressing reasons for thinking and doing. She can think about herself in relation to the universe, hence philosophize and educate others in turn. The discussion then turns to the historical nature of language. The thinking already embedded in language always anticipates further questioning. Etymology serves as a model for philosophical understanding, and demonstrates how philosophy can continue to yield insights that are fundamental, but not foundational, to human life. The etymologies of some basic educational concepts disclose education as a leading out and into the midst of Being. The philosophical approach developed in previous chapters applies to the very idea of an educational aim. Discussion concerning the substantiality of educational ideals results in an impasse: one side recommends an open-­ended understanding of education’s aims; the other insists on a definitive account. However, educational ideals exhibit a conceptual duality: the fundamental achievements of education, such as rational freedom, are real; but how we should understand them remains an open question. The penultimate chapter investigates philosophical thinking as the fulfillment of rational freedom, whose creative insights can profoundly transform our everyday activities. That this transformative self-understanding is without end suggests the basic aims of education are unheimlich. The dissertation concludes with speculative reflection on the shape and nature of language, and with the suggestion that through education reality awakens to itself.

The Reversal of Gender Inequalities in Enrollment in Higher Education in Cape Verde

Higher education is nowadays the main driver of development of knowledge, science and hence, the wellbeing of various people in different countries. On the other hand, gender inequalities represent a delay toward this status. Gender inequalities have been proven to be a great barrier to the development of the full human being’s potential and if it manifests in education, their effect will be worse. This research paper seeks to determine what drives the reversal of gender inequalities in enrollment in higher education in Cape Verde. The paper outlines the struggles for a more equal society and look for different reasons behind this phenomenon. This study has brought out some barriers that interfere with an equal enrollment in that level of Education. The objective of this study is to raise awareness about the need to change the positive measures related to girls, and use some of them to encourage boys in the education field because they are lagging behind in all levels of education.

Mobile Technologies: Expectancy, Usage, and Acceptance of Clinical Staff and Patients at a University Medical Center

BACKGROUND: Despite their increasing popularity, little is known about how users perceive mobile devices such as smartphones and tablet PCs in medical contexts. Available studies are often restricted to evaluating the success of specific interventions and do not adequately cover the users' basic attitudes, for example, their expectations or concerns toward using mobile devices in medical settings. OBJECTIVE: The objective of the study was to obtain a comprehensive picture, both from the perspective of the patients, as well as the doctors, regarding the use and acceptance of mobile devices within medical contexts in general well as the perceived challenges when introducing the technology. METHODS: Doctors working at Hannover Medical School (206/1151, response 17.90%), as well as patients being admitted to this facility (213/279, utilization 76.3%) were surveyed about their acceptance and use of mobile devices in medical settings. Regarding demographics, both samples were representative of the respective study population. GNU R (version 3.1.1) was used for statistical testing. Fisher's exact test, two-sided, alpha=.05 with Monte Carlo approximation, 2000 replicates, was applied to determine dependencies between two variables. RESULTS: The majority of participants already own mobile devices (doctors, 168/206, 81.6%; patients, 110/213, 51.6%). For doctors, use in a professional context does not depend on age (P=.66), professional experience (P=.80), or function (P=.34); gender was a factor (P=.009), and use was more common among male (61/135, 45.2%) than female doctors (17/67, 25%). A correlation between use of mobile devices and age (P=.001) as well as education (P=.002) was seen for patients. Minor differences regarding how mobile devices are perceived in sensitive medical contexts mostly relate to data security, patients are more critical of the devices being used for storing and processing patient data; every fifth patient opposed this, but nevertheless, 4.8% of doctors (10/206) use their devices for this purpose. Both groups voiced only minor concerns about the credibility of the provided content or the technical reliability of the devices. While 8.3% of the doctors (17/206) avoided use during patient contact because they thought patients might be unfamiliar with the devices, (25/213) 11.7% of patients expressed concerns about the technology being too complicated to be used in a health context. CONCLUSIONS: Differences in how patients and doctors perceive the use of mobile devices can be attributed to age and level of education; these factors are often mentioned as contributors of the problems with (mobile) technologies. To fully realize the potential of mobile technologies in a health care context, the needs of both the elderly as well as those who are educationally disadvantaged need to be carefully addressed in all strategies relating to mobile technology in a health context.

Quality audit in the European higher education area. A comparison of approaches

The publication illustrates various approaches to auditing and reflects on their merit, as well as outlines the implementation of audits in different higher education systems across Europe. One focus is to show common aspects and apparent deviations concerning purpose and aim of the audit, national legislation, scope of the audit, external assessments and their effects. In addition it reflects on current and future challenges and developments. Contributions from twelve European quality assurance agencies provide an insight into their audit approaches. The publication is targeted at quality assurance agencies, higher education institutions and other stakeholders and aims to increase knowledge about different quality assurance procedures across borders. With contributions by: Kastelliz, Dietlinde; Müller Strassnig, Annina; Kohler, Alexander; Huertas, Esther; Adot, Esther; Perez de la Calle, Jose Antonio; Balboa, Esther; Danian, Rado Mircea; Sarbu, Oana; Pedersen, Lars; Moitus, Sirpa; Leetz, Friederike; Froestad, Wenche; van Galen, Stephan; Le Fort, Genevieve; McLaughlin, Maureen; Crum, Ailsa.

The age of studies and reports: selected elements concerning the background of encounters defining the power of education

In the present paper, we discuss the time before the “age of reports”. Besides the Coleman Report in the period of Coleman, the Lady Plowden Report also appeared, while there were important studies in France (Bourdieu & Passeron, 1964; Peyre, 1959) and studies that inaugurated comprehensive education in Nordic countries. We focus on the period after the World War II, which was marked by rising economic nationalism, on the one hand, and by the second wave of mass education, on the other, bearing the promise of more equality and a reduction of several social inequalities, both supposed to be ensured by school. It was a period of great expectations related to the power of education and the rise of educational meritocracy. On this background, in the second part of the paper, the authors attempt to explore the phenomenon of the aforementioned reports, which significantly questioned the power of education and, at the same time, enabled the formation of evidence-based education policies. In this part of the paper, the central place is devoted to the case of socialist Yugoslavia/Slovenia and its striving for more equality and equity through education. Through the socialist ideology of more education for all, socialist Yugoslavia, with its exaggerated stress on the unified school and its overemphasised belief in simple equality, overstepped the line between relying on comprehensive education as an important mechanism for increasing the possibility of more equal and just education, on the one hand, and the myth of the almighty unified school capable of eradicating social inequalities, especially class inequalities, on the other. With this radical approach to the reduction of inequalities, socialist policy in the then Yugoslavia paradoxically reduced the opportunity for greater equality, and even more so for more equitable education. (DIPF/Orig.)

"Natural Enemies" or Intentional Allies? Teachers' & Parents' Perspectives on Middle School Boys of Color

This study examined the perspectives and “shared knowledge” of parents and teachers of boys of color. The following overarching research question guided this study: “What do parents and teachers want each other to know about their middle school son or student of color regarding academics, engagement, and behavior?” Additionally, it explored the challenges and opportunities for shared knowledge and understanding of their (respective) son’s’ or students’ academics and engagement. The methodology was qualitative in nature and the intent in conducting this case study was to describe, interpret, and explain the “shared knowledge” between these stakeholders at a predominantly minority middle school. A sample of seven parents and seven teachers from one school in a mid-Atlantic state participated in interviews and focus groups. Results indicated that parents and teachers of boys of color viewed each other as “intentional allies.” Results further showed that parents and teachers were aware of the challenges faced by boys of color in and out of school. That awareness was reflected in strategies that both groups employed to support, prepare, and protect their son/students. Lastly, the study found that teachers received no formal training in building parent-teacher partnerships, but gathered experimental knowledge on how to build those relationships. These findings have implications for teacher education programs, schools, parents, and teachers.

Sources of Information about Dietary Fibre: A Cross-Country Survey

Problem statement: Dietary fibre (DF) has been recognized as a major determinant for improvement of health. Hence the means of information through which people become aware of its benefits are crucial. Research questions: Where do you usually find information about dietary fibre? What means of communication do you consider the most appropriate to encourage the consumption of dietary fibre? Purpose of the study: This work aimed at studying the sources of information about dietary fibre, as a means to educate people about aspects related to healthy eating. Factors such as gender, level of education, living environment or country were evaluated as to their effect on the selection of sources and preferences.   Research Methods: Descriptive cross-sectional study by means of a questionnaire, applied to a non-probabilistic sample of 6010 participants from 10 countries in different continents (Europe, Africa and America), answered after informed consent by all participants. For the analysis were used several descriptive statistics tools, crosstabs and chi square test to assess the relations between some of the variables under study. Findings: Mostly the information about DF comes from the internet, but television is recognized as suitable. Differences were found between genders, levels of education, living environments and countries. The internet (preferred source), got highest scores for Hungary, urban areas, university education and female gender. The radio (least scored source) was preferred in Egypt, for men and with lower education (primary school). Conclusions: People get information through the internet due to easy access. However, it is to some extent a risk given the impossibility to control de information made public on the internet. The role of health centres and hospitals as well as schools should definitely be increased, as a responsible way to ensure correct information.

A comparison of risky sexual behaviours between circumcised and uncircumcised men aged 30-44 years in Botswana.

Background: The principal mode of HIV transmission in Southern Africa is through sexual intercourse, and this has prompted uptake of safe male circumcision. Engaging in risky sexual behaviour by circumcised men increases the risks of acquiring HIV, though male circumcision coupled with preventive behaviour reduces this risk. Objective: To compare the factors associated with risky sexual behaviour among circumcised and uncircumcised men in Botswana. Methods: Nationally representative data from the Botswana AIDS Impact Survey III were used. A sample of 313 sexually active men was used. The data was analysed by cross-tabulation and logistic regression. Results: The study revealed that uncircumcised men (odds ratio, 5.711) were more likely to have sex while intoxicated with alcohol compared to circumcised men. Low levels of education (odds ratio, 8.736), urban residency (city/town: odds ratio, 1.238 and urban village: odds ratio, 1.098) were more likely to influence risky behaviour (more than one sexual partner) for circumcised men. The results also show that marital status (never married) (odds ratio, 1.947) influences risky behaviour (having sex while intoxicated with alcohol) among uncircumcised men. Conclusion: Low level of education, place of residence and alcohol consumption influences risky sexual behaviour for both circumcised and uncircumcised men. Policies and programmes should thus focus on the attitudes underlying sexual behaviour.

Effective Approaches to Enhancing the Social Dimension of Higher Education

Despite all intentions in the course of the Bologna Process and decades of investment into improving the social dimension, results in many national and international studies show that inequity remains stubbornly persistent, and that inequity based on socio-economic status, parental education, gender, country-of-origin, rural background and more continues to prevail in our Higher Education systems and at the labour market. While improvement has been shown, extrapolation of the gains of the last 40 years in the field show that it could take over 100 years for disadvantaged groups to catch up with their more advantaged peers, should the current rate of improvement be maintained. Many of the traditional approaches to improving equity have also necessitated large-scale public investments, in the form of direct support to underrepresented groups. In an age of austerity, many countries in Europe are finding it necessary to revisit and scale down these policies, so as to accommodate other priorities, such as balanced budgets or dealing with an aging population. An analysis of the current situation indicates that the time is ripe for disruptive innovations to mobilise the cause forward by leaps and bounds, instead of through incrementalist approaches. Despite the list of programmes in this analysis there is very little evidence as to the causal link between programmes, methodologies for their use and increases/improvements in equity in institutions. This creates a significant information gap for institutions and public authorities seeking for indicators to allocate limited resources to equity improving initiatives, without adequate evidence of effectiveness. The IDEAS project and this publication aims at addressing and improving this information gap. (DIPF/Orig.)

The problem posed by exam choice on the comparability of results in the Finnish matriculation examination

The article focuses on the upper secondary matriculation examination in Finland as a school leaving and university entrance examination. The presented research addresses the question of whether increased choice of the subject-specific examinations has the potential to undermine the comparability of examination results and to direct students’ choices not only in the examination but already beforehand at school. The authors refer to Finland’s tradition of more than 160 years of a national examination connecting the academic track of upper secondary schools with universities. The authors explain the Finnish system by describing the adoption of a course-based (vs. class- or year-based) curriculum for the three-year upper secondary education and the subsequent reforms in the matriculation examination. This increases students’ choices considerably with regard to the subject-specific exams included in the examination (a minimum of four). As a result, high-achieving students compete against each other in the more demanding subjects while the less able share the same normal distribution of grades in the less demanding subjects. As a consequence, students tend to strategic exam-planning, which in turn affects their study choices at school, often to the detriment of the more demanding subjects and, subsequently, of students’ career opportunities, endangering the traditional national objective of an all-round pre-academic upper secondary education. This contribution provides an overview of Finnish upper secondary education and of the matriculation examination (cf. Klein, 2013) while studying three separate but related issues by using data from several years of Finnish matriculation results: the relation of the matriculation examination and the curriculum; the problems of comparability vis-à-vis university entry due to the increased choice within the examination; the relations between students’ examination choices and their course selection and achievement during upper secondary school. (DIPF/Orig.)

Editorial. Marketization and commodification of adult education

The editorial presents the articles of this issue on the topic of marketization and commodification of adult education of which some are conceptual and some empirical. (DIPF/Orig.)

Smoking, depression, and suicide risk in the nursing staff of a Third-Level Hospital

Objective: To determine the association between smoking, depression and suicide risk in the Nursing Staff of a University Hospital. Materials and method: this was a non-experimental, correlational cross-range study with observational analysis carried out between May 2012 and May 2013. We studied 232 nurses of the “Dr. José Eleuterio gonzález” University Hospital. two self-administered scales were applied, one for depression and one for suicide risk. Another hetero-applied scale of nicotine dependency was also used, and the subjects’ socio-demographic records were reviewed. Results: A total of 527,232 nurses were studied. A smoking prevalence of 22.8% (53 subjects), an operational depression prevalence of 15.1% (35 subjects), and a suicide risk of 5.1% (12 subjects) were found. Gender and age, speciically being male and young (mean age 29.2 years) were found to increase the risk of smoking. We also found that those nurses who had a partner and had a higher level of education smoked less compared to those who did not have a partner or had a lower degree of education. there were hospital departments where there was a higher prevalence of smoking, such as Internal Medicine and Shock trauma. No association between smoking and the presence of depression was found. Regarding depression, we found that those nurses who worked in the Department of Pensioners were more likely to develop operational depression than those working in any other department. We also found that the risk of presenting operational depression decreases as age increases. About suicide risk, a statistically signiicant association between smoking and suicide risk was found. We also found an association between operational depression and suicide risk.Conclusions: It is recommended to consider nicotine dependence as a fundamental part of psychopathology assessment because of its strong association with suicide risk. this study emphasizes the complexity of the issue of the comorbidity of smoking and psychopathology and the need to continue research lines.

Testing the level of interactivity of institutional websites: From museums 1.0 to museums 2.0

The Internet has changed the way in which organizations communicate with their publics, and museums are not an exception. The consolidation of Web 2.0 has not only given museums access to a powerful new tool for disseminating information, but has involved significant changes in the relationship between institutions and their publics, facilitating and enhancing the interaction between them. The overall objective of this paper is to analyze the degree of interactivity implemented in the websites of major international art museums, in order to assess if museums are evolving towards more dialogic systems with relation to their publics. The results indicate that museums still have a low level of interactivity on their websites, both in the tools used to present information and the resources available for interaction with virtual visitors. But it has also observed that museums are progressively implementing interactive and dialogic sources, suggesting a clear trend towards new ways of managing these platforms in order to establish more participatory and collaborative communication systems with virtual users.

The Impact of Education and Socioeconomic and Occupational Conditions on Self-Perceived and Mental Health Inequalities Among Immigrants and Native Workers in Spain

There is limited evidence on the influence of social determinants on the self-perceived and mental health of immigrants settled at least 8 years in Spain. The aim of this study was to examine differences between workers related to migrant-status, self-perceived and mental health, and to assess their relationship to occupational conditions, educational level and occupational social class, stratified by sex. Using data from the Spanish National Health Survey of 2011/12, we computed prevalence, odds ratios and explicative fractions. Mental (OR 2.02; CI 1.39–2.93) and self-perceived health (OR 2.64; CI 1.77–3.93) were poorer for immigrant women compared to natives. Occupational social class variable contributes 25 % to self-perceived health OR in immigrant women. Settled immigrant women workers are a vulnerable group in Spain.

Sources of Information about Dietary Fibre: A Cross-Country Survey

Dietary fibre (DF) has been recognized as a major determinant for improvement of health. Hence the means of information through which people become aware of its benefits are crucial. This work aimed at studying the sources of information about DF, as a means to educate people about aspects related to healthy eating. Factors such as gender, level of education, living environment or country were evaluated as to their effect on the selection of sources and preferences. For this, a descriptive cross-sectional study by means of a questionnaire, applied to a non-probabilistic sample of 6010 participants from 10 countries in different continents (Europe, Africa and America), answered after informed consent by all participants. For the analysis were used several descriptive statistics tools, crosstabs and chi square test to assess the relations between some of the variables under study. The results showed that mostly the information about DF comes from the internet, but the participants recognize that television might be a most suitable way to disseminate information about DF. The results also indicated differences between genders, levels of education, living environments and countries. The internet, the preferred source of information, got highest scores for Hungary, for urban areas, for university level of education and for female gender. The radio, the least scored source of information, was preferred in Egypt, for men and with lower education (primary school). As a conclusion, people get information through the internet due to easy access. However, it is to some extent a risk given the impossibility to control de information made public on the internet. The role of health centers and hospitals as well as schools should definitely be increased, as a responsible way to ensure correct information.