Ein besonderes Problem der politischen Meinungs- und Einstellungsforschung stellt der Informations- und Wissensstand der befragten Bürger dar. Der Beitrag widmet sich diesem Problem auf dem Gebiet der Grundeinstellung zu Europa. Die Analyse erfolgt auf der Basis von semi-direktiven Interviews, die über einen Zeitraum von zwei Jahren hinweg wiederholt an einer möglichst gegensätzlichen Auswahl von 22 Personen durchgeführt wurde. Nach Bemerkungen zu Fachkompetenz-Tests, geht der Autor auf die Meinungsbildung im Fall des Europäischen Verfassungsvertrages ein und widmet sich abschließend dem Problem von fachlicher Inkompetenz und statusbedingter Kompetenz. (ICB2)
Im vorliegenden Beitrag wird versucht, Projekte kommunalen Bürgerengagements zunächst in den aktuellen gesellschaftspolitischen Diskussionszusammenhang einzuordnen. Darauf aufbauend wird die Konzeption skizziert, die einer empirischen Evaluationsstudie über 22 Projekte kommunalen Bürgerengagements zugrunde liegt. Deren Ergebnisse werden anschließend in 14 praxisnahen und anwendungsorientierten Thesen im Sinne eines Best Practice-Leitfadens für Projekte gebündelt, die versuchen, bislang staatlich organisierte Aufgaben durch kommunales Bürgerengagement zu übernehmen. Abschließend werden die Ergebnisse mit Blick auf die eingangs skizzierte gesellschaftspolitische Diskussion resümiert. (ICE2)
Die EU führt auf Initiative des Europäischen Parlaments eine Reihe von Maßnahmen zur Förderung und zum Schutz der Regional- und Minderheitensprachen Europas durch. So findet etwa eine finanzielle Unterstützung des Europäischen Büros für Sprachminderheiten und des Informationsnetzes "Mercator" statt. Außerdem gewährt die EU Unterstützungen für praktische Initiativen zum Schutz und zur Förderung von Regional- und Minderheitensprachen, vor allem im Unterrichtswesen. Die EU bleibt mit Art. 22 der Grundrechte-Charta nach Meinung des Autors jedoch unter dem Niveau, das der Europarat mit seinen Konventionen zum Schutz der Minderheitssprachen, namentlich der Charta der Regional- und Minderheitensprachen von 1992 und der Rahmenkonvention zum Schutz nationaler Minderheiten von 1995, vorgegeben hat. Besondere Rechte für die Sprecher von Minderheitensprachen sind in der Grundrechte-Charta nämlich nicht vorgesehen. Der Autor beleuchtet in seinem Beitrag die Handhabung der offiziellen Sprachen in der EU, die Aufgaben des Ressorts für Mehrsprachigkeit in der Europäischen Kommission sowie die Perspektiven für eine einheitliche Verkehrssprache in der Europäischen Union. (ICI2)
"Die von der Europäischen Kommission am 22. Januar 2014 neu vorgeschlagene gemeinsame Energiestrategie, die vom Europäischen Rat im März und dann vom Europäischen Parlament noch offiziell abgesegnet werden muss, lässt eine deutliche Prioritätenverschiebung zugunsten des Faktors der wirtschaftlichen Wettbewerbsfähigkeit und einen größeren marktwirtschaftlichen Ansatz erkennen. Damit zollt die neue Energiestrategie dem Faktum Anerkennung, dass sich die globale Energiesicherheit grundlegend wandelt und damit auch die EU-28 keine 'grüne Energieinsel' ist, die sich von den weltweit wandelnden Energiehandelsbeziehungen und ihren geoökonomischen sowie geopolitischen Auswirkungen abkoppeln kann. Gleichzeitig hat sie in den letzten Jahren bei ihren Bemühungen zur Stärkung der Gasversorgungssicherheit und Importdiversifizierung deutlich Fortschritte erzielt, wie an den jüngsten Entwicklungen beim Südlichen Gaskorridor-Projekt der EU ablesbar ist. Doch ist die strategische und zunehmend geopolitische Konkurrenz zwischen dem von der EU ursprünglich geplanten Nabucco-Pipeline-Projekt und dem russischen South-Stream-Projekt inzwischen von der Rivalität der jetzt von der EU unterstützten TAP-Pipeline und dem South-Stream-Projekt Russlands vorerst lediglich ersetzt worden. Auch in dieser Hinsicht steht die EU-Russland-Gaspartnerschaft auf einem Scheideweg." (Autorenreferat)
Der Beitrag betrachtet die gegenwärtige Lage der Sozialdemokratischen Partei Österreichs (SPÖ). Die sozialdemokratische Gegenwart erscheint zunächst nicht rundweg düster: Immerhin stellen die österreichischen Sozialdemokraten den Bundespräsidenten und den Bundeskanzler, die SPÖ wurde zudem bei der letzten Nationalratswahl abermals stärkste Partei. Andererseits weisen zahlreiche Indikatoren auf einen rapiden Verfall hin. Ein Mitgliederrückgang um zwei Drittel zwischen 1979 und 2008 und dazu ein paralleler Absturz des Stimmenanteils bei Nationalratswahlen von 51 Prozent auf 29 Prozent der Wähler bzw. von 47 Prozent auf 22 Prozent der Wahlberechtigten. Die SPÖ verengt sich sozialstrukturell und vor allem generationell; übrig bleibt vorwiegend die alternde Kreisky-Wählerschaft. Auch ist nicht mehr viel übrig von der SPÖ als Arbeiterpartei. Nur noch 10 bis 15 Prozent des sozialdemokratischen Elektorates sind im Jahr 2010 Arbeiter. Wenig punkten kann die SPÖ auch bei den Akademikern und bei Jugendlichen. Der Beitrag geht der Frage nach, warum die SPÖ in eine solch fundamentale Krise geraten ist: Wie reagieren die Sozialdemokraten auf den Niedergang, welche Folgen zeitigen ihre Maßnahmen oder bleiben nennenswerte Reformen trotz allem aus? (ICB2)
War den einen unter Deutschlands Politikern und Bürgern die Papstrede im Bundestag willkommen, so nahmen andere den von ihnen befürchteten "Transzendenzüberschuss" zum Anlass, einen Auftritt des Papstes im Parlament grundsätzlich abzulehnen und wenigstens die Einladung zu ihr auszuschlagen. Dabei gab es zwei zentrale Kritikbereiche: Erstens sollten die üblichen Topoi der Papst- und Kirchenschelte zeigen, wie unangemessen es sei, den Chef einer derart fehlerhaften Organisation im Bundestag sprechen zu lassen. Zweitens sei das Gebot der weltanschaulichen Neutralität des Staates verletzt, wenn der Papst "in der Herzkammer des Staates" ein Podium für die Verbreitung seiner religiösen Ansichten erhalte. Doch war vom Papst, angesichts inzwischen vieler Erfahrungen mit Reden vor ähnlichen Zuhörerschaften, wirklich eine Art Predigt zu erwarten? Würde man sich auf eine religiöse Würdigung deutscher Innen- und Außenpolitik einstellen müssen, wie sie einem ins Parlament eingeladenen Religionsführer durchaus nicht zukäme? Und wozu kam es dann am 22. September 2011 wirklich? Was war das für eine Rede? Was hatte der Papst über nicht nur Deutschlands politische Ordnung zu sagen, über deren zu bedenkende Kontexte sowie ihre zu schützenden Grundlagen? Diese und weitere Fragen stehen im Mittelpunkt des Beitrages, der auch den Mehrwert einer Analyse von Transzendenzrekursen zu bestimmen versucht. (ICI2)
"The author presents a case study of efforts to enhance the quality of teaching and learning at Kassel University. The study resulted from an extended internship - an internship of at least eight weeks' duration was an obligatory part of the MAHE Program - and examines the potentials and limitations of improving the teaching- and learning-based profile of Kassel University. The theoretical and conceptual part of the contribution discusses institutional profile-building of German universities and what it means in terms of potentials and limitations to establish a profile based on teaching and learning rather than research, global competitiveness or a high position on ranking scales. In addition, the heterogeneous disciplinary cultures (of the university?) are taken into account. The author identifies three factors that influence the decision for a profile based on excellence in teaching and learning: resources, heterogeneity of disciplinary cultures, and level of research. The author concludes that young, middle-sized universities like Kassel are often under pressure to excel in all functions (teaching, research, services), but there being considerable limitations to do this, a careful decision is needed on the function to focus in order to establish a profile if at all." (excerpt)
The author first provides a concise historical overview of New Zealand education, before examining what he calls the "big bang" in education in the 1980s. Subsequently, the author focuses on the impact of IOs on education policy, politics, and polity in New Zealand. Emphasis is placed on how IO governance has guided and facilitated the "phase of stabilization and optimization" since the drastic reform of the 1980s. Particular attention is dedicated to how New Zealand has managed tensions between various guiding principles on education, for example, human capital vs. human right, and the potential impact of IOs. The conclusion offers a summarizing analysis of the findings through the prism of state transformation capacity and international stimuli for policy change. (DIPF/Orig.).
"The author analyses the phenomenon of the major growth of private higher education provisions in Central and Eastern Europe by comparing two former Yugoslavian states: Croatia and Macedonia. Theoretically framed by a structural and functional analysis of the relationship between public and private sectors of higher education, the author focuses on the formation, development and role of the private higher education sector in the two countries. Despite the fact that both countries once were part of a single state, the author works out the differences in the development, types and roles of private higher education institutions. He points out that in countries with a long-established tradition of public higher education, private higher education institutions typically have a negative image as concerns the quality of their provision. Thus, governmental policy in Croatia is characterized by a high degree of protectionism of public higher education while Macedonia has actively encouraged the emergence of a private sector in order to deal with increasing student demand. In both countries, a point of contention and increasing criticism is, however, accreditation - a process through which established and mostly public institutions of higher education establish their superiority. Again, in both countries, private higher education institutions continue to be a minority type, but with tendencies to further increase in number and student enrolment. A last part of the contribution discusses the role of private higher education institutions in terms of better or different provisions. The author concludes that the trend in both countries is the idea that private higher education caters to needs and demands that are not taken into account by the public higher education institutions and that they produce well-educated professionals for the modern labor market. However, both countries have not yet reached a stage in which private higher education is recognized as a key component of the higher education sector as a whole." (excerpt)
"The author analyses the phenomenon of the major growth of private higher education provisions in Central and Eastern Europe by comparing two former Yugoslavian states: Croatia and Macedonia. Theoretically framed by a structural and functional analysis of the relationship between public and private sectors of higher education, the author focuses on the formation, development and role of the private higher education sector in the two countries. Despite the fact that both countries once were part of a single state, the author works out the differences in the development, types and roles of private higher education institutions. He points out that in countries with a long-established tradition of public higher education, private higher education institutions typically have a negative image as concerns the quality of their provision. Thus, governmental policy in Croatia is characterized by a high degree of protectionism of public higher education while Macedonia has actively encouraged the emergence of a private sector in order to deal with increasing student demand. In both countries, a point of contention and increasing criticism is, however, accreditation - a process through which established and mostly public institutions of higher education establish their superiority. Again, in both countries, private higher education institutions continue to be a minority type, but with tendencies to further increase in number and student enrolment. A last part of the contribution discusses the role of private higher education institutions in terms of better or different provisions. The author concludes that the trend in both countries is the idea that private higher education caters to needs and demands that are not taken into account by the public higher education institutions and that they produce well-educated professionals for the modern labor market. However, both countries have not yet reached a stage in which private higher education is recognized as a key component of the higher education sector as a whole." (excerpt).
"During his MAHE studies, the author became interested in the approach of problem-based learning (PBL) and its effectiveness in preparing students for employment. Using the existing data set of a major international graduate survey (CHEERS) about the relationships between higher education and employment, he analyzed the responses of altogether 3,476 graduates in the field of medicine from ten European countries and from Japan. The original questionnaire had included a question to what extent project- and problem-based learning was emphasized in their higher education Institution. It had also asked the respondents to rate their competencies at time of graduation based on altogether 36 indicators. The author used factor analysis to measure career success according to subjective/ intrinsic and objective/extrinsic dimensions and related it to the experiences of problem-based learning during studies. The analysis is able to demonstrate that problem-based learning prepares students better for the world of work and that students with experiences in problem-based learning have more work or employment related competences than students who experienced traditional learning and teaching styles. The author concludes that PBL requires a student-centred atmosphere in the classroom in order to enhance students' learning outcomes. Such a development would certainly fulfill one of the pressing demands of study reforms initiated in the context of the European Bologna Process." (excerpt)
"The author analyses higher education policies targeted at equal (or rather not so equal) opportunities for access into higher education for indigenous people in Australia, Canada, and Mexico. He discusses concepts of equity and social responsiveness and works out very wen that many measures undertaken to ensure equal access for indigenous people require them to adopt the norms and values of the majority culture. This, of course, is in stark contrast to an approach of self-determination. He finds an example of this in Canada where indigenous people have successfully fought to start their own universities and have them recognized as equal to the universities of the majority culture. This means that they control their own educational processes. Despite the fact that developments in Canada are not ideal and go all the way in shifting control and administration to the indigenous boards, such an approach acknowledges the difference without seeing it as inferior. The author also works out in a convincing manner that in countries where the higher education system serves purposes of nation-building, a 'different but equal' policy is perceived as separatist and threatening to the state. In his conclusions, the author proposes to develop the concept of an ethnically sensitive university that includes cultural diversity as a matter of content and collaborates with indigenous people in their struggle for justice and recognition." (excerpt)
"The author analyses higher education policies targeted at equal (or rather not so equal) opportunities for access into higher education for indigenous people in Australia, Canada, and Mexico. He discusses concepts of equity and social responsiveness and works out very wen that many measures undertaken to ensure equal access for indigenous people require them to adopt the norms and values of the majority culture. This, of course, is in stark contrast to an approach of self-determination. He finds an example of this in Canada where indigenous people have successfully fought to start their own universities and have them recognized as equal to the universities of the majority culture. This means that they control their own educational processes. Despite the fact that developments in Canada are not ideal and go all the way in shifting control and administration to the indigenous boards, such an approach acknowledges the difference without seeing it as inferior. The author also works out in a convincing manner that in countries where the higher education system serves purposes of nation-building, a 'different but equal' policy is perceived as separatist and threatening to the state. In his conclusions, the author proposes to develop the concept of an ethnically sensitive university that includes cultural diversity as a matter of content and collaborates with indigenous people in their struggle for justice and recognition." (excerpt).
"During his MAHE studies, the author became interested in the approach of problem-based learning (PBL) and its effectiveness in preparing students for employment. Using the existing data set of a major international graduate survey (CHEERS) about the relationships between higher education and employment, he analyzed the responses of altogether 3,476 graduates in the field of medicine from ten European countries and from Japan. The original questionnaire had included a question to what extent project- and problem-based learning was emphasized in their higher education Institution. It had also asked the respondents to rate their competencies at time of graduation based on altogether 36 indicators. The author used factor analysis to measure career success according to subjective/ intrinsic and objective/extrinsic dimensions and related it to the experiences of problem-based learning during studies. The analysis is able to demonstrate that problem-based learning prepares students better for the world of work and that students with experiences in problem-based learning have more work or employment related competences than students who experienced traditional learning and teaching styles. The author concludes that PBL requires a student-centred atmosphere in the classroom in order to enhance students' learning outcomes. Such a development would certainly fulfill one of the pressing demands of study reforms initiated in the context of the European Bologna Process." (excerpt).
"The author raises the question of Europe's boundaries in the process of European integration. The debate is both of a symbolic and pragmatic nature, and can be observed not only among European nations but also elites." (Abstract)
