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This paper explores the role of coaching in enhancing teachers' key competences for integrating Telecollaboration (TC) in their language course. A total of 23 secondary school teachers participated in this case study as part of the EU-funded project TILA. Quantitative and qualitative data were gathered via two surveys, the first one measuring coaching satisfaction and a second one tackling teacher competences. The results show that teachers highly value coaching to integrate complex pedagogical innovations in their teaching. Participants reported that coaching contributed to an improvement of key competences necessary to implement TC exchanges successfully. [For the complete volume, see ED571330.]

The paper presents a telecollaboration project between 54 pre-service teachers of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) studying at a teacher training college in Israel and a university in Germany. The telecollaboration involved a collaborative Project Based Learning Task (PBLT) in which the students compared and evaluated the ways EFL is taught in their respective contexts. The purpose of this ongoing study is to provide pre-service EFL teachers with an apprenticeship of learning ways that technology can be used to transcend classroom walls for virtual mobility and cooperation. It specifically intends to determine how such an apprenticeship can strengthen student teachers' belief in their ability to implement telecollaboration in their own teaching. Data for the study were gathered through a pre-post quantitative survey. The findings indicate that telecollaboration experience integrated into teacher training can raise students' perceived self-efficacy to implement telecollaborative exchange projects into their future teaching. [For the complete volume, see ED571330.]

The number of e-learning platforms and blended learning environments is continuously increasing and has sparked a lot of research around improvements of educational processes. Here, the ability to accurately predict student performance plays a vital role. Previous studies commonly focused on the construction of predictors tailored to a formal course. In this paper we relax this constraint, leveraging domain knowledge and combining a knowledge graph representation with activity scopes based on sets of didactically feasible learning objectives. Specialized scope classifiers are then combined to an ensemble to robustly predict student performance on learning objectives independently of the student's individual learning setting. The final ensemble's accuracy trumps any single classifier tested. [For the full proceedings, see ED592609.]

Historically, older and lower-skilled adults in the U.S. have participated in Adult Education and Training (AET) at lower rates than other groups, possibly because of perceived lack of return on investment due to the time required to recover training costs. Global, knowledge based economies have increased the importance of lifelong learning for all age groups. This paper reports results of a study that used data from the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) to examine the relationship in the U.S. between participation in AET programs and employment, labor force participation, and income, for adults aged 45 to 65. In addition, comparisons were made for outcomes of AET participation in the U.S. with those in Germany, Japan, Sweden, and the U.K. Consistent with U.S. outcomes, comparison countries had lower AET participation rates by the unemployed compared to the employed and there were wide variations in AET participation between the lowest income quintile and the highest income quintile. For all countries, there was a significant relationship between AET participation and income. There was also a significant relationship between AET participation and labor force participation. [For the full proceedings, see ED581791.]

Professional biographies of US-American nursing staff emphasize that these staff have consciously decided to conduct research for a Ph.D. in Adult Education instead of Nursing Sciences. The evaluation of the interview transcripts revealed two main categories: "Doctoral degree as an expression of a 'lived' lifelong learning" and "Doctoral degree as a scientific adaptation of skills" (Seltrecht 2014). However, these insights into the data material also revealed significant research desiderata: Can country-specific differences be made out concerning the understanding of what lifelong learning is thought to be? How can the relationship between lifelong learning and occupational education be described and what share do the specific requirements of nursing have in this context? A more in-depth comparison of countries is necessary for the professionalization of both nursing and education sciences in Germany. Such a comparison may reveal "institutional conditions" that accommodate a way of understanding "lived" lifelong learning that would be beneficial to the individual professionalization of each professional nurse--and could promote the collective professionalization of nursing beyond the individual case. The "institutional conditions" will be the focus of this year's paper. The example of a master's degree program "Teaching Qualification for Vocational Education in the Field of Health Care and Nursing" at the Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg (Germany) is used as a starting point for discussion. This degree program prepares nurses, therapists and other nursing staff for teaching positions. These future teaching staff will deliver training and vocational education programs in a variety of health care and nursing occupations such as physiotherapists, elderly care nurses, medical care assistants, dental care assistants, and many others. The crucial point is: students of this program have never practiced these occupations. [For full proceedings, see ED570489.]

Conceptualization and implementation of computer supported teaching and training is currently not tailored to the paradigm of learner centration. Many technical solutions lack transparency and consistency regarding the supported learner activities. An insight into learners activities correlated to learning tasks is needed. In this paper we outline recent developments in university's higher education concepts. We introduce InterLect as a tool to observe student's activities in lecture content acquisition and describe first insights and questions derived using this tool in a lecture scenario. Based on a new understanding of activity transformation cycles, an elaborated didactical design is modeled, which allows to address and observe learning activities. Ideas for a valid evaluation process are derived in order to investigate efficiency of the digital tool within the didactical framework. [For the full proceedings, see ED562093.]

The school principal impacts student achievement at a level second only to that of the classroom teacher. The United States and Germany are experiencing challenges in recruiting and retaining individuals for the principalship and the shortage is expected to intensify. Previous research has shown that increasing paperwork and responsibilities serve as inhibitors to entering the profession and that school principals are increasingly stressed by a wide range of responsibilities and a shrinking pool of resources. This stress causes physiological and professional difficulties that have a detrimental impact on school function and culture. The present study seeks to identify the major causes of stress, strategies for mitigating stress, and limitations of stress management among principals in the United States and Germany.

In Germany and the U.S.A, the importance of effective school leadership toward creating successful schools is undisputed. Yet in both countries, attracting, developing, and retaining highly qualified school principals is a continuing challenge. The current study examined the impact of nine work-related factors that influenced the motivation of 145 German principals and 134 U.S.A. principals to become school leaders. Through survey data and follow-up interviews, researchers identified similarities and differences in the factors that shaped the motivation of principals in the two countries. These findings offer opportunities for Germany and the U.S.A. to learn from each other regarding ways to entice people to become school leaders.

This paper is based on the last talk of the summer school. The intention of the talk was not to repeat any highlights of the school, rather to place the energy issue in a wider frame of global issues like global warming and the global responses to this threat. Therefore, I tried to compile —where possible— new data which inform the audience on the present stage of the energy transition toward carbon-free technologies and some expected future trends. The largest hopes for a successful transformation are connected to renewable energy forms. This field is discussed here mostly from a system point of view whereas I resort heavily to examples from Germany. The most obvious reason is that I am familiar with the German development and have access to the most relevant data. On the other hand, the German experience is of importance for other highly industrialised economies and its development affects other countries because of its central location. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Massive improvements in deep learning methods have led to several new industrial artificial intelligence (AI) applications that made AI relevant for every company that aims to keep competitive. Thus, AI is no longer a matter for the global Tech Companies only, but also concerns any small and medium-sized enterprise (SME). This paper examines the degree of dispersion of AI in SMEs in north-western Germany and reveals barriers and concerns when it comes to the deployment of industrial AI applications. Therefore, selected SMEs were surveyed in a standardised online survey. Currently, AI is rarely used by SMEs in north-western Germany. Few SMEs are concerned with developing their own applications, because this process is very expensive, lengthy and often comes with a high risk of failure. Rather, SMEs increasingly rely on AI-as-a-service and prefer to use cloud-based solutions. There are various reasons that make companies hesitate. Perceived barriers depend on the current implementation status of SMEs, also indicating data-related misconceptions and a lack of know-how. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the heightened relevance of international contexts, governments increasingly aim to communicate with foreign audiences to convince them of their policies. These strategies can be regarded as part of a nation's public diplomacy. More specifically, they can be called mediated public diplomacy since it is their main goal to distribute messages through foreign media. This paper analyzes the communication during the European migrant crisis as one of the most salient transnational issues in 2015/16. Herein, the paper compares Germany's and Hungary's mediated public diplomacy, their main topics, frames, and their reliance on information subsidies. Through a comparison with the related coverage in CNN and Al- Jazeera it shows that there is a relationship between the (1) reliance on information subsidies and a (2) correspondence between media agenda and the agenda in the mediated public diplomacy. The media's frame building, however, seems to be unaffected by the application of information subsidies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to human resource experts, micro and mobile learning are possibilities for enterprises to provide selfregulated learning for employees. For example, these modern learning concepts can help to support work-integrated learning and lead to a stronger link between working and learning. But are micro and mobile learning already used in companies? Studies with large samples that examine the current use of these learning concepts in companies, are missing. Thus, the first objective of this article is to investigate the dissemination of micro and mobile learning within enterprises to get an overview of the current situation. As previous studies indicated that only a minor proportion of companies use the new learning concepts, our second objective is to identify influencing factors of the adoption of micro and mobile learning. Therefore, we conducted a quantitative study among 1000 companies in Germany to validate the results from a preceding qualitative interview study and a literature review. 100 companies participated in the survey. The results of the quantitative survey show that micro/mobile learning are currently used in 39 %/33 % of the surveyed companies. In addition, the participating enterprises also assessed concrete application scenarios for micro and mobile learning in enterprises and the suitability of these learning concepts for education and training of employees. Furthermore, the results highlight some reasons for and against the use of the learning concepts within enterprises, which are summarized in a research model based on the Technology-Organization-Environment-Individual-(TOEI)-Framework. The influence of the reasons on the adoption is calculated using a regression analysis. This paper contributes to the knowledge base in a twofold way: First, the article draws researcher's attention to micro and mobile learning in organizational settings and demonstrates needs for future research. Second, important influencing factors for the adoption of micro and mobile learning are presented. These could be used by practitioners to integrate the learning concepts within their company. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Universities are multifaceted institutions actively playing an engaging role in society. Besides being built around education and research, universities in recent times have a new role which involves the commercialization of academic research. The Federal Republic of Germany has been successful with the commercialization of academic research and has been able to establish numerous spinoff firms through the initiatives of its numerous entrepreneurial universities. This paper seeks to assess the extent to which German universities are commercializing their academic activities and collaborating with industry through the creation of spin offs. The research employed the linear regression analysis to reach the aim of this research. The test and the pattern of statistical significance and the results of the regression coefficients indicate that the availability of funding for universities'research commercialization has a positive effect on patent acquisition which is a vital component for the commercialization of academic research process in Germany. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents one product of a research report about the promotion of resilience in the school setting in two public secondary schools, located in Mexico and Germany, and its relation with the pupils' multiculturalism. The paper focuses on the need of the results' analysis to identify the school actors' perceptions of the promotion of resilience at the secondary school, in contexts where pupils' cultural characteristics are highly diverse. The theoretical guidelines are linked to resilience research, especially research focusing on resilience in schools, as well as to studies on intercultural education. A mixed method was used; it is a dual comparison in two geographical, economic, political and cultural different national contexts, where the analysis unit was "the school". Research was conducted with secondary schools' principals, including the teaching staff, from both schools and with a first graders group on Telesecundaria 42, in Hidalgo, Mexico, and one group of the same grade from a Realschule in NRW, Germany. The results provide significant data that show a strong nexus between students' and teachers' perceptions of resilience development at the school. This article focuses on resilience promoting factors. It was concluded that positive emotional relationships between students and teachers build resilience and decrease risks of failure and dropout. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Edition 2.0 of the international standard IEC 60909-0 [1], as well as the harmonised national standard DIN EN 60909-0 (VDE 0102) [2] introduce a representation of power station units (PSUs) with full size converters (FSCs) for consideration in short-circuit calculations. Examples of such PSUs with FSCs include Type 4 wind turbines [3] and photovoltaic inverters. The representation specified in the positive sequence consists of an ideal current source providing maximum source current, whilst in the negative sequence an impedance represents the negative sequence behaviour of the PSU with FSC. The latest German grid codes [4, 5, 6, 7] define requirements applicable to PSUs with FSCs whereby additional negative sequence reactive current shall be injected into the network in cases of unbalanced system faults. Limitation of the PSU's current is allowable, if it reaches the maximum capability of the PSU in any phase [4, 5, 6, 7]. PSUs with FSCs limit the current in both positive and negative sequence. In [1, 2] limitation of the negative sequence current contribution is not considered. This paper shows that there is no possible parameterisation of the model for the max. negative sequence short-circuit contribution of a PSU with FSC acc. to [1, 2] which can correctly reflect the requirement of the latest German grid codes. The consequence is a risk of overestimation as well as underestimation of the max. short-circuit current contribution for cases of unbalanced network faults. The paper explains the findings in theory and shows the practical consequence using the example of a two-phase line-to-line short-circuit. It is shown that the current source approach applied in the positive sequence could be easily adapted for application to the negative sequence as well, in order to consider a current limitation in the negative sequence too. This is proven theoretically in the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper attempts to investigate the influence of textbooks on the results of international assessments such as TIMSS [Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study] and PIRLS [Progress in International Reading Literacy Study]. It tries to consider the role and impact of school textbooks on PIRLS and TIMSS performance across countries. As the research finds, the predominance of analytical, opinion-expressing, inferencing and evaluative categories in the school textbooks significantly favor the scores in PIRLS across the countries observed. In the case of maths, probability, data analysis and algebra problems are most predominant items schoolbooks of high performing countries in TIMSS. Advanced level analysis, integrating and comparing data, as well as reasoning and analysis could potentially be significant contributors to TIMSS science results.

Although non-cognitive facets--such as interest, attitudes, commitment, self-concept and so on--of are prevalent in contemporary theoretical modeling of competence, they are often neglected in measurement approaches or measured only by global self-report questionnaires. Based on the well-established experience sampling method (ESM) and following approaches to measure interest in PISA 2006, we developed a method--'Embedded Experience Sampling' (EES)--to measure non-cognitive facets of problem-solving competence in computer-based problem scenarios. Test-takers in our complex problem-solving tasks are requested to stop at certain times during the test and spontaneously answer short prompts (EES items) regarding their actual experience of the problem situation. These EES events are embedded into the problem situation in a way that resembles common social interaction in the workplace. In this paper, we describe the implementation of EES and present empirical results based on classical test theory and item response theory. As expected, the data obtained from EES items correlated only moderately with data obtained from traditional self-report questionnaires on work-related self-concept and vocational interest. However, further research is needed to fully understand the effects of this kind of process-based measurement of non-cognitive facets of competence, which is still work in progress.

Research on scientific reasoning plays an essential role at the intersection of cognitive development and science education. As only few paper-pencil-tests exist to assess scientific reasoning abilities of elementary school children, the goal of the current study was the development of a new reliable and valid instrument. We focused on the assessment of the understanding of the scientific inquiry cycle (SIC) which is a core element of scientific reasoning. As confirmed by IRT modeling, the 15 developed items formed a reliable scale (n = 878). Regression analyses revealed that cognitive abilities (fluid intelligence, reading skills) as well as epistemic beliefs predicted children's SIC performances. The instrument can contribute to the measurement of educational progress in the area of science learning.

The worldwide Corona pandemic has severely restricted student projects in the higher semesters of engineering courses. In order not to delay the graduation, a new concept had to be developed for projects under lockdown conditions. Therefore, unused rooms at the university should be digitally recorded in order to develop a new usage concept as laboratory rooms. An inventory of the actual state of the rooms was done first by taking photos and listing up all flaws and peculiarities. After that, a digital site measuring was done with a 360° laser scanner and these recorded scans were linked to a coherent point cloud and transferred to a software for planning technical building services and supporting Building Information Modelling (BIM). In order to better illustrate the difference between the actual and target state, two virtual reality models were created for realistic demonstration. During the project, the students had to go through the entire digital planning phases. Technical specifications had to be complied with, as well as documentation, time planning and cost estimate. This project turned out to be an excellent alternative to on-site practical training under lockdown conditions and increased the students' motivation to deal with complex technical questions. [For the full proceedings, see ED623149.]

The Commission on International Adult Education (CIAE) of the American Association for Adult and Continuing Education (AAACE) provides a forum for the discussion of international issues related to adult education in general, as well as adult education in various countries around the globe. These "Proceedings" are from the Commission of International Adult Education's (CIAE) 2021 International Pre-Conference. This year's "Proceedings" contain 17 papers from 37 authors, representing CIAE's usual diversity of authors and topics. Researcher and research sites include Belgium, Belize, Burkina Faso, Canada, China, Germany, Ghana, Italy, Nigeria, Norway, Serbia, and the United States. Not surprisingly, a major theme explored is the impact of COVID-19 on learners in a variety of settings, including school teachers, communities, parents, and higher education. A second major theme concerns digital resources and addressing the digital divide. Some papers address practices and research methods that enhance adult learning and others explore professional development, workplace learning, and cultural aspects of learning. [Individual papers are indexed in ERIC.]

In the age of the industrial revolution 4.0 the question arises as to how far digitization, which is taking place in all areas of life and work, can help meet the challenges of caring for patients or relieve the burden on nursing staff. In the health sector, including professional care, digitization is taking place at a rapid pace. In hospitals, digitization means demand-oriented support by means of information technology or artificial intelligence. Nursing staff in Germany, but also in other countries, are required in occupational everyday life to repeatedly engage in the implementation of new digital technologies and to use these appropriately. So, what is needed is digital competence which leads to responsible and independent handling of digital technologies. Due to the rapid digital progress, this digital competence must enable every working person to react to technical innovations in everyday working life. This requirement of a formal education in view of these digital competences leads to the question, to what extent the curriculums in the training and continuing education of nursing staff are already geared toward digital literacy training. The following article describes the results of a document analysis. The documents are a variety of legal and curricular regulations from the area of training and continuing education in the care sector. [For the full proceedings, see ED625421.]

The need for neighbourness and Intercultural competences in Higher Education Institutions is ascending. This is because in recent times, there has been an increase in multicultural classrooms driven by globalization and the growth in global Internet connectivity. Globalization has enabled increased human mobility across physical national and cultural boundaries; while Internet connectivity has enabled virtual contact, interactions, and collaborations between persons from different cultures. Physical mobility, specifically for study abroad, results in physical multicultural classrooms. The purpose of this study is to provide an overview into the relevance of neighbourness in a multicultural classroom and challenges in a classroom that denotes the absence of neighbourness. The challenges are inspired and extracted from one-on-one Interviews with Higher Education Institution (HEI) teachers and foreign students from Finland, Italy, Denmark, Germany, Latvia and Turkey. Twenty people were interviewed. In the multicultural classrooms, six different challenges were identified as a result of analyzing the interview data. Those are language barriers, misunderstanding of cultural dispositions towards others, asymmetric communication, differences in cultural behavioral norms governing interactions, different styles of learning and problem with the familiarization with technology. [For the complete volume, "Proceedings of International Conference on Studies in Education and Social Sciences (Antalya, Turkey, November 11-14, 2021). Volume 1," see ED625228.]

These proceedings contain the papers of the 18th International Conference on Cognition and Exploratory Learning in the Digital Age (CELDA 2021), held virtually, due to an exceptional situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, from October 13-15, 2021, and organized by the International Association for Development of the Information Society (IADIS). The CELDA conference aims to address the main issues concerned with evolving learning processes and supporting pedagogies and applications in the digital age. There have been advances in both cognitive psychology and computing that have affected the educational arena. The convergence of these two disciplines is increasing at a fast pace and affecting academia and professional practice in many ways. The CELDA 2021 Conference received 68 submissions from more than 21 countries. Out of the papers submitted, 34 were accepted as full papers for an acceptance rate of 50%; 16 were accepted as short papers, and 2 were accepted as reflection papers. In addition to the presentation of full, short and reflection papers, the conference also includes one keynote presentation from an internationally distinguished researcher: Dr. David Scaradozzi, Department of Information Engineering, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Italy. [Individual papers are indexed in ERIC.]

Worldwide, there are millions of children and youth living on the streets. While this is accepted as a sad reality when it comes to developing countries, many people are unaware that street youth also exist in Western countries, such as Germany. In both developing and developed countries young people on the streets face a plethora of challenges that make it difficult for them to access quality schooling. However, one of the demands of the SDG "Quality Education" is that children and youth in precarious living situations should be guaranteed access to all levels of education. In order to fulfill this goal different projects, for example street schools, are founded. Nowadays these projects often include physics education in their curriculum. This study has two goals. First, the life of street-connected children in developing countries and street youth in Germany is compared through an extensive literature review. Differences and similarities between these two groups and their reasons for leaving home are elaborated. Secondly, the question is answered to what extent physics education is necessary for street-connected children and street youth and consequently should be part of educational projects for them.

A 16.77 kW thermal power bayonet-tube reactor for the mixed reforming of methane using solar energy has been designed and modeled. A test bench for the experimental tests has been installed at the Synlight facility in Juelich, Germany and has just been commissioned. This paper presents the solar-heated reactor design for a combined steam and dry reforming as well as a scaled-up process simulation of a solar reforming plant for methanol production. Solar power towers are capable of providing large amounts of heat to drive high-endothermic reactions, and their integration with thermochemical processes shows a promising future. In the designed bayonet-tube reactor, the conventional burner arrangement for the combustion of natural gas has been substituted by a continuous 930 °C hot air stream, provided by means of a solar heated air receiver, a ceramic thermal storage and an auxiliary firing system. Inside the solar-heated reactor, the heat is transferred by means of convective mechanism mainly; instead of radiation mechanism as typically prevailing in fossil-based industrial reforming processes. A scaled-up solar reforming plant of 50.5 MWth was designed and simulated in Dymola® and AspenPlus®. In comparison to a fossil-based industrial reforming process of the same thermal capacity, a solar reforming plant with thermal storage promises a reduction up to 57 % of annual natural gas consumption in regions with annual DNI-value of 2349 kWh/m2. The benchmark solar reforming plant contributes to a CO2 avoidance of approx. 79 kilotons per year. This facility can produce a nominal output of 734.4 t of synthesis gas and out of this 530 t of methanol a day. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The accounting of small and medium enterprises is specific, compared to the accounting of large enterprises, for several reasons. First of all, lower business volume implies less demanding accounting in terms of less turnover and the number of accounts to be processed, lower financial reporting requirements, more favourable tax treatment is expected and the like. Practical experience in the years of application of EU-accounting directives, which represent the framework of financial reporting of companies at the EU level, pointed to certain difficulties or excessive administrative burden of small and medium enterprises in relation to the requirements for large companies and identified areas for improvement. The complexity of these regulations as well as problems in practical application have led to the need to develop and publish a revised single accounting directive (2013/34/EU). This Directive was primarily adopted with the aim of simplifying the accounting and financial reporting of small and medium-sized enterprises. Today, it is common for small and medium-sized enterprises to go beyond the borders of one country. In the internationalization of business, SMEs face many challenges and potential barriers. First of all, it refers to financial, human and procedural barriers, but also to informational barriers related to regulations, rules and laws of other countries. Since the accounting and tax treatment of the same business transaction may differ between countries, it seems entirely justified to investigate whether there are differences in the regulation and regulation of the accounting system between the two countries. This paper compares the characteristics of small and medium-sized enterprises' accounting systems between two economically strongly connected countries, Germany and Croatia, which is the main goal of this paper. It is well known that financial reporting is a particularly important, final phase of accounting data processing. Namely, financial reporting system of these two countries is compared by using the method of comparison and classification analysis. The types and scope of financial statements have been defined and the content of financial statements that SMEs are obliged to compile and publish has been analysed. The paper pays additional attention to the analysis of similarities and differences between these two accounting regulations as well as current events in the implementation of the revised accounting directive into national legislation, especially in simplifying the financial reporting of the smallest, but numerically most represented micro enterprises. The important finding of the research show that some changes have been made but there is still room to improve accounting regulations for this segment of entrepreneurship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The manufacturing industry is today facing a fourth industrial revolution, also called Industry 4.0. Initially developed in Germany, it has gradually spread throughout the world, directly influencing the activity of engineers and the technical universities. Industry 4.0 is a topic of opportunity for engineering, especially mechanical, electrical and applied electronic engineering. The digital vision is increasingly becoming an industrial reality in production, products and services. The dynamic is high, and the mechanical engineering industry is working intensively on new solutions. Despite increasing automation, the focus of Industry 4.0 is on people. Industry 4.0 places new demands on employees through new technologies, new organizational forms and work processes. The digital transformation represents a change of times and requires a high flexibility and the accomplishment of new requirements. In this paper we show which approaches are being discussed in Germany, Austria and Switzerland that can successfully implemented in companies and universities. Based on today's engineering education the needs are shown that should be reflected in the new curri-cula, but also in a realignement of teaching and learning, because this is based on the new working environments. This must also be taken into account that not only left-brain skills but also right-brain skills have to be supported. The improving of skills such as creativity, problem solving, making quick technical decisions and critical thinking is an ultimate goal to develop imagination and innovation. Both universities and companies are therefore faced with enormous challenges that they will be only able to succesfully implement in cooperation with various stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A look at entrepreneurship education research shows that there are basically two types of entrepreneurship courses: First, courses for entrepreneurship and second, courses about entrepreneurship such as lectures, formal seminars, individual essays etc. Most of the latter courses can be characterized as teacher-centric where the student involvement is passive. From a more modern perspective and in order to train entrepreneurship trying, experimenting and learning about one's own experience is crucial. More innovative approaches, such as project based learning, action based learning and experiential learning, therefore, are gradually appearing on the screen. In this context, within the last few years at some universities training firms have been introduced, mostly for students of economics and business. In Germany, due to a lack of legal possibilities training firms at public universities are still a rarity in general and therefore underresearched. Thus, the research question of the present contribution is how informal learning can be structured by instructors using training firms and what effects this has on the preparation of learners for later professional practice and / or self-employment. Therefore, the methodology for this paper is first to review the literature related to entrepreneurial learning in order to better understand the informal learning experience via training firms. Second, the case of a communication design agency for students around the HTW Berlin, a public university of applied sciences is analysed to gain insight into the impact that practice firms can have on entrepreneurship education in general and in particular in non-business subjects. For this purpose, a case study is developed based on interviews, which includes both the perspective of the students and the trainer. Overall, the results will show a best practice example of entrepreneurial training and learning in a university context, which can be useful for those involved in the development of course concepts for entrepreneurship education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Smart speakers are becoming increasingly popular. The market leader for smart speakers are the products of the Echo family from Amazon. There are currently 9 different models with different technical specifications available in Germany. With this paper, the models was benchmarked against each other in terms of (i) speech recognition reliability, (ii) output sound pressure and (iii) power consumption in a laboratory experiment. Previous works in this area has only considered individual models of the product family. Significant differences in speech recognition accuracy, output sound pressure and power consumption were identified between the models. In general it was observed, that the Echo Show 8 model was the most efficient in terms of the above criteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper presents the development and implementation process of a service-oriented, economically viable business model that deals with the use of electricity from photovoltaic systems that are no longer state-subsidized. The research is funded within the context of the innovative research project "Citizen Energy Transition", subsidized by the Ministry of Science, Research and the Arts Baden-Württemberg (funding code Kap. 1403 Titelgruppe75) Design/Methodology/Approach: First the catalyst for the innovative business model is investigated. Then the development and implementation process for the business model is explained and the business model itself. Findings: The end of the guaranteed feed-in tariff for the first photovoltaic systems leads to the necessity for new business models in the energy sector. Originality/Value: In design thinking workshops and ongoing feedback loops all stakeholders were involved in the development process. After refining and iteratively adapting the business model, it can be adjusted for further requirements due to regulative influences, customer needs, and ecological possibilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The presented paper provides a simple method to analyze large distribution networks through maximum coincidence factors to determine the hosting capacity for accommodating electric vehicles, heat pumps and rooftop photovoltaic generation. The method is applied on the entire distribution network of the city of Worms, Germany. The model is based on the geographic information system, with every household connection modelled, resulting in more than 40,000 nodes. The results show the impact of penetration levels up to 100 % on distribution assets. For the analyzed city network, voltage problems in the LV network as well as transformer overloading pose the greatest challenge, while LV line overloading and impacts on MV and HV/MV assets are less severe. The benefit of advanced voltage monitoring to reduce the LV voltage problems is demonstrated. The method can be replicated on other distribution networks and provides a useful tool for distribution system operators to improve long-term distribution network planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent advances in Industry 4.0 could help the manufacturing industry to overcome increasing global competition by automating redundant processes such as the handling of errors. In this paper, we present the development of an escalation management system applying the action design research method. Considering additional business data sources, we design a resulting big-data IT artifact with an integrated analytics engine. To this end, we cooperate with a German manufacturing company to roll-out the system. We show its value as the system significantly reduces the duration of escalations. Subsequently, we formalize our learning in the context of related research and highlight the importance of integrated and automated analytics, especially relating to additional business data sources. Considering additional business data sources, we provide an overview of future research activities such as the extended integration of machine learning methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Kriegers Flak Combined Grid Solution (KF CGS) is the world-first hybrid-asset system, which serves as an interconnection between East Denmark and Germany via the offshore wind power infrastructure in the Baltic Sea. The hybrid-asset system includes offshore wind power plants of both countries interconnected via a meshed offshore HVAC grids and an HVDC Back-to-Back Converter Station at German shoreline. The KF CGS interconnection is controlled by the Master Controller for Interconnector Operation (MIO). The MIO utilizes the optimal power flow (OPF) and performs the transmission capacity calculation applying wind power forecasts, equipment's electrical data, availability and ratings including dynamic line rating (DLR), and onshore grid limitations. Due to wind power forecast errors or trip of transmission equipment, the MIO mitigates overloading of any KF CGS equipment, which may occur, according to the prioritized rules with minimum possible wind power curtailment. This paper explains the method behind the transmission capacity calculations of the KF CGS hybrid-asset system, implementation of the simulation model for the grid-planning and grid-stability assessment, and presents the results of the MIO first onsite test. The lessons learned are useful for design and operation of future hybrid-asset systems combining both HVAC and/or HVDC interconnector offshore grids and wind power feeding into the same grid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2011 the German government decided to shut down existing nuclear generation units successively until 2022 and to accelerate the deployment of electricity generation based on renewable energy sources (RES). Since then the RES target figures were repeatedly increased in accordance with the European energy policy objectives. As nuclear generation units were erected close to load centers in Southern Germany and wind power generation is mainly located in Northern Germany, a significant increase in North-South load flows during strong wind situations has been observed. This is amplified by changes in the power generation portfolio together with the political commitment to increase cross-border trading capacities beyond physical transmission capacities. Especially in high wind generation scenarios with additional transit flows through Germany, the maximum transmission grid capacities may be exceeded. The congestion in the transmission grid needs to be mitigated by TSO instructed generation redispatch. The paper covers the periods 2019/20 and 2022/23 and considers annual trends, as well as severe scenarios. It provides insights into the legal, regulatory and analytical background of this system analysis. Besides refining the process for determining the robust reserve generation portfolio, in 2019 the flowbased market coupling methodology was implemented to adequately consider the future market framework as defined by the EU clean energy package. The methodologies are outlined and the results of the market and grid analyses are presented. In conclusion, the paper illustrates the increasing challenges to maintain system security and the need for adequate transmission system reinforcement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sustainable expansion of the German transmission grid is crucial for the successful conversion of the energy system in Germany. In addition to the construction of new 380-kV-AC transmission lines, high-performance HVDC links based on the VSC-MMC technology are required. This is the prerequisite to transport energy generated by wind farms in the north of Germany to the load centres in the south. The first of these HVDC links will be the 'Ultranet' and its extension to the north ('A-Nord') which together will also form the first multi-terminal system within Germany. In the future, more and more power-electronic converters (HVDC, STATCOM etc.) will be integrated into the grid. In some regions, they will be electrically close to each other which includes the possibility of unwanted (controller) interactions via or with the AC system. Such AC-side grid-interaction phenomena involving powerelectronic converters are not yet fully understood and simulation models are not as standardized as for classical power-system-stability phenomena. This paper describes a unique test-bench that enables a realistic investigation of ACside grid-interaction phenomena, the derivation of mitigation measures and the validation of simulation models. For the most part, the hardware components and the overall arrangement of the test bench are described. In addition, an exemplary simulation study is presented which demonstrates the importance of converter control principles on the system stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the course of the ongoing transition of the energy supply towards a renewable and decentralized system, the number of electric vehicles in Germany is also increasing. The growing number of electric vehicles is an important part of the energy transition, along with the expansion of decentralized generation facilities. While there is sufficient measurement technology available at the transmission grid level to calculate the state of the grid and the calculation algorithms focus more on the redundancy of the measured values and their measurement errors, there is hardly any measurement technology available below the 110 kV level. As a result, the observability of mediumvoltage and low-voltage grids is severely restricted. This situation is historically conditioned and can be traced back to the power supply by means of central large-scale power plants. This paper highlights the added value of smart meters in the context of the integration of electromobility. Furthermore, it will be presented how the combination of smart meters and decentralized distribution grid automation systems can cost-efficiently increase the transparency in the grid. Within this framework, an intelligent Smart Meter Converter is presented, which provides the decentralized grid automation system with scenario-specific Smart Meter data in a usable form. The advantages and relevance of such a module in the context of digitization and industry 4.0 will be highlighted. Based on this, first steps for the practical realization of an intelligent Smart Meter Converter will be presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the intersection of learning methodologies to promote the development of 21st century skills with the use of Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC) tools to enhance language learning among adolescent learners. Today, technology offers a greater range of affordances in the teaching and learning of second languages while research shows that student classrooms still continue to concentrate on linguistic competences rather than communicative competences (Gilmore, 2011). The Bridge21 model, which is technology-mediated, team-led and project-based, brings a particular approach to 21st-century learning and is distinguished by the mixture and focus of scaffolding and consistency in the application (Lawlor, Conneely, & Tangney, 2010). An exploratory case study was designed to extend the Bridge21 model to include spatially-separated teams, based in Ireland and Germany, learning together and enhancing the use of oral and aural skills for second language acquisition. Thirty-six students worked on project-based tasks during a six day workshop focused on the usage of authentic materials and CMC tools. The findings suggest that using the Bridge21 learning model succeeded in allowing students to collaborate at a distance and to participate in second language acquisition. [For full proceedings, see ED564162.]

In the context of education and training, competency measurement (CM) is a central challenge in competency management. For complex CMs, a compromise must be addressed between the time available and the number of dimensions to be measured or the quality of the measurements. Increasing the efficiency of existing tests for CMs therefore poses a key challenge. An important approach to this challenge is computerized adaptive testing. For CMs, there is currently a lack of integrated adaptive testing tools. This paper presents the implementation, integration and evaluation of an appropriate adaptive component for the example of the learning management system ILIAS used for a CM of health workers. The textbook scenario of a linear testing implementation is compared with concrete results from the adaptive testing tool implementation, and the potential for increasing the test efficiency is demonstrated. [For the full proceedings, see ED562095.]

The ubiquity of mobile devices demands the exploitation of their potentials in distance and face-to-face teaching, as well for complementing textbooks in printed or electronic format. There is a strong need to develop innovative resources that open up new dimensions of learning and teaching through interactive and platform-independent content. This paper presents such a resource for statistics education and vocational training. It is about a new, award-winning web app that is already employed world-wide in different educational settings, for example at universities within traditional statistics courses or online campus systems. [For the full proceedings, see ED562096.]

This paper compares the counting and whole number knowledge and skills of primary school children in Australia and Germany at the end of Grade 1 and Grade 2. Children's learning was assessed using the Early Numeracy Interview and associated Growth Point Framework. The findings highlight substantial differences between the two groups that vary for the four whole number content domains that have been investigated. These variations are likely due to different curriculum emphases in the two countries.

Air transport demand is highly monitored determinant since its knowledge is important for transport planners, airlines, airports and aircraft manufacturers as well. In the present paper we analyzed whether there is a causal relationship between air transport demand and population in Germany. The dependence was examined by correlation analysis of residues which guarantees to reveal the true relationship between any determinants. However, it is essential to realize that the population is very extensive term and brings together groups of people with different characteristics. Therefore not only the influence of the population as a whole was examined, but the population was for research purpose divided into groups according to the economic activity of citizens. The relationship between population and air transport demand was explored in Germany as a whole and also separately for its districts. Although previous research has proven the relationship between the population and air transport demand, in this case is shown that air transport demand depends much more on number of inactive citizens than on the whole population. It was also discovered that the demand is more dependent on the total population of the country than on the number of inhabitants in individual districts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents two subparts of a scientific study by order of the Federal Environment Ministry of Germany. Firstly, the current load forecast error in Germany is evaluated and two approaches for improvement of today's situation are discussed. It is shown that both the immediate equalization of wind and load forecast error and the establishment of a joint control area in Germany may reduce the control reserve which has to be held due to the load forecast error. Secondly, two approaches for generation management of wind turbines are investigated. A rough estimation of the expected values for control reserve and the average tariff for wind power feed-in shows that the application of generation management may be economically feasible in a large scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Grid integration of decentral power generation units and storage systems as well as new requirements from the "Network Code on Requirements for Grid Connection of Generators" (NC RfG) by the European Union lead to new grid codes in all countries of the EU. In Germany the VDE "Association for Electrical, Electronic & Information Technologies" will publish new grid requirements for power generating facilities and storage systems in the next two years. The grid codes for all voltage levels from low voltage to ultrahigh voltage are being revised at the moment. It is expected that the first public draft of the medium voltage level grid code (VDE-AR-N 4110) will be available early 2017. This medium voltage grid code uses concepts of the latest public high voltage grid code VDE-AR-N 4120 which will be amended itself according to the requirements from the NC RfG. In a further step the test and certification requirements will be updated in Germany by the Fördergesellschaft Windenergie und andere dezentrale Energien e.V. (FGW). This paper provides an overview on the current status of the grid code requirements and the test, simulation and certification guidelines in Germany. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The centrifugal particle receiver “CentRec” is a solar tower receiver development by DLR based on a direct absorption receiver concept especially suitable for high temperature process heat and electricity generation applications. Ceramic particles are used as heat transfer and storage medium for temperatures up to 1000°C. A centrifugal particle receiver system including a CentRec receiver prototype has been tested up to 965°C average receiver outlet temperature in the research platform of DLR’s test facility Juelich Solar Tower, Germany. This paper describes the first test results with a focus on first operational experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Language variety (multilingualism) gains today more and more significance in our community. Children in their early school years have already access to different language sources. There is a friendly educational environment that allows further students fit into new practices whereas languages are able to help them (re)orienting their educational frame. In times past the rigid curriculum of the school system restricted language variety. The decision to exclude Low German (Niederdeutsch) in schools in the 19th century led to a partial extinction of the language and its dialects in Northern Germany nowadays, whereas miles away in South Europe the Basque language reshaped its ideological terrain and turned from a banned language in Franco's dictatorship (about 40 years ago) into a co-official regional language in nowadays Spain with an increasing number of speakers. This paper investigates firstly the status of a language as a minority/local/regional language in opposition to a dominant/national/official language, whereas denominations such as: minority or official languages need further explanations. In Ireland the Irish language has the status of an official language, on the other hand the number of people who declared they speak the language amounts to 6-7% in the whole population. This gives Irish both a minority and an official status, nevertheless: the name of a so called minority language can vary depending on region and tradition. Low German, also known as Nether German or Low Saxon (Niederdeutsch, Plattdeutsch, Nedersaksisch) is still competing for an official name. Whereas in Spain there is Euskera or el Vasco. Secondly, the paper analyses the role of two minority languages within the national educational system of Spain, France and Germany. The two languages are: the Basque language which is spoken in Northern Spain (more exactly in the Basque Country and northern Navarre) and France (in the French Basque Country), the second language is: Low German (spoken mainly in northern parts of Germany). Thirdly, the present paper concludes the fact that within a multilingual/bilingual/monolingual milieu of nowadays Europe a revitalization of a minority language can be achieved due to certain social mechanisms. There is the school system on one hand, then the tradition and identity values a certain group of people may perform and of course there are the authorities and the language policies they develop on the other hand. Accordingly, by means of a collaboration of these mechanisms a revitalization of the Basque language was possible in Spain, respectively because of a malfunction of these structures we notice a decline of Low German in Germany. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In many industrialized societies we observe persistent gender pay gaps and while labor force participation of women is increasing, it is also consistently found to be lower than men's par- ticipation. The persistence of gender inequality seems surprising, given recent developments of globalization and the sectoral shift from male dominated industrial production to service work. In this paper, we address the question of how economic globalization affects gender inequality. Using employer-employee linked administrative data, we analyze trade flows between Germany and China as well as Eastern Europe. We use an instrumental variable approach to identify the causal effects of trade exposure on men's and womens labor force participation and wages in Germany. We show that imports, and to a lesser degree exports, affect female and male labor market outcomes differentially. While women seem to be overproportionally negatively affected by imports, their labor force participation also does not seem to improve through increasing exports. We ascribe these disproportional effects mainly to occupational sex segregation and differences in men's and women's position in firms affected by trade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]