Zoekresultaten

Fostering executive functions the Montessori way

Musicking in Groningen

This study focuses on the uses and functions of music in the life of individuals in the province of Groningen at the beginning of the twenty-first century. The study is an ethnomusicological study representing the sub-discipline of ethnomusicology-at-home. It uses Andreas Reckwitz’ formulation of practice theory as a theoretical starting point and introduces methodological principles from the field of qualitative sociology. Central in the study is the individual. 30 theoretically sampled individuals recounted their musical biographies in narrative-biographical interviews, which were analyzed in detail and eventually led to a sufficiently suggested grounded theory of the uses and functions of music in Groningen AD 2010. The theory consists o three interrelated compartments. The first compartment contains a description o the uses o music a expressed b the interviewees. ‘Use’ refers t the ‘customary exercise o music’ i concrete musical social situations. The result o this study i of this study. The study describes how three cultural codes seem to be shared amongst many (though not all) of the interviewees: the codes of playing an instrument, craftsmanship, and musicality, together forming the supercode of the music specialist. These three more general codes are combined with two further codes to form the highly specific and culturally hegemonic musical subject culture of art music, expressing that music is a specialism; it is the craft of playing an instrument by talented individuals; that this craftsmanship must be combined with expressivity; and that through this form of specialized expression musical objects come into being which represent the ideal realm of the artistic. By discussing this attempt at a grounded theory of the uses and functions of music in Groningen AD 2010, a picture is delivered of how individuals become musical individuals. Through their musicking in the context of concrete musical social situations they use music for the functions of affirmation, connection and regulation of the self; and they do this in the context of a web of cultural codes labeling shared and disputed – and sometimes hegemonic – ways of doing and talking. An evaluation of the theory and methodology used in this study shows that both assist in further developing the field of ethnomusicology(-at-home); an evaluation of the results in the light of existing research shows that they contribute to further insights into the uses and functions of music. Four areas for further research are mentioned: typologizing the uses and functions of music, musical discourses, musical subject cultures, and the place of the musical subject order of art music in contemporary society. The study ends with a description of the possible implications for conservatoires. Conservatoires are recommended to encourage students to think of their future audiences in the broadest possible terms, taking into account the wide variety of uses and functions of music figuring in the daily lives of musicking individuals. They are encouraged to make students look upon themselves (also) as service providers, and as such to be open and non-judgmental in their relationships towards the musical other. Conservatoires are recommended to translate this into their curricula by devising transformative projects in which students meet ‘musical others’, and by encouraging their students to take their possible audiences into account consciously in any musical social situation they devise or find themselves in.

The perceptions of digitalization and cyber security

This paper explores the nexus between digital transformation and cybersecurity, examining professional perceptions of these intertwined concepts As Industry 4.0 reshapes organizations and society, digital technologies and connectivity become pivotal. Businesses adopting e-business and cloud computing encounter challenges like information security and disruptive innovations, propelling digital transformation. However, this shift introduces new risks, particularly in cybersecurity, altering risk distribution and security requirements. The widespread integration of interconnected devices across business functions makes them vulnerable to cyber-attacks, necessitating robust cybersecurity measures. This study scrutinizes factors preventing unintentional and intentional security incidents and maps cyber risk perceptions. Through a survey of 124 professionals in collaboration with BUSIBER, we elucidate risk perception and implemented controls, essential for organizations to navigate the digital landscape securely and safeguard their market reputation. Understanding the impacts of digitalization and cybersecurity on diverse business functions is crucial for devising effective strategies to mitigate risks and ensure sustainable development.

Wave function correlations and the AC conductivity of disordered wires beyond the Mott-Berezinskii law

In one-dimensional disordered wires electronic states are localized at any energy. Correlations of the states at close positive energies and the AC conductivity \sigma(\omega) in the limit of small frequency are described by the Mott-Berezinskii theory. We revisit the instanton approach to the statistics of wave functions and AC transport valid in the tails of the spectrum (large negative energies). Applying our recent results on functional determinants, we calculate exactly the integral over Gaussian fluctuations around the exact two-instanton saddle point. We derive correlators of wave functions at different energies beyond the leading order in the energy difference. This allows us to calculate corrections to the Mott-Berezinskii law (the leading small-frequency asymptotic behavior of \sigma(\omega)) which approximate the exact result in a broad range of \omega. We compare our results with the ones obtained for positive energies.

The combined value of executive functions and self-regulated learning to predict differences in study success among higher education students

Introduction: Self-regulated learning (SRL) has traditionally been associated with study success in higher education. In contrast, study success is still rarely associated with executive functions (EF), while it is known from neuropsychological practice that EF can influence overall functioning and performance. However some studies have shown relationships between EF and study success, but this has mainly been investigated in school children and adolescents. EF refer to higher-order cognitive processes to regulate cognition, behavior, and emotion in service of adaptive and goal-directed behaviors. SRL is a dynamic process in which learners activate and maintain cognitions, affects, and behaviors to achieve personal learning goals. This study explores the added value of including EF and SRL to predict study success (i.e., the obtained credits). Methods: In this study, we collected data from 315 first-year psychology students of a University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands who completed questionnaires related to both EF (BRIEF) and SRL (MSLQ) two months after the start of the academic year. Credit points were obtained at the end of that first academic year. We used Structural Equation Modeling to test whether EF and SRL together explain more variance in study success than either concept alone. Results: EF explains 19.8% of the variance, SRL 22.9%, and in line with our hypothesis, EF and SRL combined explain 39.8% of the variance in obtained credits. Discussion: These results indicate that focusing on EF and SRL could lead to a better understanding of how higher education students learn successfully. This might be the objective of further investigation.

The combined value of executive functions and self-regulated learning to predict differences in study success among higher education students

Introduction: Self-regulated learning (SRL) has traditionally been associated with study success in higher education. In contrast, study success is still rarely associated with executive functions (EF), while it is known from neuropsychological practice that EF can influence overall functioning and performance. However some studies have shown relationships between EF and study success, but this has mainly been investigated in school children and adolescents. EF refer to higher-order cognitive processes to regulate cognition, behavior, and emotion in service of adaptive and goal-directed behaviors. SRL is a dynamic process in which learners activate and maintain cognitions, affects, and behaviors to achieve personal learning goals. This study explores the added value of including EF and SRL to predict study success (i.e., the obtained credits). Methods: In this study, we collected data from 315 first-year psychology students of a University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands who completed questionnaires related to both EF (BRIEF) and SRL (MSLQ) two months after the start of the academic year. Credit points were obtained at the end of that first academic year. We used Structural Equation Modeling to test whether EF and SRL together explain more variance in study success than either concept alone. Results: EF explains 19.8% of the variance, SRL 22.9%, and in line with our hypothesis, EF and SRL combined explain 39.8% of the variance in obtained credits. Discussion: These results indicate that focusing on EF and SRL could lead to a better understanding of how higher education students learn successfully. This might be the objective of further investigation.