The Concept of Health-Promoting Collaboration—A Starting Point to Reduce Presenteeism?

Background: Since presenteeism is related to numerous negative health and work-related effects, measures are required to reduce it. There are initial indications that how an organization deals with health has a decisive influence on employees’ presenteeism behavior.Aims: The concept of health-promoting collaboration was developed on the basis of these indications. As an extension of healthy leadership it includes not only the leader but also co-workers. In modern forms of collaboration, leaders cannot be assigned sole responsibility for employees’ health, since the leader is often hardly visible (digital leadership) or there is no longer a clear leader (shared leadership). The study examines the concept of health-promoting collaboration in relation to presenteeism. Relationships between health-promoting collaboration, well-being and work ability are also in focus, regarding presenteeism as a mediator.Methods: The data comprise the findings of a quantitative survey of 308 employees at a German university of applied sciences. Correlation and mediator analyses were conducted.Results: The results show a significant negative relationship between health-promoting collaboration and presenteeism. Significant positive relationships were found between health-promoting collaboration and both well-being and work ability. Presenteeism was identified as a mediator of these relationships.Conclusion: The relevance of health-promoting collaboration in reducing presenteeism was demonstrated and various starting points for practice were proposed. Future studies should investigate further this newly developed concept in relation to presenteeism.

Mechanical Engineering Students Project-Based Learning in OUAS

This chapter introduces project-based learning approach which is used in the Oulu University of Applied Sciences (OUAS), School of Engineering and Natural Resources, Mechanical Engineering Department to get local companies to offer project works to mechanical engineering students. The concept is based on organizing a local event or online event for the companies to come to OUAS campus to present their challenges needing engineering students to solve. The companies are then competing, selling, or pitching their problem for engineering students as the engineering students will then individually select the most interesting cases to be solved, and which has linkage to potential summer job and thesis work opportunities if projects are successful. The concept has proven to be successful, and it has been established as traditional event with many companies returning to the pitching event annually to get their industry problems solved by group of motivated engineering students.

Implementation of Multilingual Education for Sustainable Development in the Netherlands and Kazakhstan

The chapter presents a comparative analysis of the implementation of multilingual/bilingual education in Kazakhstan and the Netherlands. The study explores the origin and role of multilingualism, for socio-economic development, relevant regional and international practices in multilingual education, the growth of trilingual instruction, English language training and the use of digital technologies (distant, e-learning programs) in the Eurasian region, Major common features and differences of implementing multilingual/bilingual teaching between the two case studies and the main findings from research trips are identified. A theoretical analysis of scholarly approaches, as well as practical and methodological implications, are made on the example of implementing multilingual instruction at the Kazakhstani agricultural higher educational institutions, particularly Kazakh National Agrarian University and Kazakh S. Seifullin Agritechnical University and Dutch counterparts - Wageningen University, and the Hague University of Applied Sciences.

Report from the 13th International Conference on Researching and Applying Metaphor: "Metaphorical Creativity in a Multilingual World" (Hamar, Norway, 18–21 June 2020)

Report from the 13th International Conference on Researching and Applying Metaphor: Metaphorical Creativity in a Multilingual World (Hamar, Norway, 18–21 June 2020)The RaAM 2020 conference on metaphor research was held online on 18–21 June 2020, hosted by the Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences (INN) in Hamar, Norway. The aim was to exchange ideas and research findings of historians, culture studies specialists, and cognitive linguists from all around the world. The theme of the event was Metaphorical Creativity in a Multilingual World, including the following areas: multimodal metaphor, metaphor in spoken discourse, metaphor in gesture, metaphor in cross-cultural communication, metaphor and translation, metaphor and film, metaphor in education. Among the large group of researchers, specialists from Lithuania and Latvia presented their findings in metaphor research based on local data (Lithuanian media, posters, advertisements and billboards, film translation into Lithuanian). Sprawozdanie z trzynastej międzynarodowej konferencji dotyczącej badania i zastosowania metafory pt. Metaphorical Creativity in a Multilingual World (Hamar, Norwegia, 18–21 czerwca 2020)Wirtualna konferencja naukowa RaAM 2020 poświęcona badaniom nad metaforą odbyła się w dniach 18–21 czerwca 2020 roku w Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences (INN) w Hamarze w Norwegii. Celem spotkania była wymiana myśli i wyników badań naukowych historyków, kulturoznawców i językoznawców kognitywnych z całego świata. Tematem konferencji była kreatywność metaforyczna w wielojęzycznym świecie i obejmował on następujące obszary: metafora multimodalna, metafora w dyskursie mówionym, metafora w gestach, metafora w komunikacji międzykulturowej, metafora i przekład, metafora i film, metafora w edukacji. Wśród licznych badaczy byli również specjaliści z Litwy i Łotwy, którzy zaprezentowali wyniki badań nad metaforą na podstawie danych ze źródeł krajowych (media litewskie, plakaty, reklamy i bilbordy, tłumaczenie filmów na język litewski).

Learning about materiality through tinkering with Micro:bits

This paper discusses two pilot projects in Art and design education at the teacher training at Western Norway University of Applied Sciences. In the second round of drafts for the new curriculum of Art and design digital knowledge is described as stretching from using simple digital resources to master and shape your own digital products. It is no longer limited to two-dimensional visual modelling as previously drafted. This is in our view a new approach in a subject where making, tinkering and designing allows for explorations in both 2D and 3D. Given that we want to encourage the use of the digital together with the use of physical materials, the pilot case studies demonstrate the importance of bringing coding and the material aspects of tinkering, making, and creating into play. The BBC Micro:bit was used to make coding and mechanical control part of projects made with traditional material. Further research and development should be undertaken to bring such practices into classrooms in primary and lower secondary schools.

Experiencing (from) the inside – Mediated perspectives in kindergartens

This paper presents a case study of preservice kindergarten teachers’ use of new form of digital imagery. The paper introduces spherical cameras and digital microscopes and discusses their affordances when introduced in practical use in in teacher education and in kindergartens. The use in kindergartens was introduced through a class of 34 teacher students in kindergarten education. The students were special­izing in Arts and design at Western Norway University of Applied Sciences. The use of images from spherical cameras and digital microscopes is discussed and analysed, based on data from student responses through two questionnaires, group presentations and discussions in class, and an analysis of various media material produced by students.

A Brief Review of Our Agile Teaching Formats in Entrepreneurship Education

Companies are confronted with increasingly demanding environments, including globalization, technologization, intergenerationality, and crises such as the coronavirus pandemic. To accept uncertainties as a challenge and to recognize opportunities for development, well-educated and resilient founders are needed who can foster innovation and sustainable development within society and the economy. The majority of today’s entrepreneurs have an academic background. Hence, institutions for higher education need to provide comprehensive educational offerings and support initiatives to train and sensitize future entrepreneurs. Therefore, since 2013, agile teaching formats have been developed in our project at a Bavarian university of applied sciences. In two stages, we founded a limited company for hands-on experimentation with entrepreneurship and also conceptualized an elective course and an annual founders’ night. Based on a theoretical model and continuous teaching evaluations, we adjusted the individual modules to suit the target group. The objective is to promote the acquisition of key competencies and exert a positive influence on the startup quotient in the region. There are six startups by students who can be traced back to our project. This indicates that a target-group-oriented educational program encourages motivation and awareness of entrepreneurial thinking and action among students.

Application of Computer Vision and Python Scripts as Educational Mechatronic Platforms for Engineering Development in STEM Technologies

This paper presents the process of designing, fabrication, assembling, programming and optimizing a prototype of a nonlinear mechatronic Ball-Plate System (BPS) as a laboratory platform for STEM engineer education. Due to the nonlinearity and complexity of BPS, task presents challenging issues, such as: 1) difficulties in controlling the stabilization of a given position point known as steady state error, 2) position resolution known as specific distance error and 3) adverse environmental effects - light shadow error, also discussed in this paper. The laboratory BPS prototype for education was designed, manufactured and installed at the Karlovac University of Applied Sciences at the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Study of mechatronics. The low-cost two degrees BPS system uses a USB HD camera for computer vision as feedback and two DC servomotors as actuators. Due to controlling problems, an advanced block diagram of control system is proposed and discussed. An open-source control system based on Python scripts that allows the use of ready-made functions from the library allows changing the color of the ball and the parameters of the PID controller, thus indirectly simplifying control system and directly the mathematical calculation. The authors will continue their research on this BPS mechatronic platform and control algorithms.

Online (Remote) Teaching for Laboratory Based Courses Using “digital Twins” of the Experiments

Covid-19 pandemic has introduced radical changes to the engineering education so that most of the teaching moved to the off-campus setting of online classes. However, conducting the laboratory classes, a fundamental part of engineering education has remained to be a challenge. To address to this situation, an ambitious approach is taken to re-establish the laboratory experience entirely online with the help of digital twins of the laboratory experiments. Laboratory based undergraduate courses are important parts of the curriculum at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences (HSLU), Switzerland. During the Covid-19 pandemic, it was necessary to adapt to the new environment of remote learning and modify the laboratory experiments so that they can be carried out online. The approach was to develop digital twins of each laboratory experiment with web applications and to provide an environment together with supporting videos and interactive problems so that the laboratory experiments can be carried out remotely. This paper explains the development of the digital twins of the laboratory experiments and provides information about the selected experiments such as potential vortex, linear momentum equation, diffuser flow, radial compressor, fuel cell, and pump test rig. A remote or distance learning has many hurdles, a major one being how to teach hands-on laboratory courses outside of an actual laboratory. The experience at the HSLU showed that teaching online laboratories using the digital twins of the experiments can work and the students can take part in remote laboratories that meet the learning objectives.

E-Learning in Times Of COVID-19: Insights into Management and Communication Students’ Perspectives Throughout the Global Coronavirus Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought not only a global health crisis, but also many changes and shifts towards a more digitalized working environment. In line with the GlobalET conference theme of this year, this paper looks at how particularly the education sectors has been affected by these new forms of working. One year after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic the Competence Team for the Digitalization of Communication at the FHWien der WKW – University of Applied Sciences for Management and Communication conducted two comparative online surveys with students as well as 60 in-depth interviews. The results of this research help to identify and improve ongoing Distance Learning practices, starting with logistics such as the preferred study mode, recommended duration of the Distance Learning units or mandatory attendance of students during class. The outcome of the research will further contribute to sharpen the clarity of the purpose of digital activities to understand the required support services or online material and to develop possibilities to track students’ study progress. Even though there is an understanding that more than one year after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic the findings can only represent the current status and cannot give a long-term outlook, they might be useful to further develop students’ needs for future Distance Learning and its practices.