Purpose: To assess the potential of a paper diary for strengthening accountability in public agricultural extension services. Therefore a paper diary called 'Diary for Agricultural Extension Officers' was developed and tested in Uganda. Design/methodology/approach: A qualitative case study research approach was applied for the development and…

Using data from the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies, this paper compares the earnings premium and employment share of jobs in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) across 11 member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. The results reveal that the STEM wage premium…

The private sector has been assigned a leading role in the construction of a global knowledge economy (GKE), and public-private partnerships (PPPs) have been portrayed as the silver bullet that will solve many problems in public education. However, recent research has raised concern about side effects of this mode of operation. It is becoming…

Universities and other higher education institutions in Europe offer a vast and increasing number of academic degree programs in the broad field of Public Administration. A subset of these programs is those offering postgraduate degrees to experienced students being already employed by public or private organisations. These executive programs are…

In the study the emphasis is put on web-based trainings (WBT). WBTs are the most common form of e-learning in on-the-job trainings in the private and public sector in Germany, whereas blended-learning scenarios and virtual classrooms are only used by 55% and 41% respectively. In spite of the increasing distribution of e-learning applications in…

Employers' recruitment behaviour in entry labour markets is central for young people's transitions from school to work. Whereas previous research has focused on the effects of specific applicant characteristics, I concentrate on how organisational characteristics, namely organisation size and private or public sector affiliation, relate to…

Using 20years of employment and job mobility data from a representative German sample (N = 1259), we employ optimal matching analysis (OMA) to identify six career patterns which deviate from the traditional career path of long-term, full-time employment in one organization. Then, in further analyses, we examine which socio-demographic predictors…

The objective of this paper is an efficiency analysis concerning higher education systems in European countries. Data have been extracted from OECD data-sets (Education at a Glance, several years), using a non-parametric technique--data envelopment analysis--to calculate efficiency scores. This paper represents the first attempt to conduct such an…

Comparative analysis of the transition from higher education to work often focuses on cross-national variations of higher education systems to explain country-specific mobility patterns of higher education graduates. The structure of graduate labour markets, however, has received less attention, despite differences across countries. Variations in…

This article addresses the question of why fields of study differ in early labour market returns. It is argued that the higher the potential training costs of a field of study the more problematic the labour market integration of graduates. This is due to the fact that employers use the occupational specificity and selectivity of a study programme…

The article tries to answer two questions: Has the education system of the GDR disappeared without a trace? What role could academics in the field of education from the GDR play after the state of the GDR was dissolved? The policies of the East German states are looked at with respect to the heritage of the GDR education system, and attention is…

This article examines nanotechnology within the context of the public interest. It notes that though nanotechnology research and development investment totalled US$9.6 billion in 2005, the public presently understands neither the implications nor how it might be best governed. The article maps a range of nanotechnology dialogue activities under…

Compares approaches and trends in lifelong learning in Britain, Sweden, and Germany. The centrally planned Swedish approach increasingly needs to curb public expenditure. The German experience, an integrated partnership between the state and the private sector, is particularly sensitive to downturns in the economic cycle. The British approach…

Econometric estimates were used to determine the effects of publicly funded continuous vocational training and retraining in the former East Germany. Results suggest that, despite large public expenditures, no positive effects occurred in the first years after training. (SK)

Examines technological and innovation processes and the economic benefits in a region with open borderlines (Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany) as part of a national innovation and economic system. Provides scientometric data on the contribution of public institutions to technological development and a synopsis of present structures and an information…