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Copyright of Information -- Wissenschaft und Praxis is the property of De Gruyter and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The use of digital technologies in agriculture offers various benefits, such as site-specific application, better monitoring, and physical relief. The handling of these technologies requires a specific skill set. Therefore, the question arises of when and how farm managers learn about digital technologies. Aiming to analyse the current situation, the present research investigated the role that digital technologies play in vocational training for future farm managers. Taking the example of farm management information systems (FMIS), the present study also analysed various predictors of adoption, including the effect of training. To investigate these research questions, an online survey among teachers and students of the farm management vocational programme across Switzerland was conducted in the spring of 2021. In total, 150 individuals participated, 41 of whom were teachers. Participants answered questions about the learning content in the farm management programme and their perception of digital technologies in general. Students further reported whether they already had a farm they would be managing in the future and how they perceived FMIS. The results indicate that both teachers and students are convinced that digital technologies play an important role in agriculture and will gain more importance in the future. A substantial part of 43% of the students who participated indicated that they had learned neither about digital technologies during their basic agricultural training nor the subsequent farm management programme. In terms of FMIS, 51% of the student sample indicated that they had never heard about FMIS during their agricultural training. While having learned about FMIS was not a significant predictor for adoption, gender, perceived ease of use, and intention to use more digital technologies in the future significantly predicted the adoption of FMIS. The paper concludes that, to support the adoption of digital technologies and FMIS specifically, training for future farm managers should focus on how to operate an FMIS to increase the perceived ease of use of this technology. [Display omitted] • 57% of the students learned about digital technologies during vocational school. • 49% of the students learned about FMIS during vocational school. • Intention to use digital technologies is an important predictor for the TTMA. • Perceived ease of use of FMIS is an important predictor for the TTMA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the development and the "state of the art" of masculinity studies in the German-speaking countries (Austria, Germany, Switzerland). It concentrates on social sciences, with further attention to historical and pedagogical studies. First it is described how men's studies (Männerforschung) developed: starting as a mélange of male (therapeutic) self-reflection and scientific analysis before becoming part of "normal science." Second, it discusses two central theoretical frameworks and their interrelation, Connell's concept of hegemonic masculinity and Bourdieu's analysis of male dominance. Third, the paper reports on current focal concerns of German- speaking masculinity studies: fatherhood, changes in males' occupational relationships, migrant masculinities, educational underachieving, and changing military masculinities. The paper shows how these concerns are influenced by societal and political developments in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Empirical research on type of education shows that vocational education is advantageous early in the career but that general education may be of benefit later on. To what degree this is shaped by employers' preference, however, has not received much attention in the literature. This paper seeks to delve into how employers perceive vocational education as opposed to general, and how this perception may vary based on the gender and age of a job candidate. We use a factorial survey experiment of employers and HR managers in Switzerland, where respondents assigned a likelihood of inviting candidates to a job interview who, among other dimensions, varied randomly on their age, gender, and type of education. We find an overall preference for vocational over general education at the tertiary level, but not at the upper-secondary. This is stronger for female candidates than male at the tertiary level. Preferences for vocational education over general do not vary systematically by age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses the rarely studied relationship between job vacancies and inter-firm upward, lateral, and downward status mobility in an occupationally segmented labor market, taking Switzerland as the example. To conceptualize mobility mechanisms in this type of labor market, we introduce the concept of “occupational mobility chains” and test its validity. This concept provides the backdrop for developing time-dependent measures of individual job opportunities based on Swiss Job Monitor data. We link these measures with career data taken from the Swiss Life History Study and employ event history analysis to test different propositions of the ways in which status mobility is contingent on the number and the status of vacant positions. Results support our assumption that in occupationally segmented labor markets vacant positions affect status mobility only to the degree that they are located within workers’ occupational mobility chains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the post-war era, millions of Southern European workers migrated north for employment. This economically driven labour-migration had strong socio-political consequences - especially in the field of education. The compulsory education for the children of the migrated workers proved to be a challenge for the authorities of the sending and receiving countries as well as for the immigrants themselves. This paper focuses on the educational policies of Italian associations in Switzerland in the 1960s and 1970s, which corresponded to the immigrants' uncertain situation between temporary sojourn and permanent residence in Switzerland. In the view of the Italian organizations, the education of their children had to be aligned for a possible school career either in Switzerland or in Italy. They agreed that educational disadvantages in Switzerland had to be avoided as much as possible, as the chance of reintegration into schools back in Italy had to be guaranteed. Thus, they were in search of the best schooling for two possiblefutures. However, in the long run it was not only their struggle for an adequate education for migrants' children, but also a new law in Italy that succeeded in transforming elements of compulsory schooling in Switzerland towards a more transnational education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Swiss Journal of Sociology / Schweizerische Zeitschrift für Soziologie is the property of Sciendo and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Education et Societes is the property of INRP and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Education et Societes is the property of INRP and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The hospitality industry, and as a consequence hospitality education, are extremely sensitive to global events such as the 2003 SARS epidemic or the 2004 South East Asian Tsunami disaster. This paper presents a case study of Swiss Hotel Schools, where a student survey has been used to monitor fluctuations in attitudes and satisfaction on a longitudinal basis. The survey began in 2000 on one campus and has since been extended to cover all campuses. Profile Accumulation Technique (PAT) formed the basis of the survey, as it allowed students' unbiased concerns to be regularly collected and quantified. From the PAT data a closed questionnaire was developed which could be used to monitor satisfaction, and the PAT and questionnaire data were used together to produce regular important-performance (I-P) charts showing the strengths and weaknesses of the operation. The technique allowed the schools to monitor and respond to change on an ongoing basis. The results were used to inform and improve the management of the library, reception, student social and sports provision, and information technology services. The case had all the features suggested by Schein (1988) for a typical change process, but it is too early to claim that a lasting change had occurred, since the development of the change seemed still to be occurring and no "re-freezing" was evident. The general level of awareness among both management and staff was also still quite low. However, there was evidence of an incipient interest in measurement and evaluation as a result of this survey, that could ultimately develop into the kind of established culture that distinguishes a learning organisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]