In this paper we provide evidence on the eeectiveness of the German apprenticeship system as a means to enhance workers productivity. More speciically, we estimate earnings diierentials between those who subsequently leave the occupation they were apprenticed in and those who remain in their training occupation. Some authors have been concerned with the potential productivity{ and earnings-decr...

We consider apprenticeship learning—learning from expert demonstrations—in the setting of large, complex domains. Past work in apprenticeship learning requires that the expert demonstrate complete trajectories through the domain. However, in many problems even an expert has difficulty controlling the system, which makes this approach infeasible. For example, consider the task of teaching a quad...

This research deals with two issues for learner modeling: uncertainty and multiple perspectives. Hence, it proposes a process called cognitive mapping to acquire and describe objects of a domain of study, and set fuzzy-causal relationships among them. Objects are characterized as linguistic variables that are instantiated by linguistic terms; whereas relations are outlined by means of fuzzyrule...

We discuss our design for implementing a computer-based tutor for learning object-oriented design. Traditional ITS techniques do not transfer well to open-ended tasks such as information systems modelling. Some have also argued that such systems take away many tasks, which are important for learners to carry out themselves, like error analysis and self-reflection Furthermore we build on the ass...

This paper describes the Minerva and Gerona agent architectures, which have been designed to facilitate apprenticeship learning in real-time decision making domains. Apprenticeship is a form of learning by watching, which is particularly useful in multi-agent knowledge-intensive domains. In this form of situated learning, human and synthetic agents refine their knowledge in the process of criti...

Firms participating in the German apprenticeship system do so voluntarily. Previous studies have found that on the average participating rms incur positive net cost from providing skills that appear to be easily transferable across rms. This is at variance with standard human capital theory that predicts that such training will be provided by rms operating in a com-petitve market only if worker...

Apprentice programs offer a method to encourage responsible individual behavior by laying the foundation for successful collective property rights. Apprenticeship has three purposes: to restrict the rate of entry, to affect the quality of the participant, and to create the conditions for collective action for sustainability. Apprenticeship could be an important fishery management tool, particul...

This paper investigates the short-term costs and benefits of apprenticeship training in Germany. It calls into question the popular stylised fact that apprenticeship training always leads to net costs during the apprenticeship period. We analyse the impact of the proportion of different occupational groups of apprentices on firm performance. We use representative matched employer–employee panel...

Product design involves many diverse disciplines and is often treated as an experience-based skill following an apprenticeship learning process. While this is a valuable approach, it can be greatly enhanced by analysis capabilities derived from the diversity of disciplines that contribute to design, including engineering, economics, marketing, and psychology. Quantitative models from these disc...

We present an algorithmic approach for integrated learning and planning in predictive representations. The approach extends earlier work on predictive state representations to the case of online exploration, by allowing exploration of the domain to proceed in a goal-directed fashion and thus be more efficient. Our algorithm interleaves online learning of the models, with estimation of the value...