Going Dutch: The Development of Collaborative Practices Between Higher Education and Museums and Galleries

This study reports on a very successful collaboration between teacher education courses in Manchester and Amsterdam and the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. The central aim of the initiative was to promote and sustain partnerships between Higher Education (HE) institutions, public galleries and schools with a view to developing, delivering and sharing good practice in art and design within a European context.     

The Funding of Higher Education in the UK: a Contribution to the Debate

In this paper we review arguments that have been well rehearsed in the economic literature in the past twenty years and which are relevant to the present debate over student loans and the funding of the higher education sector.
The body of the paper assesses four finding proposals: (1) The Government's mortgage-type loan scheme, (2) The Barr, National Insurance repayment scheme, (3) The Graduate Tax and (4) A Loan scheme based on the individual higher education institution.
Each proposal is assessed in terms of its efficiency impact in six dimensions, (i) set up costs and flexibility, (ii) administrative costs (iii) incentives (iv) information (v) the balance of public and private involvement, and (vi) equity.
We conclude that, overall, we would not recommend any of the alternatives as unambiguously superior on all counts. Insofar as a radical approach is to be implemented we argue that a scheme based on the individual higher education institution, with repayment via the National Insurance system, is probably the best option.     

Using Multidimensional Item Response Theory to Evaluate Educational and Psychological Tests

Many educational and psychological tests are inherently multidimensional, meaning these tests measure two or more dimensions or constructs. The purpose of this module is to illustrate how test practitioners and researchers can apply multidimensional item response theory (MIRT) to understand better what their tests are measuring, how accurately the different composites of ability are being assessed, and how this information can be cycled back into the test development process. Procedures for conducting MIRT analyses–from obtaining evidence that the test is multidimensional, to modeling the test as multidimensional, to illustrating the properties of multidimensional items graphically-are described from both a theoretical and a substantive basis. This module also illustrates these procedures using data from a ninth-grade mathematics achievement test. It concludes with a discussion of future directions in MIRT research.     

分享印象——关于Metavante与Fidelity的整合

Julie：本期我们再来谈一个行业的整合——Meta Vante与Fidelity的整合。这是一次价值44亿美元的行业整合。我常常搞不清楚像这样的整合是该叫合并还是收购。这可能要专门进行讨论,如果我们只评论合并和收购而不做其他评论,我们就可能深陷其中而不能自拔。难道你不希望我们多谈论一些新的突破性技术,甚至是绿色环保的命题？     

在路上：奥西数码印刷新航向会议

Andy：虽然任何来到美国佛罗里达州博卡拉顿的理由都是充分的,但我们尤其被奥西这次举办的数码印刷新航向会议所吸引,因为会议的主要参与者都是期待着进入数码印刷业,或想在数码印刷上取得更大进展的商业印刷商。     

赜墨和胶印孰优孰劣？

过去人们在说“在不久的将来,现在用大胶印机印刷的活件以后会在喷墨数码印刷机上印刷”的时候,你会笑话他们,因为你认为这事儿永远不可能。不过,今天你可能已经不会再笑话别人了,因为喷墨技术在过去几年里的进步之快,远出乎业内很多人士的预期。     

为肯尼亚青年谋求STEM教育的平等机会

肯尼亚人口中18岁以下的青少年占50％,他们是肯尼亚社会中一股重要而活跃的力量,大力发展青少年教育是促进发展的有效方式。肯尼亚科学中心是一所筹建中的STEM教育机构,旨在为所有青少年提供平等的教育机会,并接受STEM教育方面的启迪。本文介绍了建设和发展肯尼亚科学中心的各种工作方式,期望能够借鉴国际上其他科学中心的经验,以达成独具特色的发展目标。     

Bridging the Gap Between Degree Programme Curricula and Employability Through Implementation of Work-related Learning

This article investigates the gap between employers' requirements of graduates and the skills which graduates are furnished with through degree programmes in the higher education (HE) sector in the UK. A survey of 88 subject review reports prepared by the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) for environmentally related units in the UK showed little emphasis on employability issues. Surveys of first destination statistics of a cohort of graduates from two biological degrees and from national data showed that a significant proportion of graduates were in non-science-based activities. The non-knowledge-based learning outcomes from one degree were investigated, and showed that employability aspects were partially covered in the programme, but were not always associated with secure assessments. The concept of work-related learning is defined and a conceptual framework for HE practitioners is presented that could be used when designing curricula to better map programme learning outcomes onto graduate employment.