New Labour and Higher Education: Dilemmas and Paradoxes

David Blunkett's Greenwich speech (2000) set out what have become the main themes of New Labour's engagement with higher education, themes which were elaborated in the recent White Paper ( DfES, 2003a ). This paper draws attention to the dilemmas and paradoxes which arise from the difficulties of simultaneously satisfying the objectives which were set out in the aftermath of the 2001 general election, and from the trade off solutions and policies actually identified. The most fundamental conflict is between the desire to expand the system and the costs of that expansion. The author also identifies a conflict between institutional diversity and hierarchy and between exclusionism and accessibility. The paper concludes by suggesting that exclusionism is still alive and well under the government of a party that still has ‘Labour’ in its title.     

Excellence,Sharing, and Solidarity as Ethical Principles for International Academic Co‐operation: The Agence universitaire de la Francophonie

In this article the author addresses some of the ethical and moral challenges embodied in the global era. He considers the case of European universities and their heritage, particularly in light of the massification of West European, and now East and Central European, higher education systems. It is argued that European integration rests on balanced academic co‐operation, based on ethical and moral principles of sharing and solidarity. The activities of the Agence universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF) are introduced in this regard, as an example of outreach and empowerment in which excellence and co‐development meet sharing and solidarity.     

Earth's Surface Water Percentage?

A hands-on activity is used to illustrate standard point and interval estimates of a proportion. Since the proportion is more or less known, the accuracy of these estimates can be assessed. A hypothesis test associated with the interval estimate is also given.     

Longitudinal monitoring of power output and heart rate profiles in elite cyclists

Power output and heart rate were monitored for 11 months in one female (V(.)O(2max): 71.5 mL · kg?1 · min?1) and ten male (V(.)O(2max): 66.5 ± 7.1 mL · kg?1 · min?1) cyclists using SRM power-meters to quantify power output and heart rate distributions in an attempt to assess exercise intensity and to relate training variables to performance. In total, 1802 data sets were divided into workout categories according to training goals, and power output and heart rate intensity zones were calculated. The ratio of mean power output to respiratory compensation point power output was calculated as an intensity factor for each training session and for each interval during the training sessions. Variability of power output was calculated as a coefficient of variation. There was no difference in the distribution of power output and heart rate for the total season (P = 0.15). Significant differences were observed during high-intensity workouts (P < 0.001). Performance improvements across the season were related to low-cadence strength workouts (P < 0.05). The intensity factor for intervals was related to performance (P < 0.01). The variability in power output was inversely associated with performance (P < 0.01). Better performance by cyclists was characterized by lower variability in power output and higher exercise intensities during intervals.     

Eccentric exercise-induced muscle damage dissociates the lactate and gas exchange thresholds

We tested the hypothesis that exercise-induced muscle damage would increase the ventilatory (V(E)) response to incremental/ramp cycle exercise (lower the gas exchange threshold) without altering the blood lactate profile, thereby dissociating the gas exchange and lactate thresholds. Ten physically active men completed maximal incremental cycle tests before (pre) and 48 h after (post) performing eccentric exercise comprising 100 squats. Pulmonary gas exchange was measured breath-by-breath and fingertip blood sampled at 1-min intervals for determination of blood lactate concentration. The gas exchange threshold occurred at a lower work rate (pre: 136 ± 27 W; post: 105 ± 19 W; P < 0.05) and oxygen uptake (VO(2)) (pre: 1.58 ± 0.26 litres · min(-1); post: 1.41 ± 0.14 litres · min(-1); P < 0.05) after eccentric exercise. However, the lactate threshold occurred at a similar work rate (pre: 161 ± 19 W; post: 158 ± 22 W; P > 0.05) and VO(2) (pre: 1.90 ± 0.20 litres · min(-1); post: 1.88 ± 0.15 litres · min(-1); P > 0.05) after eccentric exercise. These findings demonstrate that exercise-induced muscle damage dissociates the V(E) response to incremental/ramp exercise from the blood lactate response, indicating that V(E) may be controlled by additional or altered neurogenic stimuli following eccentric exercise. Thus, due consideration of prior eccentric exercise should be made when using the gas exchange threshold to provide a non-invasive estimation of the lactate threshold.     

温哥华和上海的大学生谁更了解互联网

温哥华和上海大学生对互联网了解多少?为研究这一问题,516位上海和566位温哥华的大学生分别完成了中英文版的《互联网知识小测验》.温哥华的大学生比上海的大学生得分平均高出20%,两地大学生使用互联网的目的也各不相同.     

Distinguishing between knowledge and beliefs: students’ epistemic criteria for differentiating

“I believe that he/she is telling the truth”, “I know about the solar system”: what epistemic criteria do students use to distinguish between knowledge and beliefs? If knowing and believing are conceptually distinguishable, do students of different grade levels use the same criteria to differentiate the two constructs? How do students understand the relationship between the two constructs? This study involved 219 students (116 girls and 103 boys); 114 were in 8th grade and 105 in 13th grade. Students had to (a) choose which of 5 graphic representations outlined better the relationship between the two constructs and to justify their choice; (b) rate a list of factual/validated, non-factual/non-validated and ambiguous statements as either knowledge or belief, and indicate for each statement their degree of truthfulness, acceptance and on which sources their views were based. Qualitative and quantitative analysis were performed. The data showed how students distinguish knowledge from belief conceptually and justify their understanding of the relationship between the two constructs. Although most students assigned a higher epistemic status to knowledge, school grade significantly differentiated the epistemic criteria used to distinguish the two constructs. The study indicates the educational importance of considering the notions of knowledge and belief that students bring into the learning situation.