Learning together,living apart: the experiences of university students in Northern Ireland

Elementary (primary) and high (secondary) school education in Northern Ireland (NI) is essentially segregated along religious lines. The vast majority of young people from the Protestant/Unionist/British community attend state “Controlled” schools while Catholics/ Nationalists/Irish attend schools in the Catholic Church‐based “Maintained” sector. Going to university represents for many the first opportunity to share a significant educational experience with someone from a different politico‐religious group and cultural background. This paper presents the results of a focus‐group based study designed to illuminate students' experiences of intergroup relations at a NI university. Through focus‐group discussions information was generated on cross‐community contact, the influence of group difference, prevalence, and identity, on attitudes and intergroup communication. The university environment as a factor in potential relational development, the role which student bodies and academic staff may play, and policies and practices on accepting diversity are discussed. Recommendations and considerations are highlighted for other pedagogical institutes where complex and difficult intergroup dynamics exist.     

An example of evaluation in the development of a tertiary physics programme

Conclusion As stated in the introduction, an integral part of the philosophy of school or institutional based curriculum development is that staff involvement in ongoing evaluation will lead to programme improvement. In this case, the results outlined above were used by the staff as a basis for discussing the future structure of first year Physics courses at MSC. The outcome was that the rationale, design and implementation of the new course was adopted for the entire first year course. Development of the course continues.     

The Specter of Authoritarianism Among Criminal Justice Majors

Authoritarianism has been an influential concept in social science research. Furthermore, researchers have long been concerned about the potential dangers of authoritarianism within the criminal justice system. The current study uses Altemeyer’s RWA Scale to measure and compare levels of authoritarianism between criminal justice majors and non‐criminal justice majors in a sample of undergraduate students. Results indicate that criminal justice majors, males, and lower‐division students have higher mean RWA scores than non‐criminal justice majors, females, and upper‐division students. However, it is male criminal justice majors who demonstrate the highest levels of authoritarianism. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

惊现比人还要大的巨型海蝎

英、德两国科研人员近日在一份化石研究报告中指出,他们发现一个远古海蝎子的巨爪化石。据推断,其肢体长度达到2.5米,比人类还大,是有史以来所发现的体型最大的节肢动物标本。     

Digital Games, Gender and Learning in Engineering: Do Females Benefit as Much as Males?

The aim of this paper was to explore whether there is a gender difference in the beneficial effects of Racing Academy, which is a video game used to support undergraduate students learning of Mechanical Engineering. One hundred and thirty-eight undergraduate students (15 females and 123 males) participated in the study. The students completed a pre-test a week before they started using Racing Academy. The pre-test consisted of a test of students’ knowledge of engineering, and a measure of students’ motivation towards studying engineering. A week after using Racing Academy the students completed a post-test which was identical to the pre-test, except it also included a measure of how frequently they used Racing Academy and how motivating the students found playing Racing Academy. We found that after playing Racing Academy the students learnt more about engineering and there was no gender difference in the beneficial effect of Racing Academy, however there is some evidence that, female students found Racing Academy more motivating than male students. The implications for the use and design of video games for supporting learning for both males and females are discussed.