全球性问题与２１世纪国际教育

人类面临的全球性问题构成了人类教育的氛围,人类的困境人人都必须分担,人类的生存和发展同样取决于各国人民和所有国家间的合作,国际教育已成为建树道义和增强人类团结的最有力的工具。２１世纪的国际教育应当对一切社会里进行的人类价值观的教学和实践确定一个普适的方向,以促成一种新的同心同德与合作的化的形成,追求人的价值应成为２１世纪国际教育的基本目标,以人为基础的学习应是２１世纪国际教育的基本内容和方法。     

Academic Adjustment and Learning Processes: a comparison of international and local students in first‐year university

This article examines the academic adjustment and learning processes of international and local first‐year students. Twenty first‐year local and international students participated in a semi‐structured interview study upon the completion of their first year in a Faculty of Commerce and Management. Students reported positive and negative critical incidents which helped or hindered their learning during the first year. In addition, students described their feelings, thoughts and behaviours in relation to these incidents. Critical incidents were coded, themes identified, and comparisons made across local and international student groups. The impact of particular teaching processes are considered, and implications for teaching and learning in the first year are discussed.     

The analytical determination of friction for flow through conical converging dies

The effects of friction upon the intermediate and final distorted grids for wire drawing and/or extrusion were analytically studied for an assumed triangular velocity field. An upper-bound solution for the process was used. This solution predicted that the shape of the final and intermediate distorted grids were functions of the process geometry and of friction. Initially, combinations of reduction and semi-cone angle (α) were found for which the triangular velocity field was energetically preferred over an existing spherical velocity field. The analytical final distorted grids were then compared to experimentally obtained final distorted grids to determine the experimental friction. This was done by plotting calibration curves for distortion where friction served as the parameter and by comparing the actual distortion with the family of calibration curves.     

Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Intercultural Communication Competence

This study examined the process of developing intercultural communication competence (ICC) with particular attention to cross-cultural differences in communication patterns. A qualitative approach involving 40 interviews with Americans living in Sweden and Swedes living in the US was employed in order to gain a nuanced, in-depth, and contextual understanding of how immigrants and expatriates experience the process. Several differences in verbal and nonverbal communication patterns between the two cultures emerged. The findings provide insights into how ICC is developed differently across cultures, as well as how the cognitive, affective, and behavioral components of ICC are interrelated and influenced by culture-specific aspects.     

Transforming schools: illusion or reality?1

This paper explores the claim that appropriately trained heads can motivate teachers and students to achieve challenging targets and transform the prospects of future generations. Theory derived from the leadership literature is tested against the experience of three headteachers in the field. Case study evidence is used to examine how Hillside School was improved. Applying recommended styles, the heads won the commitment of their colleagues and built the capacity for further progress, despite adverse circumstances that included social disadvantage. Although the ‘turn around’ was achieved quickly, the interpersonal styles adopted by the heads were only part of a leadership repertoire that included beliefs, values, professional knowledge and micro-politics. Variations in the combination of context, leaders and followers seem to have been more significant than the common elements emphasized by the school improvement literature and national training programmes. OfSTED reported that the school's effectiveness was greatly enhanced. Test and examination results were more or less unchanged, however, confirming recent studies that have found little evidence of leadership impact on student outcomes. This supports the suggestion that intake mix may influence results more than the organizational characteristics shaped by heads. The paper concludes that while leadership training may improve school climate, a transformation in performance is unlikely.     

The development and preliminary assessment of a set of video‐taped informative speech models

Guidelines are specified in this article for developing video‐taped informative speech models. Faculty members rated selected video‐taped informative speeches on nine variables and two months later rated nine of the same speeches again. The faculty judges were reliable on their ratings for eight of the nine variables rated during the two sessions. Five of the nine speeches were identified as being representative of one of three significantly different levels of excellence.