Undergraduates' Work Based Learning and Skills Development

Research findings on graduate employment inthe UK continue to highlight the importance thatemployers attach to the general knowledge, attitudesand social skills that graduates possess in additionto specific disciplinary knowledge and expertise. Additionally, work based learning is increasinglybeing viewed as an important vehicle by whichundergraduates can develop personal and social skills,as well as gaining knowledge of how organisationswork. In this paper I will argue that although developments in undergraduate work based learning doraise a number of issues for higher educationinstitutions and for employers, such developments havemuch to offer the broader education policy of lifelonglearning.     

Globalisation,Qualifications and Livelihoods: Towards a research agenda

The economic, political and cultural manifestations of globalisation are distinguishable from its underlying causes. The definition of globalisation used in this paper focuses on 'the reduction of obstacles to trade'. A function of both economic policy and technological advance, trade barriers, financial regulations and cross-border communications have been liberalised. These are contributing to change in the composition, control and locus of livelihoods, the skill requirements of livelihoods, and life chances and social mobility of livelihood seekers more generally. Educational qualifications and assessments mediate livelihood creation and livelihood seeking, to different degrees in different contexts. The role of assessment in the certification and selection for jobs interacts with economic globalisation in two main ways. The first is through the impact of globalisation on the composition and volume of livelihoods and the demand of both livelihood creators and livelihood seekers for qualifications. The second is through the reduction of trade and communication barriers on the internationalisation and commercialisation of the assessment and qualification business. The paper concludes with a research agenda that explores these two strands and emphasises the interactions between global, national and local contexts and influences.     

Round-robin presentations: Increasing opportunities for public speaking in large lectures and beyond

Courses: Large-lecture; public speaking, business, professional, and technical communication; sales and marketing courses; courses with team-based projects

Objectives: To provide opportunities to develop public speaking skills, especially in large-lecture courses; to improve public speaking endurance; to improve students’ abilities to give concise and focused presentations; to reduce public speaking anxiety.     

The Family Environment of “Quick-Witted” Persons: Birth Order,Family Communication Patterns,and Creative Facility

“Creative facility” refers to the ease, rapidity, or fluency with which people are able to formulate and produce novel, appropriate messages. Previous research indicates that people differ in this regard and that the phenomenon is linked to various personality and cognitive-style variables. This study aims to investigate whether aspects of family structure (i.e., birth order) and family processes (i.e., family communication patterns) are related to creative facility. Results indicated a significant interaction between birth order and family conversation orientation such that, for first-borns, higher levels of conversation orientation were associated with slower message production. No effects were observed for family conformity orientation. Among the implications of the findings is the need to assess birth order in studies of family communication patterns.     

A Comparison of Item Sampling Plans in the Application of Multiple Matrix Sampling

This study used a Monte Carlo approach to investigate the effect of item sampling by item stratification on parameter estimation when applying multiple matrix sampling to achievement data. From the results of this study it was concluded that the item sampling method and sampling plan which is a practical compromise in terms of precision and sample size is one based on item stratification by item discrimination and a sampling plan with a moderate number of subtests. This sampling condition provides reasonable precision of the mean and variance estimates but requires only a moderately sized sample.