Perceptions of the Value of Quality Assessment in Scottish Higher Education

The 1992–93 session in Scottish universities saw the introduction of the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council's (SHEFC) statutory requirement to introduce quality assessments of teaching and learning. This paper looks at some of the issues that have arisen from the experience of staff at Napier University in terms of being assessed. It focuses on the issues that have arisen from the first and second round of visits to institutions. The key questions and problems associated with the process are considered in the context of the following headings: (1) defining quality; (2) the role of the lead assessor; (3) the framework for the visit; (4) the role of the student; (5) the quality of the reports; (6) the cost benefit analysis. SHEFC's stated aims for assessment are evaluated in the light of the above.     

PERSONALITY,LEARNING STYLE AND COGNITVE STYLE PROFILES OF MATHEMATICALLY TALENTED STUDENTS

Clear personality differences were found for a sample of academically talented students when compared to a general population of same age students. On the Myers‐Briggs dimensions, the academically talented students differed significantly from the comparison group on all four dimensions. Specifically, the academically talented group expressed greater preferences for introversion, intuition, and thinking. Although there were more judging types in this group than in the comparison group, overall more academically talented students expressed a preference for a perceptive style. They also tended to be higher on achievement motivation and lower on interpersonal and social concerns. In particular, a cognitive style that empasizes a thinking over a feeling mode appears to mediate gender differences in mathematics ability and achievement.     

Elements of Supervision in Sexual Violence Counselors' Narratives: A Qualitative Analysis

The literature on vicarious traumatization has suggested that traumasensitive supervision may help to minimize the effects of vicarious exposure to trauma; however, nothing from the perspective of trauma counselors was noted. The present qualitative study involved 1 male and 8 female sexual violence counselors who had worked with sexual violence survivors from 1 to 9 years. The use of semistructured interviews and basic interpretive analysis revealed 4 themes: counselor feelings, vicarious traumatization, helpful qualities of supervision, and organizational considerations.     

Presenting Complex Teacher Evaluation Data: Advantages of Dossier Organization Techniques Over Portfolios

The development of extensive and authentic teacher evaluation raises questions about how best to organize and present the increased amount and variety of assessment materials. Portfolios have been suggested for teacher evaluation because they are well suited to capture the complexities of teaching. However, portfolios 1) are difficult to judge, 2) are difficult to archive, 3) lack key information, 4) miss excellent teachers with simple materials, 5) rarely plan for audiences, 6) distort when required, and 7) bring conflicts of interest. Teacher dossiers are compressed collections of objective data which are easier to judge, demonstrably reliable, and cost-effective.     

The ADHD spectrum and everyday life: experience sampling of adolescent moods, activities, smoking, and drinking

Using an experience sampling methodology, the everyday lives of 153 adolescents with low, middle, or high levels of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) characteristics as assessed by either parent or teen were examined. Twice each hour, across two 4-day recording intervals, participants in a longitudinal study of stress and health risks logged their behaviors, moods, and social contexts. Those with high, in contrast to low, ADHD symptom levels recorded more negative and fewer positive moods, lower alertness, more entertaining activities relative to achievement-oriented pursuits, more time with friends and less time with family, and more tobacco and alcohol use. Fewer associations emerged with parent-defined than with teen-defined subgroups, although the differences in alertness, peer and family contexts, entertainment versus achievement activities, and substance use were consistent across sources. Even at subclinical levels, ADHD characteristics were associated with behavioral patterns and contexts that may promote peer deviancy training, unhealthy lifestyle behaviors, and vulnerability to nicotine dependence.     

The diffusion of moisture in sorbent solids part II. activated alumina

Ordinary and thermal diffusion of moisture in activated alumina are investigated using a new diffusion cell design and scheme of analysis reported earlier. The specific form of the mass flux equation has a pronounced effect on the magnitude of the associated thermal diffusion ratio. In the case of activated alumina-moist air, if a partial pressure gradient is used, then the thermal diffusion term is small if not zero.Free, Knudsen and surface diffusion all play a part in the diffusion through activated alumina. However, surface diffusion makes the major contribution and for this reason the model in this case can be simplified to a two parameter surface model.The activation energy for surface diffusion is constant and is approximately equal to the mean isosteric heat of absorption. In addition, mean pore radius, turtuosity, and other physical constants are computed from the least square fit of experimental data. Furthermore, the model is theoretically consistent over the entire concentration range (0≦ C_A ≦ C_Asat).A new fact about activated alumina (Grade F1) it that it does not transfer moisture in a nonisothermal condition so long as the partial pressures of moisture on the two sides of the pellet are the same. There appears to be no previous report of this fact in the periodical literature.     

What the children’s literature of war is telling the children

This article discusses several issues arising from some wide reading of children’s literature of war and peace as part of a Comenius (EU) collaboration with partners in Belgium and Portugal. The focus here is on the content of the books rather than ways of telling. The issues raised concern national identities, gaps in the collective texts which perhaps reflect national identities, the emphasis on the home front rather than battles, the usefulness of children in wartime compared to most modern child readers, the ethical issues common to the literature in all three countries, the allegorical war literature available for young children, and, increasingly, the more realistic literature for the same group including stories of the holocaust.     

Evolving journal costs: implications for publishers,libraries, and readers

In this article, we summarize the cost implications of print and electronic publishing for scientific scholarly journal publishers, libraries, and scientists. In each case, we developed detailed cost models to demonstrate the importance of factors that affect publishing and decisions made by libraries and scientists to determine whether to subscribe to a journal; if so, in print or electronic medium, and, if not, what alternative information sources to use. In all instances, estimates of unit cost are essential for understanding the dynamics of the economic and systemic interdependencies of publishers, libraries, and readers.