The stochastic h-index

A variant of the h-index, named the stochastic h-index, is proposed. This new index is obtained by adding to the h-index the probability, under a specific stochastic model, that the h-index will increase by one or more within a given time interval. The stochastic h-index thus extends the h-index to the real line and has a direct interpretation as the distance to the next higher index value. We show how the stochastic h-index can be evaluated and compare it with other variants of the h-index which purportedly indicate the distance to a higher h-index.     

Assessment of the English Skills of Tertiary Students

Despite increasing concern about student writing at the tertiary level there has been little empirical research into the nature and extent of the problem in Australia. The writing skills of three samples of university students in different courses were assessed using the multiple choice English Skills Assessment (ESA) test, and two other measures developed by the researchers: a detailed error checklist and wholistic ratings. The error checklist was intended to supplement as well as complement the skills areas covered by the ESA. On average, students responded correctly to 86 per cent of the ESA test items and made a total of 21 errors per 1000 words when writing narrative. The checklist enabled the detection of important deficiencies in writing not identified by the ESA, particularly in some areas of punctuation and sentence structure. Some different emphases are indicated for the testing of writing skills at the university level.     

Quality assurance in Australian higher education: historical and future development

Higher education policies related to quality assurance are implemented in many countries. The purposes of such policies are to ensure the provision for high-quality education, university accountability and transparency in the use of public funding and meeting the needs of the diverse stakeholders. The current Australian Higher Education Quality Assurance Framework was implemented in the year 2000. It can be described that the framework has been enjoyed by universities, academics and other providers in Australia. This paper provides a brief history of quality assurance, its evolution in higher education in Australia and current changes and trends in quality assurance in other developed countries. It then provides an analysis of the success and deficiencies of the current framework used in Australia and suggestions which may be helpful in the development of the new framework. The analysis includes the thoughts of the three authors based on their experience in managing quality and reviews in seven different institutions and the views of more than 40 participants who are staff members from 25 Australian universities.     

Mentoring – rhetoric and reality

This study looks at the impact of the recent changes in teacher training at an East Sussex Secondary School where teachers have responsibility for mentoring initial teacher trainees (ITTs.) While this has provided an opportunity to become more involved in the preparation of new teachers, a chance to change focus and, to a certain extent, increase job satisfaction, the speed of change has presented some practical difficulties and problems in implementing and fulfilling the role. Specific reference is made to Physical Education as the nature of the work in this area can pose unusual problems. The 'partnership' between the school and the Higher Education Institution is examined to ascertain the extent to which mentors feel that they are being adequately supported.

The information gained was collected through informal interviews with colleagues in school and Higher Education Institutions. This information has been analysed and forms the basis for some recommendations for partnerships' in initial teacher training.     

The Impact of Early Social Interactions on Later Language Development in Spanish–English Bilingual Infants

This study tested the impact of child‐directed language input on language development in Spanish–English bilingual infants (N = 25, 11‐ and 14‐month‐olds from the Seattle metropolitan area), across languages and independently for each language, controlling for socioeconomic status. Language input was characterized by social interaction variables, defined in terms of speech style (“parentese” vs. standard speech) and social context (one‐on‐one vs. group). Correlations between parentese one‐on‐one and productive vocabulary at 24 months (n = 18) were found across languages and in each language independently. Differences are highlighted between previously published monolingual samples, which used the same methods as the current study of bilingual infants. The results also suggest cultural effects on language input and language development in bilingual and bicultural infants.     

Enhancing the quality of engineering education by utilising student feedback

This paper reports on the role of the current student experience questionnaire in gaining student views on their educational experiences while studying at a research-intensive university in Australia. In particular, the paper focuses on the experiences of engineering students. The paper goes on to examine the areas of best practice and those identified for improvement by students. A number of areas identified by engineering students as needing improvement fall within the teaching dimension; in particular, issues relating to feedback to students and clarity of explanation. Finally, the paper outlines some of the actions that have been taken by the university and the Faculty of Engineering based on the results.     

Apolipoprotein E4 polymorphism as risk factor for coronary heart disease among Indian subjects

Apolipoprotein E genotypes and lipid and lipoprotein levels were determined in hypercholesterolemic and angiographically vertified CHD subjects and compared against 90 normolipidemic controls. The ε4 allele was significantly prevalent in the hypercholesterolemic and CHD subjects. Significant increase in total cholesterol levels in apo ε4 containing subjects were observed in the hypercholesterolemic and CHD group. The study suggests that the ε4 allele by influencing the lipid levels could act as a risk factor for CHD.     

Characterisation of the canine cardiac sarcolemma in experimental myocardial ischemia

The cardiac sarcolemma was characterized in 13 normal and 11 ischemic dog hearts by enzyme analysis and compositional assays. Significant decreases in the activities of the sodium-potassium and calcium pumps and structural compositional disturbances were observed in ischemia. High concentrations of oleic acid, a fatty acid and palmitoyl carnitine, a fatty acid intermediate caused inhibition of the enzyme pump activities of the normal sarcolemma. Thus, ischemia results in the functional impairment of the sarcolemma. Accumulation of fatty acid and fatty acid intermediates, occurring in myocardial ischemia, could be an underlying mechanism.