Reconsidering regionalisation in global higher education: student mobility spaces of the European Higher Education Area

This paper examines international student mobility between member states of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA), a group of 47 countries that committed to reforming their higher education systems to improve the comparability and compatibility of degrees. While increased student mobility is a key goal in its official documents, little research has empirically investigated student mobility patterns in respect to the EHEA. The analysis employs multivariate techniques to identify trends in student mobility between 1999 and 2009, using a spatial approach to visualise the relationships between member states as constituted through student mobility flows. Results show that within the analysis timeframe student flows in the EHEA became more even in their distribution, but that in terms of the relationships between states, the EHEA became more centralised and segmented, meaning that key actors mediated exchanges between peripheral states and the region was more easily divided into self-contained clusters. These trends indicate a need to critically reconsider the nature of the EHEA and its role in the globalisation of higher education.     

The impact of the transfer of information technology on development

Abstract

Like other technical changes, the new information technologies have inspired hopes and fears. The optimists celebrate the “technologies of freedom” and their potential for growth and autonomy, the enhancement of skills and culture, the elimination of unpleasant and boring tasks (Pool 1984). On the other hand, the pessimists fear dehumanized work, growing unemployment, and bureaucracy, with unavoidable threats to privacy (Mosco 1987; Robins and Webster 1983).

In the communication and development debate, similar polarized attitudes are to be found. The technological optimists of the so‐called “modernization paradigm” claim that the transfer of information technologies to the developing world will spectacularly enhance the process of development. Commentators arguing from within this paradigm point out that the transfer of appropriate information technology can contribute to the creation of new social structures that will adequately respond to the needs of the developing world. At the other extreme, however, we have the technological pessimists, “the Luddites of the Information Revolution” (Tehranian 1985, 21). Proponents of this perspective perceive the transfer of information technology as necessarily reinforcing existing structures and thus exacerbating politico‐economic dependency and the loss of cultural identity.

In our opinion, both positions possess partial truths. However, both are based on inadequate theoretical foundations—erroneous conceptions of the nature of technology and its relationship vis‐à‐vis society, and a misunderstanding of the concept of development. Consequently, the policy implications of each approach are less than helpful. Building on what we consider to be a more apt conceptual framework, the central argument of this paper is that the transfer of information technology can play a role, albeit limited, in the development process.     

An Ecological Approach to a University Course that Develops Partnerships Impacting Health and Wellness in K-12 Schools and Communities

Over the past several decades, there has been an increased focus on health promotion as opposed to individual health determinants and disease prevention. Given the association between health and academic success, health promotion is a vastly overlooked lever for establishing effective K-12 schools. Student, organizational, and community well-being are intricately linked, and thus, focusing on any one of these alone will not eliminate achievement gaps and health disparities. We assert that university–community collaboration is instrumental in promoting student and family well-being. Moreover, employing an ecological systems lens to inform partnership and health promotion practices facilitates collective action and magnifies results. In this article, we describe the philosophical and theoretical orientations that guide our teaching, service, and scholarship. We explain how a university undergraduate course that utilizes service-learning has leveraged theory to build university–community collaboration. Using illustrative examples of several service-learning projects, we show how an ecological systems orientation has enhanced the course; supported a systemic approach to health promotion in schools and communities; and facilitated strategic, mutual, and sustained partnerships. We conclude by highlighting the implications of an ecological approach to university–community collaboration, including organizational capacity building, implementation of evidence-based practices, and the need to enhance preservice teacher education.     

Beneficial effect of enriched air nitrox on bubble formation during scuba diving. An open-water study

Bubble formation during scuba diving might induce decompression sickness.

This prospective randomised and double-blind study included 108 advanced recreational divers (38 females). Fifty-four pairs of divers, 1 breathing air and the other breathing nitrox28 undertook a standardised dive (24 ± 1 msw; 62 ± 5min) in the Red Sea. Venous gas bubbles were counted (Doppler) 30–<45 min (early) and 45–60 min (late) post-dive at jugular, subclavian and femoral sites.

Only 7% (air) vs. 11% (air28®) (n.s.) were bubble-free after a dive. Independent of sampling time and breathing gas, there were more bubbles in the jugular than in the femoral vein. More bubbles were counted in the air-group than in the air28-group (pooled vein: early: 1845 vs. 948; P = 0.047, late: 1817 vs. 953; P = 0.088). The number of bubbles was sex-dependent. Lastly, 29% of female air divers but only 14% of male divers were bubble-free (P = 0.058).

Air28® helps to reduce venous gas emboli in recreational divers. The bubble number depended on the breathing gas, sampling site and sex. Thus, both exact reporting the dive and in particular standardising sampling characteristics seem mandatory to compare results from different studies to further investigate the hitherto incoherent relation between inert gas bubbles and DCS.     

Gospel Values and Catholic Education: Revitalizing the Faith Community in a Culture of “Whatever”

The Second Vatican Council introduced a new narrative for Catholic school. Rather than serving a primarily catechetical purpose, Catholic schools were to share in the Church's evangelizing mission by embodying an ideal learning community in a manner rooted in Gospel values. This paper argues that Gospel values are not exported from the Bible and applied to Catholic schools. Instead, they emerge in the experience of teaching-learning as a humanly liberating activity in relation to the human reality of God's Kingdom realized in Jesus of Nazareth and explores revitalizing Catholic education through Gospel values, without at the same time being sectarian.     

The affective lives of doubled-up Latinx youth: Influences of school experiences,familism, and ethnic identity exploration

Doubled-up Latinx youth experience many daily challenges associated with ethnic minority status and residential instability. Doubled-up youth share housing with noncustodial caregivers such as friends and/or extended family members primarily because of economic hardship and a breakdown in available parental support. Using data from baseline and 10 days of twice-a-day surveys, this study examined how in-school positive experiences, familism (i.e., a perspective that gives precedence to the family), and ethnic identity (i.e., affirmation, exploration, and resolution) influence after school positive (e.g., feeling joyful/happy) and negative (e.g., feeling stressed/anxious) affect among doubled-up Latinx youth (70% female; M_age = 16.5). Results indicate that in-school positive experiences were associated with more after school positive affect and less after school negative affect. In addition, youth with higher levels of familism reported experiencing less after school negative affect. However, gender moderated the relation of ethnic identity exploration and experiences of after school positive affect. Specifically, females with higher levels of ethnic identity exploration reported relatively lower levels of after school positive affect compared with males. Overall, study findings highlight the importance of both person-level and varying contextual influences on the affective lives of doubled-up Latinx youth.     

School achievement differences among Chinese and Filipino American students: acculturation and the family

The general belief that Asian American adolescents are successful has led researchers to ignore variations in Asian adolescents’ academic success. Using samples of Chinese and Filipino adolescents drawn from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, this study examined whether differences between these two groups in acculturation, parent–adolescent attachment, and parental school involvement could account for academic achievement differences. Results revealed that Chinese adolescents generally performed better in school than their Filipino counterparts. Factors that predicted academic achievement were ethnicity, acculturation, and parents’ academic involvement. An interaction was found between ethnicity and acculturation, indicating that acculturation is a predictor of academic performance among Filipino youth but not among Chinese youth. Cultural values in parent–adolescent attachment, acculturation, and parents’ school involvement are discussed.