Implications of Internet Technologies for Higher Education: North American perspectives

Internet-based technologies are triggering significant changes in higher education. While in some cases the applications are limited to enhancing face-to-face instruction (Level I applications) or to enhancing existing distance education provision (Level II), in other cases instruction is taking place entirely online (Level III). As higher education institutions seek to exploit these different levels of application of emerging information technologies to deliver education courses and programmes at a distance, they are encountering a number of difficulties. This article presents what a number of higher and distance education observers in North America consider the most pertinent issues related to Internet technologies. The relevance of those issues for an existing distance teaching university, Athabasca University - Canada's Open University, is also discussed.     

PEDAGOGICAL DRIFT: THE EVOLUTION OF NEW APPROACHES AND PARADIGMS IN RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

This article considers issues raised by attempting to place spirituality in the context of religious education. While, this might appear to be the least problematic for marriages, or most obvious pairing of dancing partners, when considering how it can be addressed in other curriculum subjects, on closer inspection, perhaps it gives rise to some of the most disturbing issues formal education has to face. These issues range across interconnected themes related to philosophical inquiry, national context and tradition, social values, and the rights of citizens in democratic communities. The argument presented is that whether, when we interrogate these issues in the context of different social histories, with special reference to England and Wales, we find that the concept of spirituality questions current constructs of education and religious education.     

COMPARATIVE STUDY OF REVERSE TRANSFER,LATERAL TRANSFER,AND FIRST‐TIME COMMUNITY COLLEGE STUDENTS

Among the “new” students attending community colleges are a large number of reserve and lateral transfers, students with previous college experience. This study was conducted to provide information on their characteristics and their reasons for attending and leaving colleges as compared to the first‐time college study. A sample of 10,196 students in the Los Rios Community College District (California) was studied and five student groups were identified: First Time Students (FTS), 54.7 percent; Noncompleter Lateral Transfers (NCLT), 19.2 percent; Completer Lateral Transfers (CLT), 7.5 percent; Noncompleter Reverse Transfers (NCRT), 12 percent; Completer Reverse Transfers (CRT), 7.6 percent. The CRT and FTS groups differed most significantly. The CRT were older, more often married with children, worked more hours, and were taking fewer units. In general, the characteristics of the other three groups were similar and at a mid‐point between the CRT and FTS. Factor analysis of the reasons for attending showed that factors related to job training, location, low cost, lack of admissions requirements, and the colleges' reputation were important for study groups. Preparation for transfer was not among the most important factors for any group. Students who left four‐year colleges listed reasons related to academic indecision, cost, and items critical of the previous institutions significantly more often than students who had left two‐year colleges. They reported reasons related to mobility and short‐range goals significantly more often. Results appeared to support previous studies with regard to students' characteristics. Further research on students' reasons for attending and leaving, as well as a reexamination of colleges' program formats, services and delivery systems were recommended.     

Leading the Multiethnic School: Research Evidence on Successful Practice

This article reports findings from a study of principals in five multiethnic schools in England. Findings are presented in terms of the major priorities or values held by the principals, the strategies they instituted to bring their priorities to life, and some of the challenges they continue to face in this endeavor. The principals involved believed that they could make a difference in their schools and were proactive, but at the same time, realistic about what could be achieved. They distinguished themselves by aggressively tackling disadvantages related to ethnicity, racism, culture, and poverty.     

Higher education: core skills in a learning society

This paper is based on the initial findings of the ESRC study on the acquisition and development of core skills in higher education and employment. The context for the study is provided by contested notions of a learning society apparent in the mismatch between the skills and knowledge that universities currently provide and what employers state that they want. The paper takes the form of a series of propositions and questions relating to the perspectives of those in higher education. It discusses the multiple interpretations, and lack of clarity, of the vocabulary of skills, and the difficulties for higher education in meeting the demands of a learning society. It is suggested that changes must be grounded in a more developed approach to the conceptualization of student provision and an enhanced understanding of how students learn.     

Effect of odor preexposure on acquisition of an odor discrimination in dogs

In two experiments, we investigated the impact of odor preexposure treatments on the acquisition of an olfactory discrimination in dogs. In the first experiment, four groups of dogs were each given five days’ odor-exposure treatment prior to discrimination training. Dogs in the exposure group were exposed to anise extract (S+) for 30 min daily. Dogs in the Pavlovian-relevant pairing group received six daily delayed-conditioning trials to the same S+. The Pavlovian-irrelevant pairing group received conditioning trials to almond extract (S'). Dogs in the control group received no pretreatment. All of the dogs were then trained to detect S+ from a background pine odor (an AX-vs.-X discrimination). The Pavlovian-relevant pairing group acquired the odor discrimination significantly faster than all of the other exposure and control groups, and the remaining groups acquired the discrimination at the same rate as the no-exposure control group. In a second experiment, we extended these results to a within-subjects design using an AX-versus-BX discrimination. Six dogs were simultaneously trained on two different odor discriminations, one discrimination in which the S+ was previously Pavlovian conditioned, and one discrimination in which the S+ was novel. All of the dogs learned the odor discrimination with the previously conditioned S+ faster than they learned the novel odor discrimination, replicating the results of Experiment 1, and demonstrating that familiarity in the form of Pavlovian conditioning enhances odor-discrimination training. The potential mechanisms of the facilitated transfer of a Pavlovian conditioned stimulus to discrimination training are discussed.     

Attitudes to wetland restoration in Oxfordshire and Cambridgeshire,UK

Contemporary attitudes to wetlands were examined in two sites in Britain, to assess perceptions and thus educational failings as a barrier to wetland restoration. Results showed that adults' attitudes were more positive than previous literature suggests: 56% were aware of the importance of wetlands for biodiversity, and 73% were supportive of their restoration. Social groups had significantly different attitudes to wetlands (p < 0.002), which may result largely from a difference between farmers and the public (p < 0.001). Additionally a near-significant difference (p < 0.08) was detected between genders, with woman possibly more positive. Motivation for wetland conservation tended to be ethical, with 74% willing to pay, and 71% willing to vote, for wetland conservation. Whilst larger surveys are required to assess the generality of these results, there is reason for optimism that some form of education is improving public perception, despite concerns about negative conditioning amongst children (Anderson and Moss 1993).     

Romanian psychiatric literature: analysis of accessibility and nature of Romanian psychiatric articles

Background: Romania is a low‐income country of 22 million people and, currently, information regarding mental health research is limited. Romania is one of the last countries in eastern Europe not to have its own bibliographic biomedical database. Aim: To assess the content and quality of Romanian psychiatric research activity over time. Method: embase (1980 to April 2008), medline (1950 to April 2008) and Psyc INFO (1806 to April 2008) were systematically searched for psychiatric articles originating from Romania. The sample from Psyc INFO was described. Results: Psyc INFO was by far the best source of Romanian mental health literature with a considerable increase in the publication activity since 2000 (Psyc INFO identified 3236 hits, medline 549, embase 139). Most papers are in English, but a sizeable minority are in Romanian (30%), French (4%) or Hungarian (4%). The main topics of interest are cognitive processes, creativity, schizophrenia and cognitive development and stress and are, according to Psyc INFO’s indexing, ‘empirical studies’. Seventeen randomised trials were identified with all studies after 2000 being sponsored by industry. Conclusions: Surprisingly, and not in keeping with other studies of the literature of neighbouring countries, Psyc INFO is the major source of psychiatric bibliographic records of this region. There are signs of a resurgence of research activity in Romania and as the number of local mental health workers increases we can expect more output. Industry is now funding evaluative studies in Romania. As everywhere, but perhaps more acutely in situations of severely limited research support, there is a difficult balance to be struck between benefiting support and losing independence.