A grand day out: towards a mode of interrogation of non-school pedagogic sites

Interest is increasingly being taken in educational sites which extend or which are located beyond the school. These include sites associated with developing information and communications technologies and mass media organizations as well as institutions of longer standing, such as museums, galleries and so forth. In this article we shall deploy a sociological framework originally developed for the analysis of school texts to such non-school sites. Our focus will include considerations of heritage and conservation sites in the form of castles and zoos. We contend that in operating in terms of both pedagogic and exchange relations, such sites may have something to teach as well as something to learn from schooling.     

Poetic Representations in Sport and Physical Education: Insider Perspectives 1

As part of the emergence of new writing practices in the social sciences, qualitative researchers have begun to harness the potential of poetic representations as a means of analysing social worlds and communicating their findings to others. To date, this genre has been little used within the domains of sport and physical education. Accordingly, in this article, we provide examples of poetic representations and seek to generate insights into the process of their construction by exploring the perspectives of their authors. A rationale for choosing this genre is outlined and the potential benefits and risks of making this choice for both the researcher and the audience are considered. It is concluded that poetic representations are a worthy addition to the analytical repertoire in qualitative research.     

The interaction of R&D intensity and firm age: Empirical evidence from technology-based growth companies in the German “Neuer Markt”

This study examines the technology strategies of 88 technology-based growth companies that went public on the German “Neuer Markt” between 1997 and 2002. The regression analyses show significant positive effects of R&D on growth but negative effects on profitability. The data suggests that firm age is a moderating factor influencing whether technology investments lead to higher growth or profitability in the life cycle of technology-based growth companies. In our sample, higher R&D intensity led to increased sales growth but lower return on sales, but the growth effect was negative and the impact on profitability positive. These results support the significance of company life cycle theories for formulating technology strategies, which suggests that different stages in the development of technology-based firms call for specific levels of R&D intensity to sustain growth and profitability.     

Quantum lithography: A?non-computing application of quantum information

Quantum information theory holds the promise of revolutionizing technologies other than computing and communications. In this article we show how quantum entanglement can be harnessed to beat the Rayleigh diffraction limit of conventional optical lithography, and to permit nano-devices to be fabricated at a scale arbitrarily shorter than the wavelength used. Given the relative ease of performing optical lithography compared with other schemes, and the relative costs associated in migrating the lithography industry to each new fabrication technology, exploiting quantum entanglement to extend the useful life of optical lithography could be economically attractive.     

The design and evaluation of a cryptography teaching strategy for software engineering students

The present paper describes the design, implementation and evaluation of a cryptography module for final-year software engineering students. The emphasis is on implementation architectures and practical cryptanalysis rather than a standard mathematical approach. The competitive continuous assessment process reflects this approach and rewards experimentation. Students who excel at mathematics will invariably do well in cryptography. A key aim of the module is to try to extend this relationship to include good software engineers who may find mathematics more difficult. The approach is evaluated quantitatively by statistical analysis. The results of the statistical analysis show a significantly higher correlation between a student's performance in software engineering and cryptography than in mathematics and cryptography. These results indicate that this teaching approach is a better fit for software engineers than a standard approach.