The coaxial cable

This article illustrates the interplay between topology and analysis in the context of an everyday example. We describe how topology governs the transmission of TV signals through a cable. This example helps us to understand some of the mathematical ideas contained in an earlier article by V Pati inResonance. A number of steps are left as exercises so that the reader can actively participate in the exposition.     

More educated and more equal? A comparative analysis of female education and employment in Japan,China and India

This paper attempts to explore the connections between expanding female education and the participation of women in paid employment in Japan, China and India, three of Asia's largest economies. Analysis based on existing data and literature shows that despite the large expansion in educational access in these countries in the last half century, women have lacked egalitarian labour market opportunities. A combination of social discouragement and individual choice largely explains the withdrawal, non-participation or intermittent female presence in the labour force, notwithstanding increased educational access. In taking stock of these issues and debates across these countries, it is argued that the parallel experiences of women in these countries can be traced back to persistent gender norms which, amongst other things, imply the centrality of marriage and non-market unpaid labour for women. The paper argues that there is a need for gender-sensitive public policy in order for increased education to translate to labour market gains for women, leading to sustainable development outcomes.     

Instruments to assess students’ critical thinking—A qualitative approach

Critical thinking (CT) skills are essential to academic and professional success. Instruments to assess CT often rely on multiple-choice formats with inherent problems. This research presents two instruments for assessing CT, an essay and open-ended group-discussion format, which were implemented in an undergraduate business course at a large public university. The topics were intentionally chosen to be digitally-related (internet access and social media) since they raise complex issues, are applicable in many disciplines, and students are avid users, thereby making these instruments relevant, multidisciplinary, engaging, and multifaceted. These instruments may be adapted to enable educators to effectively assess undergraduate students’ ability to think critically. Qualitative analysis of the verbatim data with NVivo helps demonstrate the instruments’ efficacy in assessing CT, with (1) high-quality responses receiving high grades, and (2) overarching themes identified by content analysis, that coalesce into the three dimensions of social justice theory (distributive, procedural, and interactional), thus illustrating students’ consideration of complex fairness norms and societal needs. Excerpts of student responses are provided as illustrations of the indicators/evidence of critical thinking. Educators can use these instruments to first assess students’ CT skills, and then devise targeted interventions to improve the quality of students’ thought processes.