Formation d'ingénieurs et ouverture internationale: une nouvelle exigence pour les écoles d'ingénieurs

La coopération internationale entre établissements d'enseignement supérieur et plus précisément entre établissements formant des ingénieurs relève encore bien souvent du paradoxe: on en parle comme d'une nécessité évidente, mais la désire-t-on vraiment et la pratique-t-on en sachant bien ce que l'on fait?     

Mathématique et affectivité

Summary This article sums up a survey carried out on pupils of 15 to 18 years of age to study the relations existing between mathematics and affectivity. Pupils were considered according to their sex and whether they were in literary or scientific streams.This work has been carried out according to a clinical method based on 60 recorded interviews and also according to an experimental method based on 600 sets of questions. Its objective was to show in which way mathematics can be considered as a support for libidinal cathexis used by the unconscious through various mechanisms.This research work has been published in: Mathématique et Affectivité, Édition Stock, Paris.     

Typology of students at risk of dropping out of school: Description by personal, family and school factors

The purpose of this study was to identify the different subgroups of students at risk of dropping out of school. The typology was developed based on the three main contexts associated with school dropout risk, namely, the personal, family and school contexts. On the basis of these factors, the clustering results enabled us to categorize at-risk students into four subgroups: (1) the Anti-Social Covert behavior type, (2) the Uninterested in school type, (3) the School and Social Adjustment Difficulties type, and (4) the Depressive type. Moreover, considering all the contexts involved in school dropout, the clustering technique confirms the importance of behavior problems and learning difficulties, while emphasizing the significance of both depression and the family and classroom environments in the development of dropout risk. Students at risk of dropping out of school report many family organisational problems and that they obtain little emotional support from their parents. They also perceive little order or organisation in the classroom.     

Mastery learning and students' attributions at the college level

This study was designed to determine whether the more favorable learning conditions provided by mastery learning procedures result in higher levels of achievement and more internal attributions on the part of college students. One hundred twenty-two undergraduate students enrolled in a general education course at a large state university participated in the study. Results showed that although students in mastery-taught sections did attain significantly higher levels of achievement no differences in attribution change were identified. Possible reasons for the lack of attribution change are discussed.An earlier version of this paper was presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association Montreal, Canada, 1983.     

Motivations for participation in higher education: narratives of non-traditional students at Makerere University in Uganda

The objective of this qualitative study was to establish motivations for participation of non-traditional students (NTS) in university education. The findings are drawn from empirical data collected from 15 unstructured in-depth interviews with NTS of the School of Computing and Informatics Technology at Makerere University, and analysed with the aid of qualitative data analysis software ATLAS.ti. Three major findings were established: (1) motivations were found to be multiple, multifaceted and varied for each individual; (2) the sociocultural context of the African society including societal perceptions of university education were found to be the major factor shaping motivations of NTS to upgrade their educational qualifications; and (3) most motivations were found to be extrinsic in nature rather than intrinsic and based more on push rather than pull factors. Yet, although the demand for university education is increasing, life beyond university can no longer guarantee some of the anticipated rewards such as employment and its related benefits. It therefore becomes important that the purpose of education within universities in Africa is directed towards achieving development of the whole human being. In this way, a graduate’s capacity to function will not be seen only in the economic and professional life, but also in other spheres of life.     

科克苏-穹库什太古生代构造-岩浆作用及其对西南天山造山时代的约束

天山造山带是古生代多期碰撞增生作用的产物,其确切的造山时代是当前争议较多的热点问题.分布在西南天山的科克苏-穹库什太剖面经历了复杂的构造变形,最明显的两期变形事件分别为朝北的推覆作用和NE-SW韧性走滑作用.本剖面可分为伊犁岩浆岛弧、伊犁结晶基底、高压变质杂岩三个岩石-构造单元.野外可见黑云母花岗闪长岩侵入到绿片岩相变质岩中,岩脉切穿绿片岩中面理构造.通过锆石U-Pb LA-ICPMS测年,科克苏剖面钾长花岗岩的年龄为341±6Ma和338±8Ma,穹库什太黑云母花岗闪长岩的年龄为313±4Ma.其中,花岗闪长岩发生了黑云母定向排列,通过对黑云母进行^40 Ar/^39 Ar测年,获得坪年龄为263.4士0.6Ma,表明该花岗闪长岩受过后期热事件的干扰.地球化学分析表明,黑云母花岗闪长岩属于钙碱性系列,Nb和Ta含量低而Rb,Ba和TH含量很高,与俯冲作用有关的岛弧岩浆岩地球化学组成非常相似.结合前人对该地区高压变质岩、花岗岩和火山岩的研究成果,本文提出,西南天山俯冲-碰撞造山作用发生在晚石炭世之前,研究区后碰撞区域走滑作用标志着西南天山碰撞造山作用在二叠纪之前全部结束.     

Gamma ray astronomy and the COS-B satellite

Gamma photon by gamma photon, throughout almost seven years of perfect operation the European satellite COS-B has produced what amounts to a high-energy chart of the sky: this gives a totally new view of the Milky Way, our Galaxy. COS-B discovered new stars, extraordinarily intense sources of gamma radiation, most of which are invisible at other wavelengths. Are they young pulsars, the remains of supernovae, or evidence of black holes?