The multi-role combat aircraft (MRCA): a case study in European collaboration

The MRCA is being developed by a consortium of British, German and Italian industries. The respective governments supporting the project embarked on it with various economic, political and social objectives in mind. These objectives could only be resolved by a succession of compromises, some of which have proved to be to the detriment of the project.The participating aircraft industries set out to succeed where others had failed; to produce a variable-geometry multi-role aircraft at reasonable cost. The attraction of such an aircraft lies in the possibility of constructing a common structure which can be adapted, without too much extra expense, to carry out various strategic roles. But there are technological hazards to be overcome; the mechanism has to be unusually complicated, a high degree of innovation is demanded, and particular attention has to be paid to the problem of reliability.Considerable technical uncertainty surrounds the MRCA programme, especially with respect to the wing-joints. This uncertainty has been heightened by the unsatisfactory manner in which the development has been divided between the participating countries. The dispersion of engineering between Edinburgh and Turin leads to technological inefficiencies and to severe problems of communication.The Panavia organization was set up with the purpose of keeping the programme under close surveillance and control. Multi-national committees make the decisions. The organization is noted for its bureaucratic procedures and for its inflexibility; deviations from the pre-ordained plan cause considerable expense, delay and dislocation. The collaboration was expected to secure a large market for the aircraft. However, orders have fallen since the beginning of the programme, and further reductions are to be expected. As orders fall, the unit cost of the final product rises. It seems likely that the aircraft will be considerably more expensive than initially predicted.Many of the deficiencies of the MRCA project are evident in other joint programmes, military and civilian. It is concluded that collaboration is inherently an inefficient and uneconomic means of developing aircraft.     

The influence of study methods and knowledge processing on academic success and long‐term recall of anatomy learning by first‐year veterinary students

The purpose of this investigation was to quantitatively and qualitatively identify the study methods and learning strategies that veterinary students used to study anatomy during their first year of professional school and to correlate these with their academic achievement and long‐term recall of information. It was surmised that active study methods would be more beneficial than passive method, but this hypothesis was not supported. The activity or passivity of each study method was secondary to the way in which the students processed the learning. No single study method was associated with academic success or long‐term recall; instead, successful students used a multitude of study methods while the struggling students relied on a single method alone, although these methods varied from student to student. Students and their study methods were profiled using the qualitative technique known as phenomenographic analysis to find those who studied in a deep or surface way. The deep‐processing students, who commonly used multiple study methods, not only succeeded in the class but also had better recall. Students who relied on a memorization‐heavy surface approach to learning had limited recall and tended to perform poorly in the class. These results strongly suggest that by encouraging students to integrate their studying by using multiple methods educators can improve both student grades and recall of complex topics. Anat Sci Ed 1:68–74, 2008. © 2008 American Association of Anatomists.     

What can be learned from writing about early field experiences?

This paper describes the evolution of assignments in a course for students preparing to teach secondary science, mathematics, and agriculture science. We describe and analyze work done by preservice students in two different years to look for developing teacher knowledge, explicate how we have come to understand teacher knowledge as it was enacted in this particular context, and discuss how our self-study contributed to the growth of our knowledge as teacher educators.     

Examining Effects of Poverty,Maternal Depression,and Children’s Self-Regulation Abilities on the Development of Language and Cognition in Early Childhood: An Early Head Start Perspective

Early childhood poverty is a prevalent social issue, both in the United States and in the wider international community. It has been well established that factors associated with poverty, including familial income and parental education level, can negatively affect children’s language and cognitive development, which can result in academic achievement deficits that compound across the lifespan. Additional environmental factors, specifically maternal and children’s own social–emotional development, have also been shown to impact these sensitive early childhood developmental processes. Although individual components that relate to language and cognitive development in young children have been identified, additional examination of potential associative relationships between these components is warranted. Therefore, this study explored socio-economical, health, and developmental relationships between 122 caregiver–child dyads enrolled in an Early Head Start Program where children were 1–36 months old. Results indicated strong bidirectional correlations between children’s cognitive and language development. Multiple linear regression path analysis indicated that children’s cognition and social–emotional wellbeing have a significant direct effect on their language development. Additionally, language and fine motor development were found to have a significant direct effect and social–emotional wellbeing mediated an indirect effect through language on children’s cognitive development. In light of socioeconomic and sociocultural challenges, the importance of nurturing children’s social–emotional development in relation to language and cognitive development is discussed.     

Voluntary use of online study questions as a function of previous minimal use requirements and learner aptitude

This study investigates voluntary use of online study questions, the relationship of study question use to examination performance, and the relationship of aptitude to study question use following an initial phase during which students either received course points for passing mastery quizzes or for completing a designated number of study questions. The results indicate a) students who first received points for completing study questions later made greater voluntary use of study questions, b) less able readers made less voluntary use of study questions than more able readers, and c) less able readers performed better on course examinations when awarded course points for completing a required number of study questions rather than quizzes.     

Supporting Young Children’s Efforts toward Peacemaking: Recommendations for Early Childhood Educators

Early childhood educators are in a unique position to provide peace education to young children and have been called to do so by their professional organizations. This article is intended to support early childhood educators in these endeavors by providing an overview of young children’s conceptions of peace, war, and peacemaking strategies. In addition, a theoretical framework for assessing young children’s conceptions of peacemaking is presented and recommendations for encouraging young children in their peacemaking efforts are suggested.     

What Are They Thinking? Dental Assisting Students' Feelings About E-Books

Electronic textbook usage is increasing within higher education while use of traditional textbooks is declining. While some research concerning student preference for textbook type provides insight into student choices, there is a gap in the literature regarding use of electronic textbooks within dental assisting programs. The purpose of this study was to explore dental assisting students’ preferences regarding electronic textbook usage during their professional education. Two questionnaires were administered to a group of dental assisting students to ascertain their preferences. One questionnaire was given during the Dental Assisting Program orientation at the beginning of the academic year. The second questionnaire was administered at the conclusion of a nine-month dental assisting curriculum in which students were required to use electronic textbooks for approximately half of their courses. Results from the questionnaires indicated that while students were open to the idea of electronic textbooks and willing to use them prior to beginning in the Dental Assisting Program, at the conclusion of the Program they overwhelmingly preferred to use traditional print textbooks.     

Realizing the Value of Non-Purchased Content

This presentation summarized a May 2013 white paper published by Taylor & Francis Group, Facilitating access to free online resources: challenges and opportunities for the library community (www.tandf.co.uk/libsite/pdf/TF-whitepaper-free-resources.pdf). Taylor & Francis staff conducted research aimed at exploring free content discoverability from the perspective of librarians. Study focus groups were held in London and Seattle, Washington in early 2013. Research also included telephone interviews, surveys, and literature searching to identify relevant studies and commentary articles.     

Gender and the evaluation of research

This study examines if and how gender relates to research evaluation via panel assessment and journal ratings lists. Using data from UK business schools we find no evidence that the proportion of women in a submission for panel assessment affected the score received by the submitting institution. However, we do find that women on average receive lower scores according to some journal ratings lists. There are important differences in the rated quality of journals that men and women publish in across the sub-disciplines with men publishing significantly more research in the highest rated accountancy, information management and strategy journals. In addition, women who are able to utilise networks to co-author with individuals outside their institution are able to publish in higher-rated journals, although the same is not true for men; women who are attributed with “individual staff circumstances” (e.g. maternity leave or part-time working) have lower scores according to journal ratings lists.