Experimenting ‘learn by doing’ and ‘learn by failing’

According to the literature, in recent years, developing experiential learning has fulfilled the requirement of a deep understanding of lean philosophy by engineering students, demonstrating the advantages and disadvantages of some of the key principles of lean manufacturing. On the other hand, the literature evidences how some kinds of game-based experiential learning overlook daily difficulties, which play a central role in manufacturing systems. To fill the need of a game overcoming such lack of vision, an innovative game direct in-field, named Kart Factory, has been developed. Actual production shifts are simulated, while keeping all the elements peculiar to a real production set (i.e. complexity, effort, safety). The working environment is a real pedal car assembly department, the products to be assembled have relevant size and weight (i.e. up to 35 kg approximately), and the provided tools are real production equipment (e.g. keys, screwdrivers, trans-pallets, etc.). Due to the need to maximise the impact on students, a labour-intensive process characterises the production department. The whole training process is based on three educational principles: Experience Value Principle, Error Value Principle, and Team Value Principle. As the ‘learn by doing’ and ‘learn by failing’ are favoured, the theory follows the practice, while crating the willingness to ‘do’ instead of just designing or planning. The gathered data prove the Kart Factory's effectiveness in reaching a good knowledge of lean concepts, notwithstanding the students’ initial knowledge level.     

Time-motion,tactical and technical analysis in top-level karatekas according to gender,match outcome and weight categories

The aim of this study was to define the time-motion (i.e., fighting, preparatory and breaking activity), technical (i.e., attack, timed-attack, counterattack, blocking and grasps) and tactical (i.e., upper limb, lower-limb, combination and throwing) profiles of the senior top-level karate competition played under the most recent rules of the International Karate Federation in relation to gender, match outcome and weight categories. Time-motion, tactical actions and technical executions were investigated of senior karatekas (n = 60) during the Karate World Championship. The referee’s decisions caused an overall activity-to-break ratio of ~1:1.5 with a significant difference (P = 0.025) between karateka’s weight categories (light = 1:1.5; middle = 1:2 and heavy = 1:1). High-intensity actions (i.e., attack and defensive actions performed quickly and powerfully) were higher in male compared to female athletes. Top-level karatekas used upper limb techniques more than lower limb ones, with both applied in the head more than in the body. For the high-intensity-actions to pause ratio and the percentage of combined techniques, light weight category was significantly higher than middle weight category. These findings suggest that training programs may need to be specific to the requirements of the gender and weight categories.     

Elitebildungsforschung im Vergleich – Frankreich,USA und Großbritannien

Research on elites (that is, on status groups that occupy dominant positions) is characterized by the lack of connection between studies that focus on elite recruitment and those that focus on the exercise of power by elites. As underlined by Giddens (Elites and power in British society, 1974), both types of approach are important and should complement each other in the analysis of mediations between the class structure, the organizational structure and the power structure in a given society. Giddens also insists on the need for recruitment studies to take account of two different dimensions: the types of channel that are privileged by elite groups to reproduce their social position, and the degree of social closure or openness of these channels to other groups (Parkin, The social analysis of class structure, 1974). This distinction is used to organize the present chapter, which focuses on a single channel that has come to play a crucial role in post-industrial societies, that is schools and, more precisely, upper secondary and higher education institutions, and on their influence in three different national contexts: France, the United Kingdom and the United States. In the first section, the specific features of elite education are examined. The second section explores the extent and modes of institutional and social closure.     

Increasing Knowledge Flows between the Agricultural Research and Advisory System in Italy: Combining Virtual and Non-virtual Interaction in Communities of Practice

Purpose: The aim of the paper is to analyse the use of Communities of Practice and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to enhance knowledge sharing between researchers and advisors. The associated research question is to what extent ICT supported a virtual Community of Practice and has been effective in counteracting fragmentation between research and advisory systems in terms of knowledge sharing between these two pillars of the Italian Agricultural Knowledge System (AKS).

Design/Methodology/approach: The paper uses a mixed methods approach: a questionnaire submitted to the Community of Practice participants on their experiences, observation of interaction between Community of Practice participants and data on the use of the ICT platform.

Findings: The ICT supported Community of Practice approach appears to improve knowledge sharing between researchers and advisors, and also draws in other actors of the broader Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation System in which the AKS is embedded. However, ICT based tools alone are not sufficient and need to be complemented with face-to-face (non-virtual) interactions. A clear theoretical implication of this study is that this is an iterative process in which virtual and non-virtual interaction mutually reinforce each other: ICT interaction spurs real life and face-to-face interaction, and ICT supports follow-up on real life face-to-face interaction.

Practical Implications: Communities of Practice can be a useful tool for knowledge sharing between research and advisory systems, but should have a degree of flexibility in terms of the topics they address and should accommodate new members when appropriate. ICT is supportive, but should be complemented by real life meetings.

Originality/Value: The paper connects recent frameworks of the use of Communities of Practice with literature on ICT in agriculture and adds insights on the contribution of combining virtual and non-virtual interaction in Communities of Practice aimed at knowledge sharing.     

Universities’ Autonomy in Times of Changing Higher Education Governance: A study of the Swiss academic labour market

Although eternally debated, the issue of autonomy in higher education is rarely analysed in its complexity. To address this issue, this article uses an analytical matrix which combines the distinction between substantive and procedural autonomy and the distinction between HEI governing bodies, academic professions and individual academics. This framework allows for analysing—by the example of the Swiss academic labour market—how changes in national steering can lead to the redistribution of autonomy between the mentioned actors. Further insights relate to the observed higher education system’s decentralised character. Empirical findings—based on the examination of three special programmes initiated by the federal government—indicate that HEI actors lose some substantive autonomy in favour of the Confederation, and—against the general tendency induced by New Public Management to reinforce HEI governing bodies—procedural autonomy is rather redistributed to individual academics and academic professions.     

COLLEGE STUDIES AFTER 50 YEARS OF AGE: A QUEBEC EXPERIENCE

This article presents an examination of an academic program for older adults, offered at a junior‐college level educational institution in Montreal, Quebec. The authors recount the main events of the history of this francophone program and explain its underlying principles. They trace the evolution of the program within the college structure and examine its pedagogy. As well, they offer several results of the program and consider its future prospects. The authors conclude that the program, seen as a social practice, bears a significance for educational gerontology, for education, and for the larger context of contemporary society.     

Exploration De La Résilience éducationnelle Chez Des Enseignants

AN EXPLORATION OF THE EDUCATIONAL RESILIENCE OF TEACHING STAFF – This study focuses on the degree of resilience displayed by teaching staff with the aim of promoting their professional development and preventing job-related exhaustion. Seven underprivileged schools in Montreal were selected, and 24 teaching staff with contrasting personal profiles were interviewed on the subject of their work. The Alceste software was used to analyse the conversations, which revolved around techniques applied when dealing with critical incidents. The main analysis identified five different discourses among the respondents. Three of these were associated with the more resilient of the teachers and two were associated with the more vulnerable ones. Resilient teaching staff characteristically discussed dealing with aggressive behaviour, the teaching-learning relationship and the subject of social relationships, whereas vulnerable teaching staff focused on work beyond the classroom, people in positions of higher authority and the community. The authors note that teachers who are just embarking on their careers appear more vulnerable than more experienced teaching staff, which suggests that more resources should be provided to support teachers in their profession.     

论“亲亲相隐”法律思想回归对当前社会的价值

"亲亲相隐"思想是我国几千年来传统法律文化重要的组成部分。新中国成立后",亲亲相隐"被视为封建糟粕而遭到弃用,大义灭亲的圣贤法治理念开始出现。自2013年1月1日开始,新的《中华人民共和国刑事诉讼法》开始正式实施。新《刑事诉讼法》中的第188条完善了证人出庭作证制度,规定人民法院不可以强制被告人的配偶、父母、子女出庭作证,因为强制其在法庭上进行指正,不利于家庭关系的维系。近亲属不必作证的新刑事诉讼法内容从一定程度上宣告了"亲亲相隐"思想在法律中的逐渐回归。文章通过对中西法传统中"亲亲相隐"思想发展的的疏理以及对现行新《刑事诉讼法》中新增第188条的分析,以期找出容隐制度对于我国的法制体系和当前社会的重要价值。     

Technology in Support of Collaborative Learning

This paper reviews the research conducted in the last 20 years on the application of technology in support of collaborative learning in higher education. The review focuses primarily on studies that use Internet-based technologies and social interaction analysis. The review provides six sets of observations/recommendations regarding methodology, empirical evidence, and research gaps and issues that may help focus future research in this emerging field of study.

Enhancing student access to science curricula through a reading intervention

The current study explored whether a reading intervention combining flexibly applied multisyllabic word‐decoding strategies with evidence‐based fluency strategies was effective in improving the science text reading skills of upper‐elementary struggling readers. Four students, three in fourth and one in fifth grade, participated in the study. A delayed multiple baseline design was utilized, with a staggered 3‐week baseline followed by 8 weeks of reading intervention. Three students demonstrated small to moderate gains in reading fluency on science instructional passages, but no generalized gains in reading fluency on standardized passages. All students demonstrated direct gains in multisyllabic word‐decoding accuracy on science instructional passages, but no generalized gains in decoding accuracy on standardized passages. Participating students rated the intervention favorably and perceived gains in their reading skills. These findings support the use of science curricular passages when implementing reading interventions to enhance students’ ability to access the curriculum.