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.     

Perspectives on Uncertainty for Technical Communication Scholars

Technical communication scholars have tended to treat uncertainty as a lack of certainty rather than as a diverse range of strategies for talking about risk. This review employs Goodnight’s argument spheres to comprehend treatments of uncertainty in technical communication and closely related fields. The advantages of such an approach are demonstrated via a reanalysis of a recent risk communication study. The review finishes by identifying hybrid forums as productive sites for future research.     

How principals promote and understand teacher development under curriculum reform in China

On-going curriculum reform in China demands that teachers and principals shift their norms of practice to facilitate student learning. Principals are expected to take a more hands-on approach and work more collaboratively with teachers towards curriculum change. This paper presents case studies of how principals in three different schools in Shanghai shaped teacher development activities which built teacher understanding and capacity to meet the requirements of the curriculum reform. The analysis provides insights into how principals proactively promoted teacher development and identifies some of possible gaps in their strategies. Implications are drawn about the relationships between curriculum reform, school leadership and teacher development.     

“We've Got to Keep Meeting Like This”: A Pilot Study Comparing Academic Performance in Shifting-Membership Cooperative Groups Versus Stable-Membership Cooperative Groups in an Introductory-Level Lab

This study examined possible ways to increase student engagement in small sections of a large, introductory-level, required university course. Research shows that cooperative group learning boosts achievement through fostering better interpersonal relationships between students. Cooperative group learning is an evidence-based instructional practice engaging students in active learning. The present study investigated whether cooperative groups with sustained-membership functioned more effectively for boosting performance than shifting-membership cooperative groups. Findings indicated that the amount of class time spent in groups influenced the impact of shifting or sustained-membership. A significant difference in performance was found for sustained-group students when group activities were used the majority of the time during recitation.     

Educating for a high skills society? The landscape of federal employment,training and lifelong learning policy in Canada

Government reports and documents claim that building a knowledge economy and innovative society are key goals in Canada. In this paper, we draw on critical policy analysis to examine 10 Canadian federal government training and employment policies in relation to the government's espoused priorities of innovation and developing a high skills society and economy. Our findings highlight three areas of contradiction: a tension between high skills and low skills policy, a contradictory focus on the socially and economically excluded and included, and the paradox of both an active and passive federal government. Drawing on state theories such as inclusive liberalism and the social investment state, we argue that while a ‘highly skilled knowledge economy’ may form part of the overall skills discourse, these contradictions raise doubts that it is to become a reality in Canada in the near future.     

Is AIDS a biasing factor in teacher judgment?

This study examined the effect that knowledge of a student having AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) would have on regular-education teacher judgment regarding special education placement. Regular-education, third-grade teachers in Indiana were sent one of two psychological reports. The reports were identical except that one report stated that the student had AIDS and the other stated that the student had rheumatic fever. AIDS was not found to be a biasing factor in teachers' judgments regarding special education services.     

Exploring School Improvement in Hong Kong Secondary Schools

Scholars have increasingly sought to understand how the process of school improvement differs among schools operating in different school levels, conditions, and contexts. Using Rosenholtz's (1985 Rosenholtz, S. 1985. Effective schools: Interpreting the evidence. American Journal of Education, 93: 352–388. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) conception of “moving” and “stuck” schools as a framework for thinking about school improvement, this study examines the learning outcomes of 39 Hong Kong secondary schools over a 3-year period. We examine whether features of leadership and school capacity differed with respect to these learning outcomes within the sample of moving and stuck schools. This research in Hong Kong has identified several factors that appear to synergistically contribute to differences in patterns of improvement in learning across different subjects in both moving and stuck schools. These factors include resource management of principals and school capacity in terms of professional learning community; workload of teachers; alignment, coherence, and structure; and resource capacity. This study extends the research on leadership and capacity building as a means of school improvement, in the process elaborating on their impact within a non-Western society.     

Ethnic identity over national identity: an alternative approach to measure the effect of the World Cup on social cohesion

The purpose of this study was to examine whether a mega sport event has the potential to bring the nation together by increasing the importance of national identity and decreasing the importance of ethnic identity on the outcome of social cohesion. Instead of replicating prior work that has performed mean score comparisons of national identity, ethnic identity, and social cohesion before and after a particular event, the authors compared the variance explained (pre vs. post event) to show the aggregate influence of the two identities on social cohesion. By focusing on this reporting method, the subsequent discussion rests entirely on the practical influence of the perceptual changes that resulted from event hosting. Data for this trend analysis were collected from South African residents, pre (N?=?1749), and post (N?=?2020) the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Results indicated that while the importance of national identity on social cohesion did not increase, the importance of ethnic identity did decrease strongly, indicating that these mega sports events might cause individuals to forget about their ethnic differences as a result of these events.