Comparison of anthropometry to dual energy X-ray absorptiometry: a new prediction equation for women

The purpose of this study was to assess the accuracy of three recommended anthropometric equations for women and then develop an updated prediction equation using dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA). The percentage of body fat (%BF) by anthropometry was significantly correlated (r = .896-.929; p < .01) with DXA, but each equation underestimated %BF (3.2-5.6 %BF; p < .01). The following DXA criterion (DC) equation was created: %BF= -6.40665 + 0.41946(S3SF) - 0.00126(S3SF)2 + 0.12515(hip) + 0.06473 (age); (S3SF = sum of triceps, suprailiac, thigh; hip = circumference in cm; age = years). The predicted residual sum of squares (PRESS) R2 was high (0.86), and the PRESS standard error of estimate (SEE) was low (2.5 %BF) for our sample of 150 women. The DC equation was further crosschecked on a separate sample of women (n = 25) and again showed excellent agreement. The DC equation appears to be a more accurate estimation of %BF in women.     

Historiographic Reconsideration of Colonial Education in Africa: Domestic Forces in the Early Expansion of English Schooling in Northern Igboland, 1890–1930

Mainstream historiography often turns to Europe's era of empire building to explain the expansion of Western formal education in Africa. Popular accounts suggest that in Africa (1) colonial involvement in education was late and short lived, spanning the early decades of the twentieth century, (2) missionaries were largely responsible for early educational expansion, and (3) education expansion resulted from interdenominational rivalries among missionaries. However, these popular narratives inadequately account for Africans’ own responses to colonial education. This study examines social and cultural shifts in northern Igboland in southeastern Nigeria between 1890 and 1930. It uses colonial archives and oral sources to demonstrate that beyond missionary rivalry, domestic contests converged with the fledgling colonial process to promote English education in northern Igboland. To accomplish this task, the article reviews methodological assumptions responsible for marginal attention to the agency of the colonized in the historiography of Western education in former colonies.     

Parents’ and teachers’ perceptions of standards-based and traditional report cards

The purpose of this study was to determine parents’ and teachers’ perceptions of standards-based and traditional report cards. Participants included 115 parents/guardians of students from a single, midsize school district that had implemented a standards-based report card. During the first two marking periods, all parents/guardians received both a traditional report card in which teachers assigned a single overall grade for each subject and a standards-based report card that included marks for individual standards within subjects. After midyear, parents were asked to complete a survey that asked which form they preferred and the reasons for their preference. Three hundred and eighty three teachers from two nearby midsize school districts considering the adoption of the same standards-based report card completed a similar survey. Parents overwhelmingly preferred the standards-based form. The teachers considering the adoption of a standards based report card were positive overall, but significantly less than the parents who had received them.     

知识产权审判组织、法官及审判方式刍议

自改革开放以来,我国的知识产权司法保护取得了巨大成就,发挥了保护知识产权的主渠道作用。然而,在新形势下我国知识产权司法保护体系中的某些方面仍显薄弱,在知识产权审判组织的建设、知识产权法官专业素质的培养及审判方式的传承与创新等方面尚有较大的改进空间。笔者将结合我国知识产权司法保护的新形势,对此问题略陈管见。     

National Curriculum Assessment in the U.K.

What are the objectives of national curriculum assessment in the United Kingdom? What criteria for assessment were established? What kinds of problems are associated with the assessment?     

Quality Assessment and 'Self-regulation': the English Experience, 1992–94

This paper examines issues in the debate on quality assurance in the English system of higher education as they have developed between the Further and Higher Education Act of 1992 and the review proposed by the Secretary of State at the end of 1994. The main focus is on the development by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) of its method of quality assessment and the call for the restoration of 'self-regulation' in such matters to the institutions. The role of the institutions in developing the methods adopted by the Funding Council is outlined, and the chief criticisms of its effects evaluated. The paper concludes by reviewing options for change in the immediate future and the conditions that will have to be met. It is argued that systems could undoubtedly be improved, but that key elements of 'self-regulation' have already been won in the continuation of external peer review.     

Can we have a unified theory of quality?

This paper examines a number of concepts of quality from Plato to Taguchi. That there is no generally accepted theory has led researchers to report various problems and adopt various devices to get round this difficult situation. Governmental concern with accountability and its implications in the current 'quality debate' are considered and a simple theory to meet all cases is proposed.