The use of cost-benefit analysis in funding continuing education: steering the fifth wheel?

This article builds upon recent interest in models of funding Continuing Education (McGivney 1990, Berrell and Smith 1996, Matkin 1997). It is based on an EU-funded project which examined inter alia current funding models for Continuing Education (CE) within four European Union countries - France, Ireland, Italy and Scotland. The article firstly discusses the breadth of CE. It then investigates the existence of funding models by examining the use of cost-benefit analysis (CBA) in determining course provision in the relevant countries. We argue that while costs and benefits form part of providers' everyday thinking, expression of CBA was generally implicit and never articulated in technical terms. We suggest that providers' value-systems, or ideology, militate against simplistic use of CBA. We conclude by returning to the question of models of funding CE.     

Wartime rugby and football: sports elites, French military teams and international meets during the First World War

The First World War is traditionally considered in history as a temporary halt for cultural and sporting activities. If the Olympic Games and the Tour de France were actually cancelled, football and rugby were in fact stimulated by the circumstances of war. Indeed, the gathering of allied nations behind the Western Front emerged as the main factor in the development of these two sports. Reading the sporting press and military archives shows that international sporting exchanges were stimulated during the Great War. To be specific, France benefited from the golden opportunity provided by the presence of the masters of the game to strengthen its practices and affirm its status as a sporting nation. Inter-allied sporting exchanges were primarily characterised by informal encounters between military selections. Then, following the recognition of these sports by the military authorities, the number of exchanges increased. At the end of 1917, the official status acquired by sport within the military forces created the conditions for the structuring of the French sporting elite. From that point, we can witness the birth of the first French military rugby and football teams, as they demonstrate, through their good performances during the demobilisation period, the progressive build-up of the international dimension of French sport during the war years.     

Teachers’ perceptions and A‐level performance: is there any evidence of systematic bias?

Applications for places in UK Higher Education are usually made before the results of A‐level examinations are known, so references from schools and colleges normally refer to expected (or predicted) grades. Inaccuracies in these predictions may be systematically related to key characteristics of the applicant and could lead to under‐representation from various groups of students. This paper examines data on predicted A‐level grades for 415 recently‐enrolled university students. In contrast to the findings of previous studies however, we find that prediction bias is not particularly related to the gender, class or schooling of the student, but is closely linked to the predicted grades themselves—students predicted low grades performed above expectations, and vice‐versa. The implications of this for current UK government initiatives intended to widen participation in Higher Education are considered briefly in the conclusion.     

The dynamics and stability of lubricating oil films during droplet transport by electrowetting in microfluidic devices

The operation of digital microfluidic devices with water droplets manipulated by electrowetting is critically dependent on the static and dynamic stability and lubrication properties of the oil films that separate the droplets from the solid surfaces. The factors determining the stability of the films and preventing surface fouling in such systems are not yet thoroughly understood and were experimentally investigated in this study. The experiments were performed using a standard digital microfluidic cartridge in which water droplets enclosed in a thin, oil-filled gap were transported over an array of electrodes. Stable, continuous oil films separated the droplets from the surfaces when the droplets were stationary. During droplet transport, capillary waves formed in the films on the electrode surfaces as the oil menisci receded. The waves evolved into dome-shaped oil lenses. Droplet deformation and oil displacement caused the films at the surface opposite the electrode array to transform into dimples of oil trapped over the centers of the droplets. Lower actuation voltages were associated with slower film thinning and formation of fewer, but larger, oil lenses. Lower ac frequencies induced oscillations in the droplets that caused the films to rupture. Films were also destabilized by addition of surfactants to the oil or droplet phases. Such a comprehensive understanding of the oil film behavior will enable more robust electrowetting-actuated lab-on-a-chip devices through prevention of loss of species from droplets and contamination of surfaces at points where films may break.     

Macro-economic consequences of European research policy: Prospects of the Nemesis model in the year 2030

Acknowledging the weakness of R&D expenditure in Europe relative to that in the United States and Japan, Barcelona's European Council agreed in March 2002 to increase investment in R&D to 3% of GDP by 2010. The aim of this paper is to assess the macro-economic consequences of such a policy, using the European macro-econometric model Nemesis. Results show that macro-economic trends can be split into two distinct phases. In the first one, growth is directly driven by R&D expenditures, while in the second phase, innovation is the engine of growth through productivity and competitiveness gains.     

Influence of saddle setback on knee joint forces in cycling

Abstract

Knee functional disorders are one of the most common lower extremity non-traumatic injuries reported by cyclists. Incorrect bicycle configuration may predispose cyclist to injury but the evidence of an effect of saddle setback on knee pain remains inconclusive. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of saddle setback on knee joint forces during pedalling using a musculoskeletal modelling approach. Ten cyclists were assessed under three saddle setback conditions (range of changes in saddle position ~6 cm) while pedalling at a steady power output of 200 W and cadence of 90 rpm. A cycling musculoskeletal model was developed and knee joint forces were estimated using an inverse dynamics method associated with a static optimisation procedure. Our results indicate that moving the saddle forwards was not associated with an increase of patellofemoral joint forces. On the contrary, the tibiofemoral mean and peak compression force were 14 and 15% higher in the Backward than in the Forward condition, respectively. The peak compression force was related to neither pedal force nor quadriceps muscle force but coincided with the eccentric contraction of knee flexor muscles. These findings should benefit bike fitting practitioners and coaches in the design of specific training/rehabilitation protocols.     

Effects of Training on the Estimation of Muscular Moment in Submaximal Exercise

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to observe the effects of a submaximal isometric training program on estimation capacity at 25, 50, and 75% of maximal contraction in isometric action and at two angular velocities. The second purpose was to study the variability of isometric action. To achieve these purposes, participants carried out an isokinetic extension movement of the dominant lower limb during six test sessions and nine training sessions. Following the training program, estimation capacity in the different actions did not improve. However, an improvement in performance was observed with a reduction in the variability of submaximal isometric actions. The proprioceptors activated in isometric action seemed to adapt to the training program itself, which would promote better adaptation by a greater solicitation of internal feedback.     

Students’ academic self-perception

Participation rates in higher education differ persistently between some groups in society. Using two British datasets we investigate whether this gap is rooted in students’ misperception of their own and other's ability, thereby increasing the expected costs to studying. Amongst high school pupils, we find that pupils with a more positive view of their academic abilities are more likely to expect to continue to higher education even after controlling for observable measures of ability and students’ characteristics. University students are also poor at estimating their own test performance and over-estimate their predicted test score. However, females, White and working class students have less inflated view of themselves. Self-perception has limited impact on the expected probability of success and expected returns amongst these university students.     

Effects of synchronous versus asynchronous push modes on performance and biomechanical parameters in elite wheelchair basketball

This study aimed to compare the effects of synchronous (SYN) vs asynchronous (ASY) modes of wheelchair propulsion in field sprint tests on performance and biomechanical parameters. Seven elite wheelchair basketball players performed two separate (SYN and ASY) straight-line 20-m sprints. ASY increased sprint time and decreased push frequency compared to SYN (p < 0.05). Peak velocity and total force for the mean of the last three pushes were higher in SYN. Rate of rise was higher in SYN for the first, second and third pushes (p < 0.05). No significant difference was found for peak power and mean work. SYN mode induces better performance (13% difference in speed). However, the increase in rate of rise, thus the expansion of the total force when gripping the hand rim, push frequency and total force in SYN modes seems to expand the risk of developing musculoskeletal disorders during manual wheelchair propulsion for upper limb joints than ASY.