Exploring relationships among internationalization,choice for research and development approach and technology source and resulting innovation intensity: Case of a transition country Croatia

The purpose of the paper is to examine the impact of internationalization on innovation. Specifically we explored the impact of internationalization on firms' choice for research and development (R&D) approach and technology source, impact of choice for research and development (R&D) approach and technology source on innovation and finally impact of business hampering factors on innovation. We had focused on innovation intensity to measure impact on innovation. A survey of foreign investment enterprises in Croatia was conducted. A total of 145 firms responded to the questionnaire. Multivariate analyses are used to analyze the data. In addition we identified key factors impacting different types of innovation.     

Development of the Nine-Ball Skills Test to discriminate elite and high-level amateur golfers

Currently, there is a lack of appropriate skill assessments available for use in golf. The aim of this study was to examine the discriminative validity and the test-retest reliability of the newly developed "Nine-Ball Skills Test". Participants of two ability levels (elite, n = 14; high-level amateur, n = 16) each hit nine golf shots of differing combinations of trajectory (straight, fade, draw) and height (normal, high, low) at an individually determined target area. Each shot was scored on its percent error index from the target and whether it achieved the maximum height as required. Participants completed the test twice using a 5-iron club. The elite group scored significantly higher (P < 0.05) than the amateur group for both the first and second rounds of the test as well as the combined scores. The between-round test-retest reliability was deemed to be not acceptable, thus we propose that the test's protocol should include use of the two rounds as standard. Due to the importance of ball striking and flight control to performance in golf, the Nine-Ball Skills Test is appropriate for providing a measure of this skill component in elite and high-level amateur golfers.     

Planning agricultural education in India

Abstract

The study is an attempt to report the growth and status of agricultural education in India and to project a future scenario. The forecast made for trained agricultural manpower is based on socio-economic considerations which are then converted into an educational plan. Issues relating to educational policy to achieve supply-demand adjustments are subsequently discussed. Three main recommendations have emerged from this study. First, the number of diploma holders at the lower end of the professional ladder needs to be increased to cater for the social demand for more trained and readily available manpower to help clientele (farmers) to enhance the level of their awareness concerning technological developments in agriculture. Second, the number of specializations at postgraduate level needs to be decreased and agricultural education needs to be more broad based in commensuration with occupational demands. This would allow skilled and qualified manpower to be directed into areas of employment where they are needed most. Third, the participation of the private sector in the institutionalization of agricultural education may offer healthy competition to state supported agricultural universities and inculcate better entrepreneurship. Finally, recommendations pertaining to the job preferences of graduates and remedies to certain internal inconsistencies such as inbreeding in the system are also made.     

Profile of scientific staff in agricultural universities in India

Abstract

A brief profile of scientific staff in the State Agricultural Universities (SAUs) in India is described. The data collected through a survey sketches the scientific staff background, age, gender, education, mobility, career details and time spent on various activities. Interesting differences were found in the activities of scientific staff of different grades. The findings show certain positive and negative features. The positive features are: scientific staff spend time on all four activities of SAUs, namely, research, teaching, extension and administration; increase in the number of scientific staff from urban background; increase in female scientific staff, and satisfactory career growth. Negative features are: lack of training opportunities; senior scientific staff in management grade spend more time in administration at the cost of teaching and research, and scientific staff selection becoming more localised. Amongst the scientific staff, readers are relatively more associated with academic activities, whereas professors are more associated with administration.     

Profiling the Beliefs of the Forgotten Teachers: An Analysis of Intern Teachers’ Frameworks for Urban Science Teaching

The need to equip science teachers with knowledge, skills, and habits of mind to face the challenges of teaching science through inquiry informed this study, which analyzed the secondary science intern teachers’ beliefs about inquiry before, during, and following a series of 2 consecutive science methods courses in an attempt to document the effect of such experiences on their ability and willingness to infuse science inquiry in their science curricula. Nine science credentialing interns participated in the study. Data was gathered from their written reflections and various assignments throughout the methods courses. Results suggested that their beliefs changed significantly after the science methods courses. The implications of the study to secondary science teacher educators and researchers were highlighted.     

HSK成绩统计处理系统的实现

用计算机技术实现HSK管理系统的科学化管理，是现代教学管理的需要。《HSK管理系统》应用程序的诞生是一个必然。本详细给出了该系统设计的主要功能与实现方法、技巧。虽然该系统是针对HSK设计的，但程序稍另改动可适合其它（如：CET）的科学化管理要求。     

基于信息通信技术的开放与远程学习——在“2008世界开放与远程教育论坛”上的主题报告

非常感谢中国联合国教科文组织全国委员会的盛情邀请,对于联合国教科文组织每位成员细致人微的工作,我都赞叹不已。在此,非常感谢你们如此出色的工作,同时与这样的团队及成员合作我感到非常愉快,而且常受益匪浅。我已有七八年的时间没有从事开放与远程学习领域的工作,但我确信这个领域已经取得了长足的发展,因此站在这里我感到有些不安,报告中的不妥之处还请大家谅解。     

Primary Physical Science for Student Teachers at Kindergarten and Primary School Levels: Part II—Implementation and Evaluation of a Course

Interchange - This is the second of two papers on a novel physical science course for student teachers that develops and uses an imaginative approach to&nbsp;Primary Physical Science Education....     

Adolescent Safety on the Internet

The article examines the opportunities and limitations of the coping behavior of children and teenagers on the Internet and the assistance that they receive from significant adults (parental mediation) in the context of the new developmental social situation, which is mediated by modern information and communication technologies, and in particular the Internet. The study was conducted on the basis of the EUKidsOnline II methodology in 11 regions in seven Russian federal districts (1,025 “parent–child” pairs). The study discovered that the most common risks include sexual and negative content, fraud and theft of personal information, as well as meetings with online acquaintances. The features of experiences and mechanisms used to cope with online risks depend on the predominant activity that a particular teenager pursues online, so that if children are focused on their studies online, they are less exposed to this risk. However, they are more deeply disturbed by such situations and remain so for longer periods of time, and they more frequently employ passive strategies to cope with them. So-called “content consumers” are at the greatest risk of encountering sexual content on the network. These users actively pursue various activities online, including search engines. They experience fewer negative emotions, and they often actively try to cope with the problem while rarely using offline support. There are few opportunities for parental mediation; these include blocking content and reducing the probability that children, and in particular the teenagers that are focused on their studies, will encounter risks. The strategy of explanation and encouragement is effective for teens who pursue various activities on the Internet, and is associated with a more realistic assessment of risk and young people's active use of coping and social support strategies. For the modern teenager, the Internet is a complex psychological “tool,” which he appropriates by probing its capabilities and opportunities for self-regulation, including coping with difficult life situations.