League tables in educational evidence-based policy-making: can we stop the horse race,please?

International large-scale student assessments (ILSAs) in education represent a valuable source of information for policy-makers, not only on student achievements, but also on their relationship with different contextual factors. The results are partly described in the official studies’ reports; more can be derived from the publicly released data sets. However, league tables are often the only evidence used in policy debates and decisions on education. Indeed, the comparison of student achievement across the participating educational systems is a legitimate proxy for estimating countries’ development and productivity, but the use of league tables more often turns into ‘horse-ranking’, ignoring the contexts of teaching and learning. This is often supported by the media, turning the use of results into their abuse. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the use and misuse of league tables in reporting ILSA results, vs. the use of data for in-depth analysis in order to make informed decisions.     

Iterative learning control for fractional-order multi-agent systems

In this paper, we apply iterative learning control to both linear and nonlinear fractional-order multi-agent systems to solve consensus tacking problem. Both fixed and iteration-varying communicating graphs are addressed in this paper. For linear systems, a PD^α-type update law with initial state learning mechanism is introduced by virtue of the memory property of fractional-order derivative. For nonlinear systems, a D^α-type update law with forgetting factor and initial state learning is designed. Sufficient conditions for both linear and nonlinear systems are established to guarantee all agents achieving the asymptotic output consensus. Simulation examples are provided to verify the proposed schemes.     

Distributed delay input shaper design by optimizing smooth kernel functions

The aim of this paper is the development of a general class of input shapers with distributed time delay which leads to retarded spectral properties. The design of the shaper is formulated as a multi-objective optimization problem, where response time and robustness, expressed in terms of residual vibrations, are the main objectives. As a part of the optimization formulation, common requirements for input shapers such as non-decreasing step response and unity steady state gain are considered in the design. Moreover, additional optional requirements, such as smoothness of a step response, jerk and even jounce limits can be added to optimization procedure. The resulting problem can be solved using convex optimization techniques. Several illustrative examples are presented in comparison with classical input shaping techniques. Finally, implementation aspects are discussed. The paper is accompanied by an implementation in MATLAB, including a user-friendly interface for the interactive shaper design.     

湖北省体育产业发展现状调查

采用文献资料调研、访问等方法,对湖北省体育产业发展现状进行调查.结果表明湖北省各地区体育产业结构不尽合理;体育市场管理的法制化、规范化程度有待提高;各地、市均不同程度地存在部分体育经营项目管理权限交叉和体育市场管理机构、人员"不确定性"等情况;体育产业统计指标模糊不清.     

Reading the Texts on Book Publishing: A New Body of Knowledge about an Old Body of Knowledge

The paper analyzes the role of publishing education in academia. The main question it asks is whether the publishing education remains to be focused on vocational training and as such resembles classical polytechnics, or is it gaining research component after it became part of European and American universities. The paper looks for answers to these questions in the body of texts that were published on book publishing in scientific and professional journals and monographs between 2003 and 2006.     

Exploiting structural information for semi-structured document categorization

This paper examines several different approaches to exploiting structural information in semi-structured document categorization. The methods under consideration are designed for categorization of documents consisting of a collection of fields, or arbitrary tree-structured documents that can be adequately modeled with such a flat structure. The approaches range from trivial modifications of text modeling to more elaborate schemes, specifically tailored to structured documents. We combine these methods with three different text classification algorithms and evaluate their performance on four standard datasets containing different types of semi-structured documents. The best results were obtained with stacking, an approach in which predictions based on different structural components are combined by a meta classifier. A further improvement of this method is achieved by including the flat text model in the final prediction.     

Inclusive education in the Czech Republic: A scoping review of a paradigm shift

This scoping review presents the historical, social, and international influences that shaped the gradual move from segregated to inclusive education for all children in the Czech Republic. The introduction of the 2016 amendment to the Education Act marked a decisive paradigm shift in education policy, which formed the legal basis for services and support measures to be made available for all children with special needs in local mainstream schools. We analysed Czech language and English language peer-reviewed specialist literature to see how these changes have been reflected in current education research. The eighteen studies reviewed provide a complex picture of facilitators and barriers at the level of inclusive culture, policy and practice. Even though progress towards inclusive education in the Czech Republic has been notable, there are still systemic and attitudinal barriers to the education of all children.