Young children's number sense in Finland,Hong Kong and Singapore

This study examines young children's number sense in subjects from Finland (n=254), Hong Kong (n=246), and Singapore (n=130). Chinese, English and Finnish versions of the Early Numeracy Test (ENT; Van Luit et al., 1994) were used. Two highly correlated aspects of number sense were measured, one reflecting children's abilities to organize and compare quantities (i.e. relational skills), and the other pertaining to their ability to operate with number-word sequence (i.e. counting skills). The results showed significant age-related gain on the relational and counting scales. No gender or language differences were found. The children in Hong Kong and Singapore outperformed those in Finland in relational and counting tasks starting at the age of four years. The children in Singapore also had better relational and counting skills than those in Hong Kong. Differences in teaching were assumed to explain the findings.     

Multiple Measures: Alternative Design and Analysis Models

The use of multiple measures is emphasized by legislation regulating the distribution of Title I funding to states, as well as by professional and industry standards regarding the use of test scores in high-stakes decisions. There are a wide variety of methods with which multiple measures can be designed and analyzed, and these methods have different implications for conclusions that will be reached. Recognizing the complexities associated with the implementation of a multiple measures approach to system evaluation, this article provides an overview and discussion of alternative models that may be considered in an accountability system and their applicability relative to the goals of the system evaluation. The article concludes with an example of the use of multiple measures with regard to No Child Left Behind legislation.     

Editorial

International Journal for Educational and Vocational Guidance -     

Editorial

International Journal for Educational and Vocational Guidance -     

Quality issues in the internationalisation of higher education

Although the quality issue has become a central preoccupation inother domains of higher education, current internationalisation policiesand practices in higher education have developed without much concernfor quality assurance. The central thesis of this paper is that we havecome to a point in the development of higher education whereinternationalisation policies and practices face the limits of theirdevelopment unless the quality challenge is addressed in all itsconsequences. The paper first provides an overview of contemporary formsof and recent developments in internationalisation in higher education.From more or less `traditional' forms such as student and teaching staffmobility, internationalisation policies and practices nowadays move intoactivities such as exporting higher education via branch campuses andinstitutional co-operation, developing transnational university networksand virtual delivery of higher education, and the harmonisation ofhigher education systems. In these recent developments several issuesand challenges arise, which in one kind or another have direct links tothe quality challenge. The quality of internationalisation policies andpractices itself is an important problem, but of more importance are theissues of the recognition of foreign diplomas and degrees and therecognition of credits and credit-transfer. This paper takes a criticalstance towards for example the ECTS, which tries to solve these issueswithout much concern for quality. The way out lies in an integration ofinternationalisation policies and general quality assurance practices atinstitutional and policy levels.     

“Lafeneline”: Promoting Sexual Health Through College Radio

The authors describe a sexual education program that was aired by the campus radio station at Kansas State University. Use of college radio to promote student health issues is first reviewed. Specific program content and production obstacles are then discussed. Recommendations for future shows are made.     

Robust fault tolerant control of robot manipulators with global fixed-time convergence

In this paper, a robust fault tolerant control, which provides a global fixed-time stability, is proposed for robot manipulators. This approach is constructed based on an integration between a fixed-time second-order sliding mode observer (FxTSOSMO) and a fixed-time sliding mode control (FxTSMC) design strategy. First, the FxTSOSMO is developed to estimate the lumped disturbance with a fixed-time convergence. Then, based on the obtained disturbance estimation, the FxTSMC is developed based on a fixed-time sliding surface and a fixed-time reaching strategy to form a global fixed-time convergence of the system. The proposed approach is then applied for fault tolerant control of a PUMA560 robot and compared with other state-of-the-art controllers. The simulation results verify the outstanding fault estimation and fault accommodation capability of the proposed fault diagnosis observer and fault tolerant strategy, respectively.