Video diaries: a tool to investigate sustainability-related learning in threshold spaces

This paper takes as a case study an undergraduate field class from a UK university to rural Uganda. It describes and evaluates the use of video diaries as a tool for investigating the process of transformative learning in the context of education for sustainability. The applicability of threshold concept theory to this learning is investigated. Results show the video diary technique to be much more successful in capturing the development of student learning than written diaries. Despite some practical difficulties, rich data were generated. Analysis demonstrated that learning met three of the five criteria for threshold concepts: the learning was transformative, integrative and troublesome. Further research could test whether the learning in this case study met the threshold concept criterion of irreversibility. Further elaboration of the theoretical relationship between threshold concepts, transformative learning and education for sustainability is also needed. It is concluded that the video diary method is potentially transferable to other educational research contexts and may be particularly suitable for researching learning in threshold spaces.     

To be or not to be ‘a disabled student’ in higher education: the case of a postgraduate ‘non‐declaring’ (disabled) student

This paper draws on data from a research project that was funded by the UK's Higher Education Academy. The project focused on the experiences of disabled students in one English higher education institution, and a key feature of the project was to attempt to access the perspectives of ‘non‐declaring’ disabled students. This paper draws on the experiences of one of the ‘non‐declaring’ respondents, Anna, a postgraduate student. In the UK, some students declare their disabled status on entry to a higher education institution, some do so once at the institution and some never let the institution know of their impairment. It is the perspectives of this latter group that are particularly difficult to access. Anna's experiences as a postgraduate student provide some insight into what may affect decisions about declaration of impairment. Drawing on a social‐relational understanding of disability, factors that influenced her decision not to ‘declare’ and the consequent effect on her experience of higher education are explored.     

Chinese children with ASD in Hong Kong (SAR): development of inclusive practice

The advancement of inclusive educational provision in the Asia‐Pacific region has been guided by international research. As one example, Hong Kong has developed a unique and cultural response to inclusive practice within the region. This paper reviews Hong Kong's development of inclusive education practice for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). It provides an account of how services in education have developed for Chinese children with ASD, from diagnosis to school placement, and how the students are supported. A number of challenges for the region are discussed including those related to pedagogy, mentoring, placement, support and the need for culturally appropriate professional learning.     

The Bicycle Assembly Line Game

“The Bicycle Assembly Line Game” is a team‐based, in‐class activity that helps students develop a basic understanding of continuously operating processes. Each team of 7–10 students selects one of seven prefigured bicycle assembly lines to operate. The lines are run in real‐time, and the team that operates the line that yields the highest revenue wins. Students learn through discovery “What drives output rate?”; “How is capacity managed relative to market demand?”; and “Why does inventory accumulate?” Because task times are constant, the game provides a nice lead‐in to the topic of line balancing. This game has been successfully used in both undergraduate‐ and MBA‐level operations management courses.     

Socioeconomic Status– and Gender‐Based Differences in Students’ Perceptions of E‐Learning Systems

Many universities are pursuing increases in on‐line course offerings as a means of offsetting the rising costs of providing high‐quality educational opportunities and of better serving their student populations. However, enrollments in online courses are not always sufficient to cover their costs. One possible way of improving enrollments is through marketing campaigns targeted to specific demographic groups. In this study, we take a first look into how students’ perceptions of e‐learning systems, prior to their enrollment in an online course, vary across socioeconomic status and gender. Findings suggest that prior to taking an online course, working‐class students perceive e‐learning systems more positively than their middle‐class peers but that little difference exists between genders. Armed with this knowledge, universities may improve online course enrollments by marketing online courses specifically to working‐class students or through campaigns aimed at improving middle‐class students’ perceptions of e‐learning systems.     

Project Cheddarfield: Supporting Co‐Curricular Themes Through Creative Use of Video Course‐Casting

This article chronicles the coordination and better integration of existing institutional resources to support cocurricular themes embedded in the provision of a large enrollment, video‐mediated undergraduate operations management (OM) course. The name Project Cheddarfield refers to a 2008 initiative in which two professors team‐taught an OM course to over 600 undergraduates on two different continents through the repeated rapid exchange of digital video between the United States and Singapore. Simultaneously infused in this core curricular delivery were themes of global awareness and study‐abroad, including the promotion of one particular opportunity that bridged the two campuses. This action research narrative spans over 5 years of related activity leading up to the initiative, as this project is best understood as a trajectory, or the evolving result of design adapting to unfolding realities.     

不同边界条件下交叉三角形波纹流道传热与流动的数据处理

为准确量化交叉三角形波纹流道的强化传热性能,除了需要进行数值模拟,还需要对所获得的数据进行正确计算处理.针对两种构造不同的交叉三角形波纹流道A和流道B,在模拟时选取不同的壁面给热条件,将恒热流密度壁面与等效恒温壁面的数值模拟结果进行了对比,并借助合适的数据处理方法,得到各自条件下的平均摩擦系数fL和平均努塞尔数NuL.结果表明,高热流密度时流道B的传热强化明显,低热流密度时流道A的传热减弱明显.对任何一类流道而言,边界给热条件的变化对流动摩擦阻力影响很小,但流道内的流动和传热之间其实是具有复杂的相互关联性的.     

Error analysis of non-spherical raindrops on precipitation measurement

Radar cross section (RCS) of non-spherical raindrops is calculated by using the software CST based on finite integral method and compared with RCS of spherical raindrops. The revised factor of non-spherical raindrops is obtained. The radar reflectivity with precipitation change of four distribution models of M-P, Gamma, JD and JT combining the revised factor is gotten using trapezoidal integration. When the influence of non-spherical raindrops is considered, the accuracy of precipitation measurement of four distribution models can be separately improved 8.77%, 8.47%, 10.53% and 8.04% in the case of rain intensity is 100 mm/h.     

师范毕业生教育游戏认知情况调研

教育游戏的应用与发展很大程度上依赖一线教师对教育游戏的理解,因此了解即将成为一线教师的师范毕业生对教育游戏的认知状况与期望有助于把握教育游戏应用的现状以及未来的发展趋向．该文通过对南京晓庄学院302名不同专业的师范毕业生的抽样调查,分析讨论了师范毕业生对教育游戏的概念认知、功能认知以及期望．通过调查发现：师范毕业生对教育游戏的概念认知程度偏低,不同专业的师范毕业生对教育游戏的概念认知情况存在较大差异;师范毕业生对教育游戏的教育功能持肯定态度;师范毕业生对教育游戏的课堂教学应用持怀疑态度;师范毕业生对于一款“好”教育游戏产品的期望主要表现在教育游戏的趣味性和教育性方面．