The visible hand of cluster policy makers: An analysis of Aerospace Valley (2006-2015) using a place-based network methodology

The paper focuses on cluster policies with particular attention to the role of R&D collaborative incentives in the structuring of knowledge networks in clusters. We disentangle the main network failures in regional innovation systems, and discuss the selection procedures designed by policy makers to foster knowledge collaborations. We draw evidence from the French Aerospace Valley cluster from 2006 to 2015. The case study is based on a dataset of 248 granted research consortia, from which we build 4-cohort knowledge networks that enable us evidencing the evolving structural properties of the cluster over time. We suggest avoiding the bias and limitations of 1 and 2-mode network analysis by developing an original place-based network methodology that emphasizes on structural equivalence and groups’ behaviors. We discuss the results focusing on the convergence degree between the structural properties of the cluster selected by the Program and the policy makers’ objectives. Finally, the methodology allows us to identify the agents of the structural and technological changes observed throughout the period.     

Enhancing access to reading materials in academic libraries with low budgets using a book bank system: Makerere university library experience

Most universities are enrolling large numbers of students amidst dwindling budgets. This leads to reduced book- to student ratios. Makerere University started a Book Bank system to ensure availability of basic text books to students. The aim of this paper was to assess whether the Book Bank system was a viable strategy for enhancing access to reading materials in academic libraries with low budgets. Findings revealed that the Book Bank system was appreciated and 92% of the students used Book Banks. Concludes that the Book Bank is a possible strategy for enhancing access to reading materials in academic libraries with low budgets.     

A biographical experience of teacher education in Aotearoa New Zealand

Abstract

The article analyses initial teacher education (ITE) policy and practice in Aotearoa New Zealand over forty years. Central to the local ITE context was the incorporation of the ‘monotechnic’ colleges of teacher education into the university sector in the 1990s and 2000s, following New Zealand’s structural adjustments to the state education sector in 1989 and 1990. Policy ideologies of ‘marketisation’ and ‘professionalisation’ raised expectations of the abstract knowledge base and competencies that university-based teacher education graduates would acquire, while simultaneously degrading the rich immersion in cultural, curriculum and subject studies and learning by doing that were the hallmark of the former colleges. Indigenous staff and students arguably suffered most during the incorporation years. The final section looks to New Zealand’s future demographic, environmental and socio-economic imperatives and asks how ITE can be recast to enable teacher educators and beginning teachers to face the realities and challenges of the decades ahead.     

Relationships between changes of kernel nutritive components and seed vigor during development stages of F_1 seeds of sh_2 sweet corn

The changes of kernel nutritive components and seed vigor in F1 seeds of sh2 sweet corn during seed development stage were investigated and the relationships between them were analyzed by time series regression (TSR) analysis. The results show that total soluble sugar and reducing sugar contents gradually declined, while starch and soluble protein contents increased throughout the seed development stages. Germination percentage, energy of germination, germination index and vigor index gradually increased along with seed development and reached the highest levels at 38 d aider pollination (DAP). The TSR showed that, during 14 to 42 DAP, total soluble sugar content was independent of the vigor parameters determined in present experiment, while the reducing sugar content had a significant effect on seed vigor. TSR equations between seed reducing sugar and seed vigor were also developed. There were negative correlations between the seed reducing sugar content and the germination percentage, energy of germination, germination index and vigor index, respectively. It is suggested that the seed germination, energy of germination, germination index and vigor index could be predicted by the content of reducing sugar in sweet corn seeds during seed development stages.     

Cain,le peche original du Mal dans La Conscience. La Conscience vers 56-58 ,Hugo,La Legende des Siecles

Apres le Bien d＇Eve dans le cbapitre precedent , Cain le premier meurtrier,est l＇origine du Mal darts le monde .Decrivant l＇horreur de fuir de l＇ceil et la faute ,Hugo utitise plusieurs enjambements et cesures .Ce poeme historique et 1egendaire annonce le progre＇s de l＇homme vers la lumiere.     

Celestial and mythical origins of the citadel of Bukhara

Narshakhī's The History of Bukhara, an account from the tenth century AD that has been narrated as a mythical and strange story about the formation of the citadel of Bukhara, has received scanty scholarly attention. This study addresses some of the unknown semantic and symbolic origins of Iranian citadels and fortresses through an analysis of documented legends and other classical sources. This analysis shows that the citadel (qal'a) was built based on the conceptual archetype of the Utopia of Kangdiz (Siāvošgerd) and the geometric shape of Banāt Naʿsh (Big Dipper), which has played a symbolic role in protecting and guarding in Persian cosmology. This celestial analogy can explain the causes and origins of the irregular shape of some other Iranian citadels.     

Statements of special educational needs and tribunal appeals in England and Wales 2003–2013 – in numbers

The study presents a statistical analysis of statements of special educational needs and Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) tribunal appeal rates in England and Wales. It is set against the backcloth of the 2014 Children and Families Act which replaces statements with Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans. The numerical overview provides a research baseline for future Local Authorities’ (LAs’) benchmarking of EHC plans by comparisons with statements and SEND tribunal rates. There have been wide variations across LAs since 2003. The percentage change in statements ranges from +49% to ?60% whilst there are even larger differences in the rate of tribunal appeals, both by type and location of Authority. The discussion refers to the use of mediation to resolve disputes between LAs and parents and for regular LA self-reviews, to avoid a potential inflationary and inequitable growth in EHC plans and to avert resource drift.     

论《1Q84》中的“回状嵌套法”

"回状嵌套法"是用来指一种在文学作品中出现"戏中戏"、"剧中剧"、小说套小说的创作手法。在村上春树的小说《1Q84》中,主人公天吾改写的《空气蛹》、天吾在火车上读到的《猫城》和天吾自己创作的长篇小说这三本小说,与《1Q84》的原故事层形成了"回"状的嵌套结构,使小说呈现出三维的、立体的"回"状故事空间。     

“If We Lose Their Language We Lose Our History”: Knowledge and Disposition in Māori Language Acquisition Policy

Localising knowledge and dispositions helps to predict the likely success of top-down language policies. In so far as language acquisition is a pillar of language revitalisation policy, then community perspectives on learning a minority language deserve attention. This article presents the knowledge, dispositions, and ideas of around 1,300 indigenous and non-indigenous university students in New Zealand about learning te reo Māori as public policy. The article analyses the students’ level of agreement to a series of propositions about language acquisition policy, and the epistemic and dispositional stances they took in their free-text commentary to describe the rationale for learning te reo Māori, how and where acquisition occurs, who should learn the language and to what extent, what policy should deliver, and what policy changes are needed. The article concludes that the knowledge and dispositions of the students are at odds with government policy and traditional tenets of language revitalisation theory.