Times, Measures and the Man: the Future of British Higher Education Treated Historically and Comparatively

This article is a tribute to the life work of Maurice Kogan. Very little of higher education's landscape in the United Kingdom has remained unchanged over the past four decades and this article sets out to analyze the way the perception of the role of universities in society has changed in the intervening period. This it does through three perspectives: continuity and change, continuity in change and continuity in the midst of change. Each yields very different visions of the university. Against this ‘inside’ view, the second part of the article examines current British higher education policy from an ‘outsider’ standpoint and very particularly the current strategies towards the European Higher Education and Research Areas. It concludes by arguing that Britain's higher education policy vis a vis Europe re‐states a dilemma which these Islands have had to tackle for the best part of the past 250 Years. This dilemma is whether to lay priority on higher education as a global instrument or to endorse a more limited, less ambitious agenda of ‘European’ integration.     

Is There a Future for Journalism?

A functionalist perspective on the future of journalism would posit that because human society needs journalism, we will find ways to support this communications practice. Yet such a perspective, however consoling, assumes a teleology that is far from guaranteed. What will happen is far from easy to predict; nevertheless, this paper pinpoints several key issues that impact on the future of journalism. It also advances some general propositions and a broad periodisation around UNESCO’s historical role in relation to these issues. The analysis gives particular attention to political and economic matters, the safety of journalists and internet governance. Each of these dimensions entails existential threats to journalism, but some opportunities are also noted. Four paradoxes are also identified, with tensions that may lead to change in one direction or another.     

Direct skeletal attachment prosthesis for the amputee athlete: the unknown potential

Lower limb amputees often experience complications with the use of conventional socket-type prostheses, which further reduce their already compromised ability to perform the activities of daily living, or to participate in sporting activities. During the last two decades, a new technology of direct skeletal attachment (osseointegration) of prosthesis to the femoral residuum has been developed. The aim of this research was to assess the implant design, surgery protocols, and functional testing of this new technology on the first 100 patients using the Integral Leg Prosthesis procedure. This new knowledge can guide future engineering developments of osseointegration within the sporting arena. Between 1999 and 2013, direct skeletal implantation was performed on 112 amputees, from two centres in Germany and Australia. From the experience of the surgical team, modifications were made to the implant design. This re-engineering of the implant has reduced the surgical revisions due to infection from 29 % with the early implant design down to 7 %. The functional testing of the 34 Australian cases were assessed pre- and 12 months post-implant with significant improvements of one complete K-scale; the Q-TFA measures increased (50.9–86.7), whilst the Timed Up and Go decreased significantly (12.43 s ± 3.89 to 8.03 s ± 2.80), and the 6 min walk increased (304.0–383.9 m). From these findings, osseointegration technology is realistically the way of the future for amputee athletes. Further refinement of the implant design and sports-specific functional testing are required to define the potential of this technology.     

Conference day

Early Childhood Education Journal - My first graders arrive with their parents for conference time. Conferencing involves a three-way triad—student, parent, teacher. The lines of...     

Development of deaf identity: an ethnographic study

This ethnographic study explores the identity development of 9 deaf participants through the narratives of their educational experiences in either mainstream or special schools for the Deaf. This exploration goes beyond a binary conceptualization of deaf identity that allows for only the medical and social models and proposes a bicultural "dialogue model." This postmodern theoretical framework is used to examine the diversity of identities of deaf learners. The inclusion of the researcher's own fluid cross-cultural identity as a bicultural "DeaF" participant in this study provides an auto-ethnographic gateway into exploring the lives of other deaf, Deaf, or bicultural DeaF persons. The findings suggest that deaf identity is not a static concept but a complex ongoing quest for belonging, a quest that is bound up with the acceptance of being deaf while "finding one's voice" in a hearing-dominant society. Through the use of dialogue and narrative tools, the study challenges educators, parents, and researchers to broaden their understanding of how deaf identity, and the dignity associated with being a deaf person is constructed.     

The nexus between college choice and persistence

Initial student commitments have long been considered an influence on persistence, but the reasons why students choose to attend a college have seldom been considered as dimensions of initial commitments that could influence persistence processes and outcomes. This study used NPSAS-87 to examine the influence of finance-related reasons for choosing a college on persistence decisions. The findings include (1) finance-related choices have direct and indirect influences on whether students persist in college; and (2) market-based, monetary measures of financial aid, tuition costs, housing costs, and other living costs have a substantial direct effect on persistence.