bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
On a Subjective Evaluation Model by a Generalized Fuzzy Integral
Authors: Imaoka Haruki
Published: October 2003

First, a generalized fuzzy integral which encompasses Sugeno integral, Choquet integral and opposite-Sugeno integral is proposed. A more restricted fuzzy integral can be expressed by using only one parameter of Frank's t-norm. It also encompasses the three integrals. Next, the performance when the integral is adopted as a subjective evaluation model is theoretically investigated. Finally, an example of subjective evaluation test is shown and is discussed.
Separated Hierarchical Decomposition of the Choquet Integral
Authors: Murofushi Toshiaki , Sugeno Michio , Fujimoto Katsushige
Published: October 2003

The paper gives a necessary and sufficient condition for a Choquet integral to be decomposable into an equivalent separated hierarchical Choquet-integral system, which is a hierarchical combination of ordinary Choquet integrals with mutually disjoint domains.
Alternative Representations of Discrete Fuzzy Measures for Decision Making
Authors: Grabisch Michel
Published: October 2003

This paper introduces three different representations of fuzzy measures, through the Möbius transformation, and the expression of importance and interaction. This leads naturally to the concept of k-order additive measures. It is shown how these concepts can be used in decision making, especially multicriteria evaluation.
Fuzzy Adjacency between Image Objects
Authors: Bloch Isabelle , Maître Henri , Anvari Morteza
Published: October 2003

The notion of adjacency has a strong interest for image processing and pattern recognition, since it denotes an important relationship between objects or regions in an image, widely used as a feature in model-based pattern recognition. A crisp definition of adjacency often leads to low robustness in the presence of noise, imprecision, or segmentation errors. We propose two approaches to cope with spatial imprecision in image processing applications, both based on the framework of fuzzy sets. These approaches lead to two completely different classes of definitions of a degree of adjacency. In the first approach, we introduce imprecision as a property of the adjacency relation, and consider adjacency between two (crisp) objects to be a matter of degree. We represent adjacency by a fuzzy relation whose value depends on the distance between the objects. In the second approach, we introduce imprecision (in particular spatial imprecision) as a property of the objects, and consider objects to be fuzzy subsets of the image space. We then represent adjacency by a relation between fuzzy sets. This approach is, in our opinion, more powerful and general. We propose several ways for extending adjacency to fuzzy sets, either by using α-cuts, or by using a formal translation of binary equations into fuzzy ones. Since set equations are more easily translated into fuzzy terms, we shall privilege set representations of adjacency, particularly in the framework of fuzzy mathematical morphology. Finally, we give some hints on how to compare degrees of adjacency, typically for applications in model-based pattern recognition.
A Fuzzy Switched DPCM Predictor for Lossless Compression of Noisy Images
Authors: Mitchell H. B. , Estrakh D. D.
Published: October 2003

Differential pulse code modulation (DPCM) algorithms are widely used to compress gray-scale pictures. A critical element in a DPCM algorithm is the accurate prediction of the pixel gray-levels in the input picture. The switched predictors used in modern DPCM algorithms are generally accurate when the input picture is free of noise. However, even small amounts of noise in the input picture will cause a substantial reduction in prediction accuracy and in turn a reduction in compression efficiency. In this paper we describe a novel fuzzy rule-based predictor for use in a lossless DPCM algorithm. For noisy pictures, the accuracy of the new predictor is consistently higher than the accuracy of standard switched predictors.
A Fuzzy Query Optimization Approach for Multidatabase Systems
Authors: Zhu Qiang , Larson Per-Åke
Published: October 2003

A crucial challenge for global query optimization in a multidatabase system (MDBS) is that some local optimization information, such as local cost parameters, may not be accurately known at the global level because of local autonomy. Traditional query optimization techniques using a crisp cost model may not be suitable for an MDBS because precise information is required. In this paper we present a new approach that performs global query optimization using a fuzzy cost model that allows fuzzy information. We suggest methods for establishing a fuzzy cost model and introduce a fuzzy optimization criterion that can be used with a fuzzy cost model. We discuss the relationship between the fuzzy optimization approach and the traditional (crisp) optimization approach and show that the former has a better chance to find a good execution strategy for a query in an MDBS environment, but its complexity may grow exponentially compared with the complexity of the later. To reduce the complexity, we suggest to use so-called k-approximate fuzzy values to approximate all fuzzy values during fuzzy query optimization. It is proven that the improved fuzzy approach has the same order of complexity as the crisp approach.
Volatility in World Equity Markets
Authors: Cochran Steven J. , Heck Jean L. , Shaffer David R.
Published: October 2003

Past research suggests that US stock market volatility was greater during the 1930s than in any other 10-year time period and the post-WWII era is a period of relative stability, despite slightly higher volatility levels during the 1970s and 1980s. More recent evidence suggests that volatility levels from 1998 to 2001 have more in common with 1930s levels than with any other time period. We extend this body of research to include the volatility experiences of seven equity markets in the US, Europe, and Asia. For each market, we compare the average monthly volatility of each five-year period, beginning with January 1923, with that for the most recent period in the study, January 1998 to August 2001. We find that when there are statistical differences between current and past levels of volatility, recent volatility is usually significantly greater than past volatility. In only a small number of cases do we find current volatility to be less than past volatility. This suggests that the 1998–2001 period was unusually volatile for most markets examined. We also find that volatility behavior tends to be country-specific and cannot be generalized on an aggregate basis.
Term Structure Fitting Models and Information Content: An Empirical Examination in Taiwanese Government Bond Market
Authors: Yeh Shih-Kuo , Lin Bing-Huei
Published: October 2003

In this study, we apply empirical methodologies, which are essentially curve fitting techniques, and use cross-sectional bond price data to estimate and analyze the Taiwanese government bond (TGB) term structure of interest rates. We choose two economic models: the Vasicek model and the CIR model, and one mathematical model: the B-spline approximation function, as the discount bond function to extract the term structure from market coupon bond prices. To assess the fitting performances and investigate the economic information content of the term structure fitting models, we compare the estimation errors and examine whether trading mis-priced bonds according the fitting model, can provide excess returns. The hypothesis is that the mathematical model can fit the term structure better than the economic models. But the economic models, which contain economic information, are able to explain the term structure dynamics. Thus the economic models can perform better in identifying mis-priced bonds and in predicting excess trading returns, than the mathematical model. Using the methodologies in this study, we can investigate the term structure fitting problems and look at the economic information content of the term structure fitting models.
The South-East Asia Crisis, Neural Networks and Market Behavior: An Exploratory Study
Authors: Scott Callum
Published: October 2003

A model of market behavior as a learning process was explored using artificial neural networks. Market and currency data from the period before and during the South-East Asia crisis of 1997 relating to Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Australia, and New Zealand was used to train neural networks. Time series of changes in neural networks' connection weights were generated whilst making a series of forecasts over time. Changes in connection weights captured the changing importance of these Asian markets to those of Australia and New Zealand as the crisis unfolded, and could be regarded as a measure of market learning.
Trade Union Orientation and Macro-Economic Management
Authors: Chew Rosalind , Chew Soon Beng
Published: October 2003

This paper makes the distinction between micro-focused unions and macro-focused unions, with the latter emphasizing full employment and competitiveness for the economy. It examines the micro-foundation of the macro-focused labor movement, which calls for certain conditions or arrangements conducive to, and the instruments needed for, the establishment and survival of macro-focused unions. The consequences and outcomes in an industrial relations regime in which macro-focused unions prevail are also examined, and measures for countering the free rider problem suggested. The main conclusion is that a macro-focused labor movement is a strategic partner with the government in enhancing international competitiveness, an option which is superior to an exchange rate policy.
Connections of Kin-minorities to the Kin-state in the Extended Schengen Zone
Authors: Tóth Judit
Published: October 2003

'Reduction in the strength of Hungarian minorities must be stopped, travel by youth to the homeland must increase, opportunities for recognition of Hungarian language and culture have to be upgraded, and problems relating to visa requirements due to EU accession must be resolved' (8th Congress of Young Hungarians, Kosice - Slovakia). On the same page of the biggest daily newspaper in Hungary the ex-Minister of Foreign Affairs and a key person in the previous cabinet, Mr. Németh, rejects the criticism of the EU Commissioner for Enlargement, Mr.Verheugen, who urges amendments to the Act on benefits for ethnic Hungarian minorities living in the neighbouring states. The MP of the strongest opposition party cannot accept the Commissioner's intepretation of the Act and the Hungarian certificate, which establishes a specific political connection between Hungary and its kin-minorities. 'Why would we provide cultural and educational benefits exclusively for ethnic Hungarians across the borders? Mr.Verhaugen's statement is in conflict with the expert opinion of the Venice Commission'. These two quotes express briefly the ongoing debates on enlargement, including the application of the Schengen zone, and their impact on domestic, regional as well as wider political and legal attitudes. This article aims to describe certain aspects of the Schengen regime and its ramifications in respect of Diaspora policy.
Some Ramifications of Enlargement on the EU-Russia Relations and the Schengen Regime
Authors: Potemkina Olga
Published: October 2003

The coming enlargement provides for moving the EU borders closer to Russia, with Lithuania and Poland surrounding a part of Russia, thus creating an enclave. This is a new phenomenon in the history of European integration, which has raised issues, such as flexibility in border crossing or the establishment of border agreements between the ex-Soviet countries. From the EU side this puzzle of security concerns also involves states of a field further. This article describes the Russian perspective on the Schengen regime.
The Needs of Fathers Parenting Children with Chronic Conditions
Authors: Hovey Judith K.
Published: October 2003

Children with chronic conditions survive for longer periods of time than ever before, thus needing optimal growth and development for themselves, their family members, and the family as a unit. A literature review suggests that these fathers have parenting needs that may differ from fathers of well children. This study identifies and compares these needs. Ninety-nine fathers in a large metropolitan area (48 fathers of children with chronic conditions and 51 fathers of well children) completed the Hymovich Family Perception Inventory anonymously. The results reveal significant differences between the parenting concerns of fathers of children with chronic conditions and fathers of well children in the areas of their children's health and the parenting concerns of their wives. There are indications that professional anticipatory guidance, dissemination of information, and encouragement in the use of fathers' informal support systems are needed by fathers of children with chronic conditions.
Community and Home Care Services Provided to Children with Cancer: A Report from the Children's Cancer Group Nursing Committee—Clinical Practice Group
Authors: Frierdich Sharon , Goes Connie , Dadd Gaye
Published: October 2003

A survey directed to home care providers was conducted by the Children's Cancer Group Nursing Committee—Clinical Practice Group. The purpose of the survey was to (a) assess the treatments, resources, and counseling services provided to children with cancer and (b) query what are their informational needs in servicing this specialized population. The survey found that there are many chemotherapy, biotherapy, and supportive therapies being provided in the home. There are also variations in the experiences of the agencies and home care providers in delivering these services. There were numerous informational needs identified by the agencies. The survey results were discussed with the Clinical Practice Group and several themes were expressed: (a) safety, (b) protocol adherence, (c) making the home into a hospital, and (d) meeting the informational needs of the home care providers.
Mark Distributions and Marking Practices in UK Higher Education
Authors: Yorke Mantz , Bridges Paul , Woolf Harvey
Published: October 2003

This article reports some findings which have emerged from research into assessment that has been carried out over a number of years by the Student Assessment and Classification Working Group in the UK. The findings raise questions at a number of levels about assessment practice. The heterogeneity in the distribution of honours degree classes that is visible in Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) statistics has a parallel at the level of the module, which provokes some disquiet about the equitability of assessment across disciplinary areas. Differences between performances in coursework and examinations prompt questions about the purposes and ‘authenticity’ of assessments. Initial work on lecturers’ marking behaviour, coupled with the preceding points, suggests that there is considerable scope for professional development in the area of assessment.
Are assessors professional?
Authors: Holroyd Colin
Published: October 2003

Student assessment is changing for educational reasons,in response to modularization and as a result of emerging policy.These changes have an impact on the professionalism of academics. Perhaps assessment was in the past a professional activity and has been proletarianized. In contrast, perhaps assessment was never genuinely professional and should be seen as being in a pre-professional phase. This article argues that assessment should have a key place in the regeneration of academic professionalism around the key role of the academic as educator. Improved assessment practice needs to draw upon a wider range of types of knowledge; it requires an institutional environment which encourages collegiality and communication; it should have, embedded within its codes, the values of equity, integrity and justice.
An experiment in reciprocal experiential learning
Authors: Taylor Scott A.
Published: October 2003

Three cutting-edge Indian taxation cases currently pending before tribal, federal and state courts formed the subject matter of an active learning experiment in which law students argued these three cases in a simulated courtroom setting and practitioners served as judges. In the process, the students honed their oral advocacy skills and learned the application of complicated legal doctrine, while practitioners received a first-rate update in new developments. The participation of tribal officials added valuable non-lawyer perspectives and stimulated candid discussions about the role of the lawyer representing tribal interests.
Encouraging students to reflect as part of the assignment process
Authors: Thorpe Mary
Published: October 2003

Reflective activities, in some cases quite extensive teaching material about reflection’s role in adult learning, have been used within distance-taught courses at the Open University, UK for more than a decade. This article summarizes the outcomes of an evaluation of the use of reflection in the assessment of a second level technology course in the Open University undergraduate programme. Two questions are addressed: how effectively do students engage in reflection when required to do so in these circumstances, and what responses to their reflections do their tutors make? The evidence from student scripts is that students find some types of reflection more difficult than others, notably setting and applying criteria to their own work. More guidance on these types of reflection produced improvements, but evidence suggests that students still found the exercise challenging. Tutor comments were also improved in both quantity and quality, following additional guidance and support from the course team. The course experience demonstrates that reflection by students is more effective when supported by the substantive goals of the course and where the course team persist in and improve on their method of implementation of the strategy.
Programme specification and its role in promoting an outcomes model of learning
Authors: Jackson Norman
Published: October 2003

Programme specifications will have an important influence on academic practice in UK higher education. They will provide concise summary descriptions of the educational learning outcomes of programmes. They are intended to promote and support a systematic process of critical reflection on the curriculum and the means by which the desired outcomes are achieved and demonstrated. They will provide a foundation for the public assurance of academic standards in universities and colleges and will provide the initial point of contact between an institution’s evaluative and assurance processes and the new peer review process of academic review. They will show how programmes and awards relate to the HE qualifications framework now being developed by the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education. This article tries to explain some of the thinking that underlies policy so that those responsible for implementing it will have a better understanding of what it is trying to do and why it has been shaped in the way it has.
Critical thinking exercises for chemists
Authors: Garratt John , Overton Tina , Tomlinson Jane , Clow Doug
Published: October 2003

Important thinking skills for professional chemists include ‘analysing and evaluating arguments’,‘making judgements’, ‘retrieving information’ and ‘experimenting’. A considerable literature provides evidence that these skills can be learned (and therefore taught).We have devised specific exercises to help students to develop these skills. Our exercises are grounded in chemistry and designed to be addressed by students working in groups in a classroom environment (sometimes in a computer classroom). The type of exercise and the classroom environment promote vigorous discussion which involves critical thinking and leads to effective learning. This article describes the exercises and argues that, while the specific examples are subject-specific, the approach used with all the types of exercise could be adapted to create subject-specific exercises for any discipline.
Inclusive approaches to effective communication and active participation in the multicultural classroom
Authors: Devita Glauco
Published: October 2003

This article reports on the author’s experiences of, and reflections on, theory-based practices with respect to communication and participation in the multicultural classroom in the context of business management education. Key issues concerning the learning experience of international students are identified and examined, and suggestions on the implementation of inclusive approaches to effective communication and active participation in a culturally diverse class of international business management are provided.
Course Cultures and Learning Organizations
Authors: Gentle Paul
Published: October 2003

Given the trend towards convergence in conceptualizing (learning in the domains of education and business management, (this article explores the role of course culture in higher education. (Drawing on the author’s comparative research in the UK into the (respective cultures of two vocationally oriented degree programmes (in different universities, and benchmarking these against the (extensive literature of ‘learning organizations’, the article outlines a (model for the implementation of a course culture fit for the (learning society. Consideration is given to the resources available to those (in higher education who wish to create learning teams within their (own departments. Finally, conclusions are drawn which indicate the (need for further research into the motivational aspects of task-based (experiential learning as expounded in the article.There are also clear (implications for changes needed in the leadership and management (of programmes of study in higher education.
Integrating Teaching and Research Through Writing Development for Students and Staff
Authors: Murray Rowena E. G.
Published: October 2003

Written output is a key topic in higher education for individuals and institutions. The importance of writing development for academics is established in the literature. What has not been examined is the effect of this development on participants’ teaching. While writing development delivers in terms of professional skills and the research assessment exercise, lecturers reveal that this form of effective staff development often has a knock-on effect, leading to effective educational development. One innovative approach to writing development for academics is a credit-bearing module on academic writing. During and after this module self-reporting and tracking were recorded. Analysis of writings, discussions and emails over the course of a year shows that participants took good practice learned about writing for publication into their teaching. These lecturers made genuine connections between research and teaching roles, integrating their work for the research assessment exercise with the aims of the Institute for Learning and Teaching.
Mathematics and All That
Authors: Drake Pat
Published: October 2003

Much is currently made of mathematics being a genericskill in higher education. What has not been establishedsystematically is what this means in terms of who teaches it. This opinionarticle draws on an attempt to find out who is teachingmathematics in one university. As suspected, individuals who would notdescribe themselves as mathematics specialists undertake much ofthe mathematics teaching. Indeed, many teachers learned theirmathematics independently in order to address specific problems,for example, related to research, and others learned and continue tolearn from their teaching. For most people, mathematics learning issituated in the contexts in which it is applied, and teaching is onesuch context. Exploring the experience of learning mathematics inorder to teach can provide specific insight into the successfullearning of mathematics per se.
Service/ Community Learning and Foreign Language Teaching Methods
Authors: Lally Carolyn Gascoigne
Published: October 2003

Although an increasingly common component of higher education courses, service learning is still considered by countless educators to be a radical pedagogy. For many, the failure to become involved is not due to a lack of interest or motivation, but rather to an incomplete understanding of what service learning is and entails. This article, therefore, seeks to define and describe service learning, review the pros and cons of engaging in service learning, and present a model of a basic service-learning project undertaken by a mainstream educator.
Joining The Dots
Authors: D’andrea Vaneeta , Gosling David
Published: October 2003

The emergence of the discourse around learning and teaching in higher education is one of the more remarkable phenomena of the last decade. In the UK, the creation of the national Institute for Learning and Teaching and the discipline-based Learning and Teaching Support Network, the requirement by the English Funding Council that all institutions should develop a learning and teaching strategy which attracts funding, the emphasis by the Quality Assurance Agency through its subject review process on the quality of teaching, and government policy statements are all clear evidence that there has been a major shift at a national level towards reassessing the importance of learning and teaching in universities and higher education colleges. Closely associated with this emerging field of debate and research has been the increasing recognition given to the notion of educational development.The purpose of this article is to argue that this juncture in the history of higher education creates an opportunity to reconceptualize ‘educational development’ and to propose a framework for achieving a major change in thinking about the higher education development agenda.
Curriculum Methodology
Authors: Hutchings Tim , Saunders Danny
Published: October 2003

A review of the contemporary literature on curriculum development indicates that much of the existing work either: (i) focuses on the development of educational resources; or (ii) identifies desirable features of development methods without providing any practical guidance. This article describes the development and application of a methodology for curriculum development. The methodology is flexible and evolutionary, and is soundly underpinned by accepted theory and practice from the field of information systems.The methodology was successfully appliedto a ‘live’ curriculum development project, i.e. the 1999 revalidation of the BTEC/EdExcel Computing Scheme at the University of Glamorgan. More recently, one of the authors has been involved in the development of an online degree programme as part of a European-funded project based in the University of Glamorgan.The author has identified that the prototype methodology needs to be extended to cover the development and approval of e-learning materials. The extensions are outlined in the conclusions.
Meeting the Staff Development Challenges Presented by Creating a University
Authors: Tizard Jenny , Minty Ian , Newton Derek
Published: October 2003

This article reviews the progress of the University of the Highlands and Islands Project (UHI) in developing a university from an academic partnership of further education colleges and research institutes. The success of the project depends on the development of staff to meet the demands of new ways of working and teaching. Staff development challenges include supportinglecturers, whose previous experience was primarily in further education, in designing and delivering new degrees. New academic frameworks have been developed using technology to support collaborative work across the partnership. The UHI’s first postgraduate course is anMA in Professional Development. This course was designed by UHI staff, with the assistance of external advisors, to support colleagues in developing their professional practice. The courseembodies many ideas about development that are central to the UHI.
Web-based Crossword Puzzles Support Revision
Authors: Wise Alan
Published: October 2003

A program has been written in Visual Basic that helps the lecturer to construct an interactive crossword in JavaScript for use in a Web browser. Puzzles have been used to provide self-assessment material for student revision and attitudes were evaluated by use of a closed questionnaire. Students’ attitudes after using the program were generally positive and students agreed with the proposition that lecturers should be encouraged to use crossword puzzles to support learning.
A Profile of Teaching Techniques Used in the University Classroom
Authors: Lammers William J. , Murphy John J.
Published: October 2003

Our purpose was to develop a profile of the frequency and duration with which different teaching techniques are used in the university classroom. Student observers recorded the time spent in different teaching activities in 58 separate classes across a variety of disciplines. Teaching activities were placed into one of eight categories. Instructors also provided estimates of time spent in each category. Results showed that lecture continues to be the primary method of instruction, that males lectured more than females, and that time spent lecturing was positively related to class size. A significant portion of class time involved no learning and the profile determined by student observations was generally similar to that determined by instructor estimates. This study provides both a methodology and a profile upon which to build further research.
Changes in Nursing Students’ Out of College Relationships Arising from the Diploma of Higher Education in Nursing
Authors: Howard David
Published: October 2003

This research examined changes in relationships experienced by students undertakingthe Diploma of Higher Education in Nursing (DipHE Nursing). Anecdotal reports suggested a high level of relationship distress among nursing students. Using a triangulation approach, 10 students were initially interviewed to discuss how their experiences of the course influenced their livesoutside college. The findings of these interviews were subsequently tested by examining the relationship pathways of 135 students drawn from seven cohorts of students across five centres of nurse education in the East Midlands. Of these, 58 were in permanent relationships at the beginning of the course but, by the end, 20 had permanently separated from their partners. On average, this occurred 8 months into the course and was precipitated by distress associated withrole development and time pressures. Role conflicts and time pressures have also been implicated in marital distress in other areas of adult education. Therefore, these findings are likelyto be of interest to other areas of higher education that recruit similar groups of students.
Supervising Activists for Research Degrees: Responsibilities, Rights and Freedoms1
Authors: Fletcher Colin
Published: October 2003

This article discusses the learning of a supervisor of research degrees when the students are activists (people wishing and working to change things for the better in their work roles or social roles). It begins with responsibilities and then identifies such students’ needs and from them develops a set of freedoms and rights. They are freedoms to: express passionate concern; learn by discovery; read as required; write in the first person; and to writeas a story. The rights are to: emotional and intellectual support; an equality of regard; and a good debate with capable and respected examiners. Challenges to supervision are reached through these freedoms and rights. Finally, there are some questions that may be productive in thesupervision of activists.
Developing New Lecturers
Authors: Clark Gordon , Blumhof Jenny , Gravestock Phil , Healey Mick , Jenkins Alan , Honeybone Andrew , Wareham Terry , King Helen , Chalkley Brian , Thomas Neil
Published: October 2003

An educational development issue common to all disciplines and countries is how to combine generic development of staff as teachers with appropriate engagement with the specificities of teaching individual subjects. This article explores the nature of the relationship between the generic and the discipline specific, defines the role of the disciplines in educational development, and describes a residential workshop used by geographers, environmental and earth scientists in the UK to deal with their disciplines’ needs in the context of newly appointed lecturers.The workshop was marked by a high level of interaction and the sharing of ideas among the facilitators and participants. The article describes how the lecturers developed the discipline-specific element, reports on the workshop’s evaluation and suggests ways in which other disciplines and staff in other countries might adapt the ideas here.
The Impact of Assessment on Student Learning
Authors: Rust Chris
Published: October 2003

In the context of a worldwide paradigm shift towards student-centred outcomes-based approaches, and at a time when many UK departments are developing learning, teaching and assessment strategies, this article reviews what the research literature says about the impact of assessment on students’ learning. It then proceeds to translate that into practical suggestions for practice with the specific intention that this should help to inform departments in the development of appropriate assessment strategies and learner-centred assessment practices which meet the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) general principles on assessment.
Aspects of Computer-Based Assessment in Mathematics
Authors: Pitcher Neil , Goldfinch Judy , Beevers Cliff
Published: October 2003

In this article a form of computer assessment in mathematics is discussed and the progress of its use in teaching and learning is tracked. The work spans several different projects, all using similar computer-based assessment engines, which have been progressively updated in the light of successive evaluation results.The engines include facilities to randomize questions, to choose feedback levels, to allow partial credit and to input mathematical expressions. The software incorporates a facility to set and mark questions containing algebra. Evaluation results arising from use with students are presented. The benefits and drawbacks of computer-based assessment are catalogued in the context of working projects.
The Trouble with Learning Outcomes
Authors: Hussey Trevor , Smith Patrick
Published: October 2003

Recent decades have seen an increasing stress on the need to monitor and manage educators, and hold them to account. This article argues that, while learning outcomes can be valuable if properly used, they have been misappropriated and adopted widely at all levels within the education system to facilitate the managerial process. This has led to their distortion. The claim that they can be made precise by being written with a prescribed vocabulary of special descriptors so as to serve as objective, measurable devices for monitoring performance, is fundamentally mistaken, and they may be damaging to education when used in this way. After a brief sketch of the background to the notion of learning outcomes, arguments are presented to show their vacuity and uselessness when misused in this way, and explanations of their inadequacies are offered.
A Model of Student Learning in Community Service Field Placements
Authors: Dreuth Laura , Dreuth-Fewell Martha
Published: October 2003

In the USA, many universities and colleges integrate student classroom learning with interaction in the community. Educators in pre-professional programs recognize the importance of understanding how students integrate community service learning with professional practice. Yet, missing from this body of literature is a discussion of the effects of service learning on social work undergraduate students. This article provides insight into the student experience as expressed in the voices of pre-service social workers that completed community service field placements in the USA. The findings suggest a developmental model of learning with common themes that progressed from basic understanding to integration. The demonstration of the service learning model applied to undergraduate internships in social work demonstrates the broad application of community-based learning models to teaching in the health care and counseling professions.
Can Research Methods Ever Be Interesting?
Authors: Benson Angela , Blackman Deborah
Published: October 2003

This article reflects upon a process of curriculum redesign undertaken with an aim to improve the student learning experience of research methods via an activity-based approach. Historically, the way in which research methods were being taught within Southampton Business School did not fully engage student interest, and it was not well applied to further study of the subsequent modules including the dissertation. The article discusses the changes that were made to the module, which led to a developmental and experiential programme. The learners appear to be better prepared for their subsequent research and indicate that this approach better facilitated their understanding of the subject. Future developments will include collecting more empirical evidence to support the offering of this activity-based approach throughout the Southampton Business School.
Integrating Technology into a Traditional Learning Environment
Authors: Saunders Gunter , Klemming Fredrik
Published: October 2003

This article reports on an evaluation of student views and reactions to a changed approach to teaching and learning that was enabled by the extensive use of information and communication technology (ICT). Evaluation was carried out over two academic years and involved the use of questionnaires, one-to-one interviews with students and student-led discussions. In general, students were appreciative of the approach, welcoming classroom sessions that focused on real problem-solving rather than one-to-many discourse. The students perceived the module to be harder than other modules although overall student performance was actually better when compared with previous years. It was clear, however, that during the semester most students used the electronic materials provided only when they needed them to support coursework assignments. As a consequence one major aim of the approach, to increase the degree of student-led learning in class, was not achieved consistently.
Ten Challenges for Introducing Web-Supported Learning to Overseas Students in the Social sciences
Authors: Jackson Paul
Published: October 2003

This article documents the experiences of a group of MBA students undertaking one module within the School of Public Policy, University of Birmingham. At a university level, teachers are being asked to adopt one particular piece of commercially available educational software; WebCT. As a result, the learning experience was equally important for the university, the lecturer and the students themselves. The class itself consisted of a group of around 35 overseas post-experience students with a wide variety of insight and experience. The article uses a literature set that is different from ‘normal’ evaluation approaches, instead drawing on the experience of computer-supported cooperative work analysts to provide a different insight into the use of the Internet in educational support.
Learning Expectations and Learning Process Design
Authors: Ul-Haq Rehan , Stiles Jan , Pond Keith
Published: October 2003

European MBA programmes use a variety of learning processes. The distance learning model meets a desire to develop continuous and flexible learning environments alongside full-time work. Embedded in the six elements of the Henley distance learning MBA – workbook, groupware, workshops, WWW, telephone links and business simulation – are the cognitive and experiential schools of learning styles. This article examines the learning style expectations of 133 Henley distance learning MBA students and notes high congruence between their learning expectations and the process design used.
Web-Based Puzzle Program to Assist Students’ Understanding of Research Methods
Authors: Wise Alan
Published: October 2003

This article documents a Web-based program that aims to aid students’ understanding of research methods and prepare them for an examination question that has a similar style. Twenty sentences were presented at random from a larger pool and each had two missing words that the student had to match from the complete list of words. Students generally agreed that the sentences could not easily be guessed by using grammatical rules and that the puzzle program had helped them to understand the material and prepare for the examination. The program was ranked by students third of the eight support materials supplied to the students with a median score of 7.53 from a maximum of 10.
Horizon of Possibilities
Authors: Demers Patricia
Published: October 2003

This article documents the planning and results of a major international conference on the Humanities sponsored by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada in collaboration with the University of Toronto, York University and Ryerson Polytechnic University. The conference took the pulse of the research community; as a diagnostic it indicated the vigorous health of humanities disciplines at the centre of an ever-widening cultural enterprise. Because the processes of consultation, deliberation and recommendation stretch far beyond a single event, the article explores the stages of this exercise for their wider paradigmatic and heuristic value.
‘More Creative than Creation’
Authors: Smallwood Philip
Published: October 2003

This essay argues for a new approach to teaching criticism on undergraduate English, Cultural Studies and Literature degrees. I critique two attempts to make critical activity comprehensible to students (the assessment objectives and benchmarking movement on the one hand, and Critical Theory on the other), and I argue that these belong to an authoritarian or state-sponsored pedagogy which fails to tap into the wide variety of traditional, social and generic forms that criticism can take. I suggest that by comparison with the world of beginning novelists, dramatists or poets, literary criticism lacks a writing community. In discussing how this difficulty can be overcome, I emphasize the rational bewilderment of students when confronted with an essay to write. My conclusion is that the writing lives of student critics, and the critics that students read, should be brought into closer, more productive association along thelines of practice and performance in music and art.
Problem-Based Learning in Literary Studies
Authors: Hutchings Bill , O’rourke Karen
Published: October 2003

A process that prioritizes cooperative learning and group-management of tasks as a key vehicle of delivery, PBL seems ideally suited to a discipline such as Literary Studies that works so much through discussion and debate, with a relative lack of clear target responses to questions. It might even be argued that the current dominance of tutor-directed models within Literary Studies actually runs counter to the real nature of the subject. A literary text seldom, if ever, has a single issue or problem as its concern, even when a critic or even the author claims that it does. There will always be a diversity of potential response generated among diverse readers. It is arguably in the apprehension of this diversity that the true creativity of the subject lies. A PBL method, in which it is the group itself that defines the learning objectives, tasks and methods of inquiry, seems particularly appropriate.
Is There Hope for the Humanities in the 21st Century?
Authors: Bassnett Susan
Published: October 2003

The article considers the current position of research in the Humanities in the light of social changes and in particular changes in verbal and visual literacy. The author suggests that the two weakest areas in the Humanities, Literary Studies and Foreign Language Studies, need to rethink themselves increasingly in terms of rigour following the success stories in other areas of the Humanities such as Classics, History, and Film and Media Studies. The importance of interdisciplinarity is emphasized and in an increasingly fragmented world the need for students to have a range of skills and breadth of knowledge is outlined. In conclusion, despite the need for some areas in the Humanities to rethink themselves and move beyond their current complacent position, the author is optimistic for the Humanities in the future.
The Politics of Difference vs the Ethics of Essentializing
Authors: Gregory Marshall
Published: October 2003

Now that the intensity of the Culture Wars has abated, a humanities discourse about human nature that has been practically impossible to conduct in nonpartisan terms for the last 25 years or so can be revisited and reconstructed. In an attempt to revive that discourse, the following argument critiques the extreme postmodern position of ‘constructed humanity’ and offers an argument about the necessity and usefulness of a modest version of essentialism based on the ethical claim that respect for the Other can only be made with authority when it is based on an appeal to common humanity, not when it is based on an appeal to some ad hoc, abstract principle of Difference. Yet postmodern claims about the shaping pressures of language, history, culture, gender, race, ethnicity, and class play important roles in helping us understand how a common human nature gets mediated by cultural contexts. In the end the Humanities need the perspectives of both humanists and postmodernists to keep humanistic discourse about human nature rich and productive.
Creative Participation in the Essay Writing Process
Authors: Creme Phyllis , Hunt Celia
Published: October 2003

This article reports on a qualitative action research project which looked at the possibility that giving students an opportunity to explore their relationship with their essays through a range of creative writing techniques might enhance creativity in university writing. The project comprised a series of practical and experiential workshops, with questionnaires and follow-up interviews. The workshops are described, and themes arising from the different strands of the project discussed, using case study material from individual students. Drawing on a range of theoretical perspectives from psychoanalysis, literary theory and academic literacies, the discussion covers notions of genre, writer identity, creativity and play. We argue that approaches introduced in these workshops have implications for mainstream practice in ways that could enable students to feel freer, more empowered and more present in their university writing.
The Discourse of Assessment
Authors: Smart Jackie , Dixon Steve
Published: October 2003

Utilizing approaches influenced by Foucault’s thoeries of discourse, this article identifies instances of ‘discourse-conflict’ present within the assessment of collaborative group practice in the performing arts at higher education level. It analyses the connotations of the word ‘assessment’ itself in terms of its relation to concepts of valuation and worth. It then relates this analysis to three discourses, identified as those of ‘The Academy’,‘Professional Theatre’ and ‘Art’, which it considers in terms of the ideological and ethical value systems inscribed within them, and the ways in which these are expressed through common current assessment strategies and language. The article then goes on to examine how the issues raisedhave been articulated and addressed in practice through three case studies drawn from group-based practical assessments in the School of Media, Music and Performance at the University of Salford.