Has Economics become an Elite Subject for Elite UK Universities?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johnston, James; Reeves, Alan; Talbot, Steven

2014-01-01

The decline in the number of UK universities offering undergraduate degree programmes in subjects such as sciences, mathematics, modern languages and humanities has been well documented and is now of real concern. It appears that economics may be going through a decline in new (post-1992) UK universities with many economics programmes having been…

Entrepreneurial Universities for the UK: A "Stanford University" at Bamburgh Castle?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Etzkowitz, Henry

2010-01-01

It is suggested that the value of projected cuts in UK higher education spending should be redirected to fund start-up entrepreneurial universities as part of a strategy for knowledge-based economic growth. Two specific elements of academic entrepreneurial redesign are outlined: the Professor of Practice, linking university and industry through…

Comparative Review of UK-USA Industry-University Relationships

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Decter, Moira H.

2009-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore significant historical changes, legislation and policy in the UK and USA from the 1960s to present day relating to university-industry relationships. Design/methodology/approach: The paper presents a review of papers, reports and policy documents from the UK and USA drawing comparisons of…

The Openness of the University of the Philippines Open University: Issues and Prospects

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Villamejor-Mendoza, Maria Fe

2013-01-01

This paper is a self-reflection on the state of openness of the University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU). An exploratory and descriptive study, it aims not only to define the elements of openness of UPOU, but also to unravel the causes and solutions to the issues and concerns that limit its options to becoming a truly open university.…

Improving Student Retention through Evidence Based Proactive Systems at the Open University (UK)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gibbs, Graham; Regan, Peter; Simpson, Ormond

2007-01-01

The Open University has been undertaking an extended initiative to improve student retention through enhanced support for at-risk students. This initiative has evolved through a series of stages from ad hoc small scale local interventions relying largely on tutors and student self-referral, to an institution-wide pro-active system implemented by…

Library Subject Guides: A Content Management Case Study at the Open University, UK

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wales, Tim

2005-01-01

Purpose: To share the experiences and challenges faced by the Open University Library (OUL) in developing a content management (CM) system for its subject guides. Design/methodology/approach: A summary of multi-format subject guide production at the OUL is provided to justify the decision to develop a new system for their production using a…

How fair is access to more prestigious UK universities?

PubMed

Boliver, Vikki

2013-06-01

Now that most UK universities have increased their tuition fees to £9,000 a year and are implementing new Access Agreements as required by the Office for Fair Access, it has never been more important to examine the extent of fair access to UK higher education and to more prestigious UK universities in particular. This paper uses Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) data for the period 1996 to 2006 to explore the extent of fair access to prestigious Russell Group universities, where 'fair' is taken to mean equal rates of making applications to and receiving offers of admission from these universities on the part of those who are equally qualified to enter them. The empirical findings show that access to Russell Group universities is far from fair in this sense and that little changed following the introduction of tuition fees in 1998 and their initial increase to £3,000 a year in 2006. Throughout this period, UCAS applicants from lower class backgrounds and from state schools remained much less likely to apply to Russell Group universities than their comparably qualified counterparts from higher class backgrounds and private schools, while Russell Group applicants from state schools and from Black and Asian ethnic backgrounds remained much less likely to receive offers of admission from Russell Group universities in comparison with their equivalently qualified peers from private schools and the White ethnic group. © London School of Economics and Political Science 2013.

Universities give record level of support to the UK economy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Banks, Michael

2009-08-01

Universities in the UK are providing record levels of services to businesses, according to a recent survey by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and the Higher Education Funding Council for England. The survey concludes that the income earned by universities and higher-education colleges in the UK is now worth a total of £2.812bn - an increase of 6.5% from the previous year.

Alcohol and drug use in UK university students.

PubMed

Webb, E; Ashton, C H; Kelly, P; Kamali, F

1996-10-05

Alcohol and illicit drug use are increasing among school children and young adults in the UK. Such increases have also been noted among university students and there is a need for a large survey across different universities and faculties. We report such a survey. Information about drinking, use of cannabis and other illicit drugs, other lifestyle variables, and subjective ratings of anxiety and depression was obtained by questionnaire in a cross-faculty sample of 3075 second-year university students (1610 men, 1447 women, 18 sex not stated) from ten UK universities. The questionnaire was personally administered during scheduled lecture hours and almost all the students participated. The sample reflected the interfaculty and sex distribution and the proportion of non-white students at UK universities. 11% of the students were non-drinkers. Among drinkers, 61% of the men and 48% of the women exceeded "sensible" limits of 14 units per week for women and 21 for men. Hazardous drinking (> or = 36 units per week for women, > or = 51 for men) was reported by 15% of the drinkers. Binge drinking was declared by 28% of drinkers. 60% of the men and 55% of the women reported having used cannabis once or twice and 20% of the sample reported regular cannabis use (weekly or more often). Experience with other illicit drugs was reported by 33% of the sample, most commonly LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide), amphetamines, Ecstasy (methylenedioxymethamphetamine), and amyl/butyl nitrate which had each been used by 13-18% of students. 34% of these had used several drugs. Drug use had started at school in 46% of the sample; 13% began after entering university. The overwhelming reason given for taking alcohol or drugs was pleasure. Subjective ratings of anxiety on the hospital anxiety depression scale were high, and sleep difficulties were common, but neither related to alcohol or drug use. There is a need for better education about alcohol, drugs, and general health in universities. Such

In the Service of Technocratic Managerialism? History in UK Universities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Donnelly, Mark; Norton, Claire

2017-01-01

This article discusses the conceptualisation, organisation and philosophical orientation of academic history culture in UK higher education. It problematises the extent to which a dominant history culture in UK universities implies and uncritically reproduces normative understandings about the subject; about its epistemological standing,…

Are There Distinctive Clusters of Higher and Lower Status Universities in the UK?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boliver, Vikki

2015-01-01

In 1992 the binary divide between universities and polytechnics was dismantled to create a nominally unitary system of higher education for the UK. Just a year later, the first UK university league table was published, and the year after that saw the formation of the Russell Group of self-proclaimed "leading" universities. This paper…

Diagnostic Testing at UK Universities: An E-Mail Survey

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gillard, Jonathan; Levi, Margaret; Wilson, Robert

2010-01-01

In July 2009, an e-mail survey was sent to various UK universities to gain information regarding current practices concerning mathematics diagnostic testing, and to provide an update from the review "Diagnostic Testing for Mathematics" published by the LTSN MathsTEAM Project in 2003. A total of 38 university departments were contacted…

Metaphor Use in Three UK University Lectures

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Low, Graham; Littlemore, Jeannette; Koester, Almut

2008-01-01

It has been claimed in recent years that, on the one hand, metaphor occurs in UK university lectures in ways that are likely to confuse ESL learners (Littlemore 2001, 2003) and on the other hand that US lecturers use it in highly structured ways, particularly involving linked clusters, to help organize the lecture and indicate the opinions of the…

Perceived peer drinking norms and responsible drinking in UK university settings.

PubMed

Robinson, Eric; Jones, Andrew; Christiansen, Paul; Field, Matt

2014-09-01

Heavy drinking is common among students at UK universities. US students overestimate how much their peers drink and correcting this through the use of social norm messages may promote responsible drinking. We tested whether there is an association between perceived campus drinking norms and usual drinking behavior in UK university students and whether norm messages about responsible drinking correct normative misperceptions and increase students' intentions to drink responsibly. 1,020 UK university students took part in an online study. Participants were exposed to one of five message types: a descriptive norm, an injunctive norm, a descriptive and injunctive norm, or one of two control messages. Message credibility was assessed. Afterwards participants completed measures of intentions to drink responsibly and we measured usual drinking habits and perceptions of peer drinking. Perceptions of peer drinking were associated modestly with usual drinking behavior, whereby participants who believed other students drank responsibly also drank responsibly. Norm messages changed normative perceptions, but not in the target population of participants who underestimated responsible drinking in their peers at baseline. Norm messages did not increase intentions to drink responsibly and although based on accurate data, norm messages were not seen as credible. In this UK based study, although perceived social norms about peer drinking were associated with individual differences in drinking habits, campus wide norm messages about responsible drinking did not affect students' intentions to drink more responsibly. More research is required to determine if this approach can be applied to UK settings.

Enacting open disclosure in the UK National Health Service: A qualitative exploration.

PubMed

Harrison, Reema; Birks, Yvonne; Bosanquet, Kate; Iedema, Rick

2017-08-01

Open and honest discussion between healthcare providers and patients and families affected by error is considered to be a central feature of high quality and safer patient care, evidenced by the implementation of open disclosure policies and guidance internationally. This paper discusses the perceived enablers that UK doctors and nurses report as facilitating the enactment of open disclosure. Semistructured interviews with 13 doctors and 22 nurses from a range of levels and specialities from 5 national health service hospitals and primary care trusts in the UK were conducted and analysed using a framework approach. Five themes were identified which appear to capture the factors that are critical in supporting open disclosure: open disclosure as a moral and professional duty, positive past experiences, perceptions of reduced litigation, role models and guidance, and clarity. Greater openness in relation to adverse events requires health professionals to recognise candour as a professional and moral duty, exemplified in the behaviour of senior clinicians and that seems more likely to occur in a nonpunitive, learning environment. Recognising incident disclosure as part of ongoing respectful and open communication with patients throughout their care is critical. © 2017 The Authors Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Ametropia and ocular biometry in a U.K. university student population.

PubMed

Logan, Nicola S; Davies, Leon N; Mallen, Edward A H; Gilmartin, Bernard

2005-04-01

The prevalence of myopia is known to vary with age, ethnicity, level of education, and socioeconomic status, with a high prevalence reported in university students and in people from East Asian countries. This study determines the prevalence of ametropia in a mixed ethnicity U.K. university student population and compares associated ocular biometric measures. Refractive error and related ocular component data were collected on 373 first-year U.K. undergraduate students (mean age = 19.55 years +/- 2.99, range = 17-30 years) at the start of the academic year at Aston University, Birmingham, and the University of Bradford, West Yorkshire. The ethnic variation of the students was as follows: white 38.9%, British Asian 58.2%, Chinese 2.1%, and black 0.8%. Noncycloplegic refractive error was measured with an infrared open-field autorefractor, the Shin-Nippon NVision-K 5001 (Shin Nippon, Ryusyo Industrial Co. Ltd, Osaka, Japan). Myopia was defined as a mean spherical equivalent (MSE) less than or equal to -0.50 D. Hyperopia was defined as an MSE greater than or equal to +0.50 D. Axial length, corneal curvature, and anterior chamber depth were measured using the Zeiss IOLMaster (Carl Zeiss, Jena, GmBH). The analysis was carried out only for white and British Asian groups. The overall distribution of refractive error exhibited leptokurtosis, and prevalence levels were similar for white and British Asian (the predominant ethnic group) students across each ametropic group: myopia (50% vs. 53.4%), hyperopia (18.8% vs. 17.3%), and emmetropia (31.2% vs. 29.3%). There were no significant differences in the distribution of ametropia and biometric components between white and British Asian samples. The absence of a significant difference in refractive error and ocular components between white and British Asian students exposed to the same educational system is of interest. However, it is clear that a further study incorporating formal epidemiologic methods of analysis is required

Do UK Universities Communicate Their Brands Effectively through Their Websites?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chapleo, Chris; Duran, Maria Victoria Carrillo; Diaz, Ana Castillo

2011-01-01

This paper attempts to explore the effectiveness of UK universities' websites. The area of branding in higher education has received increasing academic investigation, but little work has researched how universities demonstrate their brand promises through their websites. The quest to differentiate through branding can be challenging in the…

Copyright Ownership of E-Learning and Teaching Materials: Policy Approaches Taken by UK Universities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gadd, Elizabeth; Weedon, Ralph

2017-01-01

Investigates whether and how UK university copyright policies address key copyright ownership issues relating to printed and electronic teaching materials. A content analysis of 81 UK university copyright policies is performed to understand their approach towards copyright ownership of printed and e-learning materials and performances; rights on…

Knowledge Construction and Personal Relationship: Insights about a UK University Mentoring and Coaching Service

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hargreaves, Eleanore

2010-01-01

This article examines interview data from 12 mentors/coaches and eight of their clients in order to explore a mentoring and coaching service among UK university staff. Both mentors/coaches and clients were administrative or academic employees of the Institute of Education or affiliated colleges at London University, UK. Their roles related to the…

Perceptions of HPV Vaccine amongst UK University Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martin, Ellen; Senior, Naomi; Abdullah, Ammar; Brown, Janine; Collings, Suzanne; Racktoo, Sophie; Walpole, Sarah; Zeiton, Moez; Heffernan, Catherine

2011-01-01

Purpose: The aim of this small-scale focus group study is to explore the impact the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccine has on attitudes towards HPV, cervical cancer and sexual risk taking amongst university students in the UK. Design/methodology/approach: Participants were recruited through advertisements placed on notice boards throughout the…

Performance Management in UK Universities: Implementing the Balanced Scorecard

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Taylor, John; Baines, Claire

2012-01-01

In recent years, UK universities have become increasingly concerned with performance management. This trend reflects both growing competition and marketisation within higher education, and the increasing requirements for accountability. In response, institutions have begun to explore the application of formal methodologies for performance…

Academic Identities in the Managed University: Neoliberalism and Resistance at Newcastle University, UK

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Morrish, Liz

2017-01-01

In an era of neoliberal reforms, academics in UK universities have become increasingly enmeshed in audit, particularly of research "outputs." Using the data of performance management and training documents, this paper firstly offers an analysis of the role of discourse in redefining the meaning of research, and in colonising a new kind…

Open University

ScienceCinema

None

2018-05-25

Michel Pentz was born in South Africa and came to CERN in 1957 as a physicist and president of the Association of Personnel. He is also the founder of the Antiapartheid Movement in Geneva and helped found the Open University in Great Britain. He speaks about pedagogical, cultural and national contexts in which the method can be applied.

A Balanced Scorecard for Open Innovation: Measuring the Impact of Industry-University Collaboration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Flores, Myrna; Al-Ashaab, Ahmed; Magyar, Andrea

The Balanced Scorecard (BSC) can be considered as a strategic measurement tool. Since its first publication by Norton and Kaplan in the early 1990’s, many companies have applied it to measure four key aspects of their organisations’ performance: Financial, Customer, Internal Business Process, Learning and Growth. Although it is widely used in the business arena, this original BSC was not developed to assess the impact of collaborative research projects under an open innovation strategy, where the outputs of research and development (R&D) developed by collaborative projects undertaken by industry and universities should be measured in a different way. In fact, many companies are losing important opportunities to spur their R&D results by not being able to quantify the results of such collaborations. Therefore, this paper will propose a Scorecard to measure the outcomes of collaborative research. It is important to recall that this scorecard has been developed during a collaborative research project by CEMEX Research Group AG (Switzerland) and Cranfield University (UK). During such project, a survey was developed to carry out eleven face-to-face interviews in a sample of ten companies in UK, which provided important inputs to design such strategic scorecard. It was confirmed that a collaborative balanced scorecard is a very useful tool to measure, track and improve the impact of conducting collaborative projects with universities.

The Effect of Academic Culture on the Implementation of the EFQM Excellence Model in UK Universities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Davies, John; Douglas, Alex; Douglas, Jacqueline

2007-01-01

Purpose: The paper seeks to explore the effect of academic culture on the implementation of the European Foundation for Quality Management's (EFQM) Excellence Model in UK universities. Design/methodology/approach: A literature review reveals several aspects, which collectively define the academic culture in UK universities. These aspects were…

Open Science: Trends in the Development of Science Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Scanlon, Eileen

2011-01-01

This article comments on some trends in the evolution of science teaching at a distance using the Open University UK (OU UK) experience as a benchmark. Even from the first years of the university there was an understanding of the potential role for media in developing methods for teaching science at a distance, in particular the potential for…

Research on the Flow of International Students to UK Universities: Determinants and Implications

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Naidoo, Vikash

2007-01-01

Using time series data over the 1985-2003 period, this article examines some of the determinants of international student mobility to universities in the UK. The research found that some of the main factors influencing international student mobility to the UK include access to domestic education opportunities in the source country, the level of…

Chinese Open Universities: Opportunities and Challenges

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Li, Xiaobin

2017-01-01

Chinese education has a long history, and the Chinese higher education system is the largest in the world, but open universities in China are not at the same level as they are in developed countries. This article provides an overview of the recent development in the open universities system in China. Specifically, the article discusses the…

International Students' Networks: A Case Study in a UK University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Taha, Nashrawan; Cox, Andrew

2016-01-01

The great influx of international students into UK universities has led to internationalisation becoming an important issue. Previous studies have focused on the integration of home and international students, illustrating a lack of intercultural interaction. Yet there has been a lack of research investigating international students' networks and…

Lively Bureaucracy? The ESRC's Doctoral Training Centres and UK Universities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lunt, Ingrid; McAlpine, Lynn; Mills, David

2014-01-01

This paper explores the changing relationships between the UK government, its research councils and universities, focusing on the governing, funding and organisation of doctoral training. We use the Doctoral Training Centres (DTCs) funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) as a prism through which to study the shifting nature of…

Knowledge Exchange between Universities and the Creative Industries in the UK: A Case Study of Current Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ferguson, Morag

2014-01-01

The importance to the economy of knowledge exchange between universities and industry has long been recognized, and in the UK a number of initiatives are in place to support such activities. These initiatives have helped to stimulate engagement between universities and the creative industries, a sector of increasing importance to the UK economy.…

Young people's experiences of managing Type 1 diabetes at university: a national study of UK university students.

PubMed

Kellett, J; Sampson, M; Swords, F; Murphy, H R; Clark, A; Howe, A; Price, C; Datta, V; Myint, K S

2018-04-23

Little is known about the challenges of transitioning from school to university for young people with Type 1 diabetes. In a national survey, we investigated the impact of entering and attending university on diabetes self-care in students with Type 1 diabetes in all UK universities. Some 1865 current UK university students aged 18-24 years with Type 1 diabetes, were invited to complete a structured questionnaire. The association between demographic variables and diabetes variables was assessed using logistic regression models. In total, 584 (31%) students from 64 hospitals and 37 university medical practices completed the questionnaire. Some 62% had maintained routine diabetes care with their home team, whereas 32% moved to the university provider. Since starting university, 63% reported harder diabetes management and 44% reported higher HbA 1c levels than before university. At university, 52% had frequent hypoglycaemia, 9.6% reported one or more episodes of severe hypoglycaemia and 26% experienced diabetes-related hospital admissions. Female students and those who changed healthcare provider were approximately twice as likely to report poor glycaemic control, emergency hospital admissions and frequent hypoglycaemia. Females were more likely than males to report stress [odds ratio (OR) 4.78, 95% confidence interval (CI) 3.19-7.16], illness (OR 3.48, 95% CI 2.06-5.87) and weight management issues (OR 3.19, 95% CI 1.99-5.11) as barriers to self-care. Despite these difficulties, 91% of respondents never or rarely contacted university support services about their diabetes. The study quantifies the high level of risk experienced by students with Type 1 diabetes during the transition to university, in particular, female students and those moving to a new university healthcare provider. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Theory, Practice and Policy: A Longitudinal Study of University Knowledge Exchange in the UK

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zhang, Qiantao

2018-01-01

This article examines the progress of university knowledge exchange in the United Kingdom over a decade, linking theory, practice and policy. As indicated by the literature, the performance of university knowledge exchange is influenced by institutional and locational characteristics. Data on 133 UK universities between 2003-2004 and 2012-2013 are…

Leadership Development for Organizational Change in a "New" UK University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Turnbull, Sharon; Edwards, Gareth

2005-01-01

This paper reports on the findings of a case study of an Organizational Development (OD) intervention within a new university in the UK. Previous research into the leadership of higher education has highlighted a number of apparently inevitable tensions. The findings of the case study uncovered a number of complex and interrelated tensions. The…

A Descriptive Study of Professional Staff, and Their Careers, in Australian and UK Universities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gander, Michelle

2018-01-01

Professional staff total approximately 23% of staff in universities in the UK, which in 2014/15 was the equivalent of 95,870 individuals (hesa.ac.uk). With their increasing span of responsibility, it is surprising that there has been little research into the careers of these staff. This study, part of a larger careers study, highlights some key…

Interpretation and Implementation of Reputation/Brand Management by UK University Leaders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chapleo, Christopher

2004-01-01

Reputation and brand management are topical issues in UK higher education but previous research has often focused on marketing practitioners within higher education (HE) institutions rather than the senior strategic leaders. This paper, however, examines university chief executives' understanding, attitudes, and interpretation of reputation and…

"The Open Library at AU" (Athabasca University): Supporting Open Access and Open Educational Resources

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Elliott, Colin; Fabbro, Elaine

2015-01-01

To address challenges that learners, course creators, librarians and academics involved with OER and MOOCs are facing when looking for scholarly materials, Athabasca University Library has initiated the development of "the Open Library at AU." This open library is a full library website that provides easy access to open and free…

The Closing of the U.S. Open University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Meyer, Katrina A.

2006-01-01

In spring 1999, the Open University (OU) of the United Kingdom created the U.S. Open University (USOU) to coincide with the explosive growth of online education in the United States. The institution's first chancellor, Richard S. Jarvis (previously chancellor of the University and Community College System of Nevada), began hiring U.S. staff and…

International Students' Critical Thinking-Related Problem Areas: UK University Teachers' Perspectives

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shaheen, Nisbah

2016-01-01

This qualitative study aims to understand the areas of international students' critical thinking-related initial difficulties, in order to facilitate their academic experiences in UK universities. Using a sample of 14 British teachers, the findings reveal that students from culturally and linguistically diverse traditions are very different in…

A Comparative Study of Student Support Services of Allama Iqbal Open University and the Open University of Sri Lanka

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gujjar, Aijaz Ahmed; Chaudhry, Bushra Naoreen; Chaudhry, Amtul Hafeez

2009-01-01

This paper attempts to compare the availability, quality, similarities and differences in student support services offered by the Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) Pakistan and The Open University of Sri Lanka (OUSL). It also aims to identify and report the deficiencies that students of both the institutions face in the student support services.…

Open University Staff Development Materials for Tutors of Open Learning.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Langley, Anne; Perkins, Isabel

1999-01-01

Discusses the evolution of staff development and the new Supporting Open Learners' (SOL) materials at the United Kingdom Open University. Outlines objectives of the SOL program. Discusses issues arising from use of SOL materials, including instructional attitudes; modelling good practice; developing the reflective practitioner; perceived value;…

Supporting a UK Success Story: The Impact of University Research and Sport Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Universities UK, 2012

2012-01-01

As part of an Olympic and Paralympic themed Universities Week this new report highlights just some of the many ways in which research will help Team Great Britain achieve exceptional results. While most attention will be on the results achieved in London this summer, it is inspiring to look at the research taking place in UK universities that will…

Open Science Strategies in Research Policies: A Comparative Exploration of Canada, the US and the UK

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lasthiotakis, Helen; Kretz, Andrew; Sá, Creso

2015-01-01

Several movements have emerged related to the general idea of promoting "openness" in science. Research councils are key institutions in bringing about changes proposed by these movements, as sponsors and facilitators of research. In this paper we identify the approaches used in Canada, the US and the UK to advance open science, as a…

How OpenLearn Supports a Business Model for OER

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Law, Patrina; Perryman, Leigh-Anne

2017-01-01

In 2013, the Open University (OU) in the UK launched a large-scale survey of users of its OpenLearn platform for open educational resources. The survey results revealed that OpenLearn is functioning as a showcase and a taster for the OU, thereby offering informal learners a bridge to formal education. In 2014 and 2015, the OpenLearn survey was…

Imagining tomorrow's university in an era of open science.

PubMed

Howe, Adina; Howe, Michael; Kaleita, Amy L; Raman, D Raj

2017-01-01

As part of a recent workshop entitled "Imagining Tomorrow's University", we were asked to visualize the future of universities as research becomes increasingly data- and computation-driven, and identify a set of principles characterizing pertinent opportunities and obstacles presented by this shift. In order to establish a holistic view, we take a multilevel approach and examine the impact of open science on individual scholars and how this impacts as well as on the university as a whole. At the university level, open science presents a double-edged sword: when well executed, open science can accelerate the rate of scientific inquiry across the institution and beyond; however, haphazard or half-hearted efforts are likely to squander valuable resources, diminish university productivity and prestige, and potentially do more harm than good. We present our perspective on the role of open science at the university.

An open and transparent process to select ELIXIR Node Services as implemented by ELIXIR-UK

PubMed Central

Hancock, John M.; Game, Alf; Ponting, Chris P.; Goble, Carole A.

2017-01-01

ELIXIR is the European infrastructure established specifically for the sharing and sustainability of life science data. To provide up-to-date resources and services, ELIXIR needs to undergo a continuous process of refreshing the services provided by its national Nodes. Here we present the approach taken by ELIXIR-UK to address the advice by the ELIXIR Scientific Advisory Board that Nodes need to develop “ mechanisms to ensure that each Node continues to be representative of the Bioinformatics efforts within the country”. ELIXIR-UK put in place an open and transparent process to identify potential ELIXIR resources within the UK during late 2015 and early to mid-2016. Areas of strategic strength were identified and Expressions of Interest in these priority areas were requested from the UK community. Criteria were established, in discussion with the ELIXIR Hub, and prospective ELIXIR-UK resources were assessed by an independent committee set up by the Node for this purpose. Of 19 resources considered, 14 were judged to be immediately ready to be included in the UK ELIXIR Node’s portfolio. A further five were placed on the Node’s roadmap for future consideration for inclusion. ELIXIR-UK expects to repeat this process regularly to ensure its portfolio continues to reflect its community’s strengths. PMID:28149502

An open and transparent process to select ELIXIR Node Services as implemented by ELIXIR-UK.

PubMed

Hancock, John M; Game, Alf; Ponting, Chris P; Goble, Carole A

2016-01-01

ELIXIR is the European infrastructure established specifically for the sharing and sustainability of life science data. To provide up-to-date resources and services, ELIXIR needs to undergo a continuous process of refreshing the services provided by its national Nodes. Here we present the approach taken by ELIXIR-UK to address the advice by the ELIXIR Scientific Advisory Board that Nodes need to develop " mechanisms to ensure that each Node continues to be representative of the Bioinformatics efforts within the country". ELIXIR-UK put in place an open and transparent process to identify potential ELIXIR resources within the UK during late 2015 and early to mid-2016. Areas of strategic strength were identified and Expressions of Interest in these priority areas were requested from the UK community. Criteria were established, in discussion with the ELIXIR Hub, and prospective ELIXIR-UK resources were assessed by an independent committee set up by the Node for this purpose. Of 19 resources considered, 14 were judged to be immediately ready to be included in the UK ELIXIR Node's portfolio. A further five were placed on the Node's roadmap for future consideration for inclusion. ELIXIR-UK expects to repeat this process regularly to ensure its portfolio continues to reflect its community's strengths.

Management and Leadership in UK Universities: Exploring the Possibilities of Change

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Waring, Matt

2017-01-01

This paper considers the case for reform of management structures in UK universities and offers proposals for change. The model of top-down, performance-led management that characterises many institutions is both outmoded and ill-suited to the challenges of an increasingly turbulent higher education sector. Drawing on the experiences of a…

Open University Environmental Education and Training.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Blackmore, Christine

1996-01-01

Describes the approach to environmental education courses at Open University. Includes broad course content, team teaching approach, and philosophy of reorienting education towards sustainable development. Course material for open learning includes self-contained study packs as well as course texts, video, audio, and computer software. Nonformal…

A Survey of UK University Web Management: Staffing, Systems and Issues

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cox, Andrew; Emmott, Stephen

2007-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of the paper is to summarize the findings of a survey of UK universities about how their websites are managed and resourced, which technologies are in use, and what are seen as the main issues and priorities. Design/methodology/approach: The paper is based on a web-based questionnaire distributed in summer 2006, which received…

Internationalization of U.K. University Business Schools: A Survey of Current Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bennett, Roger; Kane, Suzanne

2011-01-01

A questionnaire was sent to the heads of internationalization in the business schools of all U.K. universities. Sixty-five replies were received. The document covered, inter alia, the internationalization activities undertaken by the respondents' schools, the intensities with which internationalization had been implemented, motives for…

Broadcasting environmental knowledge: Open University & BBC collaborations serving massive global audiences

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brandon, M. A.; Smith, J.; Garrow, K. H.; Law, A.

2013-12-01

The UK Open University has a long history of working with broadcast media - indeed before it first formed over 40 years ago it was proposed to be a "University of the Air ". Originally the University made its own television programmes that were directly connected with teaching. They were usually recordings of academics giving lectures that were broadcast late at night. Over recent times we have moved into developing co-productions with mainstream broadcast media specifically designed to be of general educational interest to UK and worldwide audiences. These include both high impact one-off programmes such as Are we changing planet Earth?, multiple international award winning series such as Frozen Planet, and World Service radio such as Earth Reporters. These programmes have had global audiences; in some cases of tens of millions. Whilst we have only worked using clear scientific evidence and expertise, we have co-produced media which small sections of the general public could consider controversial. For example, in Are we changing planet Earth? the case was presented pre IPCC AR4 for anthropogenic climate change. The final episode of Frozen Planet "On thin ice" presented evidence of how the polar climate is changing and likely future global impacts. It created a large and occasionally hostile international media impact long before broadcast. This continued after broadcast in some media but we believe it stopped because the science presented was robust within the current literature. Based around broadcasting, we used a communication strategy based on our personal experience over the last decade along with our institutional experience going back 40 years. For example our outreach include social media, newspapers, radio and podcasts to speak about underpinning science. We use Twitter during actual broadcasts to circulate links to journal articles and provide context around the science presented on screen. Backed up by a large public outreach campaign at science fairs

Open Innovation, Triple Helix and Regional Innovation Systems: Exploring CATAPULT Centres in the UK

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kerry, Christopher; Danson, Michael

2016-01-01

Through the lens of UK CATAPULT Centres this conceptual paper presents an examination of the links between open innovation, the Triple Helix model and regional innovation systems. Highlighting the importance of boundary-spanning intermediaries, the combined role of these concepts is explored in detail. A conceptual model is then proposed which…

The Impact of Tuition Fees and Support on University Participation in the UK. CEE DP 126

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dearden, Lorraine; Fitzsimons, Emla; Wyness, Gill

2011-01-01

Understanding how policy can affect university education is important for understanding how governments can promote human capital accumulation. This paper exploits historic changes to university funding policies in the UK to estimate the impact of tuition fees and maintenance grants on university participation. Previous work on this, which largely…

Pedagogy of the Privileged: Elite Universities and Dialectical Contradictions in the UK

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cresswell, Mark; Karimova, Zulfia; Brock, Tom

2014-01-01

This paper considers the role and function of Left academics within "elite" (i.e. Russell Group) universities within the UK. Deploying Marxist theory and critical realism, it analyses the "dialectical contradictions" experienced in such a role and reflects upon productive strategies for resisting the hegemony of neo-liberalism…

Mind That Gap! An Investigation of Gender Imbalance on the Governing Bodies of UK Universities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sherer, Michael J.; Zakaria, Idlan

2018-01-01

This paper evaluates the factors affecting the representation of females on governing bodies of UK universities. Applying resource dependence and stakeholder theory, the paper argues that it is in the interests of the organisation that there should be an equitable gender balance on the governing bodies of universities. Using data from university…

Rethinking the "Third Mission": UK Universities and Regional Engagement in Challenging Times

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lebeau, Yann; Cochrane, Allan

2015-01-01

Drawing on the experiences and statements of two universities, this article sets out to relate current trends and discourses of engagement of UK higher education (HE) institutions with their regional environment in the context of major policy shifts in HE and in regional governance. The "third mission" is considered as an aspect of what…

Awareness, Attitudes and Participation of Teaching Staff towards the Open Content Movement in One University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reed, Peter

2012-01-01

This research investigates the current awareness of, and participation in, the open content movement at one UK institution for higher education. The open content movement and the open educational resources can be seen as potential methods for reducing time and cost of technology-enhanced learning developments; however, its sustainability and, to…

Studying at the Open University of the Netherlands, Developments 1984-1987.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boon, J.; van Enckevort, G.

A study examined the success of the first three years of the Dutch Open University's operation by analyzing data pertaining to students' backgrounds and academic progress while enrolled in the open university. The fact that registered inquiries about the Dutch Open University rose from 120,000 during the summer and autumn of 1984 to more than…

Moving beyond "Intercultural Competence": Interculturality in the Learning of Mandarin in UK Universities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jin, Tinghe

2017-01-01

This paper reports on a study of the identity perceptions of undergraduate and postgraduate students of Mandarin at UK universities. Interviews with 26 students were conducted over a three-year period, most of whom were multilingual. Approximately half spoke English as an additional language. The remainder were native speakers of English. The…

UK University Leaders at the Turn of the 21st Century: Changing Patterns in Their Socio-Demographic Characteristics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Breakwell, Glynis M.; Tytherleigh, Michelle Y.

2008-01-01

While not the only title used by UK university leaders, the term Vice Chancellor will be used throughout this paper to include the other titles used (including Rector, Provost, Principal and President). According to data obtained pre-1997, UK Vice Chancellors (VCs) were predominantly scientists, largely former professors, Pro-VCs or deputy…

Cosmic microwave background anomalies in an open universe.

PubMed

Liddle, Andrew R; Cortês, Marina

2013-09-13

We argue that the observed large-scale cosmic microwave anomalies, discovered by WMAP and confirmed by the Planck satellite, are most naturally explained in the context of a marginally open universe. Particular focus is placed on the dipole power asymmetry, via an open universe implementation of the large-scale gradient mechanism of Erickcek et al. Open inflation models, which are motivated by the string landscape and which can excite "supercurvature" perturbation modes, can explain the presence of a very-large-scale perturbation that leads to a dipole modulation of the power spectrum measured by a typical observer. We provide a specific implementation of the scenario which appears compatible with all existing constraints.

The Role of the Associate Dean in UK Universities: Distributed Leadership in Action?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Floyd, Alan; Preston, Diane

2018-01-01

This paper reports on findings from a Leadership Foundation for Higher Education funded project exploring the role of associate deans in UK universities. While the number of associate deans leading cross-curricular and inter-disciplinary initiatives appears to be on the increase, there has been very little research focusing on the exact nature of…

What Do LGBTQ Students Say about Their Experience of University in the UK?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Grimwood, Michelle E.

2017-01-01

Little is known about the experiences of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning (LGBTQ) university students in the UK. One of the main reasons for this seems to be that the monitoring of sexual orientation and gender identity is not routinely undertaken and is not consistent across all Higher Education establishments. This can mean…

Advanced Carbon Materials Center Established At UK

Science.gov Websites

UK Home Academics Athletics Medical Center Research Site Index Search UK University Master ] [research at UK] Advanced Carbon Materials Center Established At UK The tiny but mighty nanotube will continue to be the subject of several research projects at the University of Kentucky, thanks in part to a

The UK Healthy Universities Self-Review Tool: Whole System Impact.

PubMed

Dooris, Mark; Farrier, Alan; Doherty, Sharon; Holt, Maxine; Monk, Robert; Powell, Susan

2018-06-01

Over recent years, there has been growing interest in Healthy Universities, evidenced by an increased number of national networks and the participation of 375 participants from over 30 countries in the 2015 International Conference on Health Promoting Universities and Colleges, which also saw the launch of the Okanagan Charter. This paper reports on research exploring the use and impact of the UK Healthy Universities Network's self review tool, specifically examining whether this has supported universities to understand and embed a whole system approach. The research study comprised two stages, the first using an online questionnaire and the second using focus groups. The findings revealed a wide range of perspectives under five overarching themes: motivations; process; outcomes/benefits; challenges/suggested improvements; and future use. In summary, the self review tool was extremely valuable and, when engaged with fully, offered significant benefits to universities seeking to improve the health and wellbeing of their communities. These benefits were felt by institutions at different stages in the journey and spanned outcome and process dimensions: not only did the tool offer an engaging and user-friendly means of undertaking internal benchmarking, generating an easy-to-understand report summarizing strengths and weaknesses; it also proved useful in building understanding of the whole system Healthy Universities approach and served as a catalyst to effective cross-university and cross-sectoral partnership working. Additionally, areas for potential enhancement were identified, offering opportunities to increase the tool's utility further whilst engaging actively in the development of a global movement for Healthy Universities.

A study of institutional spending on open access publication fees in Germany.

PubMed

Jahn, Najko; Tullney, Marco

2016-01-01

Publication fees as a revenue source for open access publishing hold a prominent place on the agendas of researchers, policy makers, and academic publishers. This study contributes to the evolving empirical basis for funding these charges and examines how much German universities and research organisations spent on open access publication fees. Using self-reported cost data from the Open APC initiative, the analysis focused on the amount that was being spent on publication fees, and compared these expenditure with data from related Austrian (FWF) and UK (Wellcome Trust, Jisc) initiatives, in terms of both size and the proportion of articles being published in fully and hybrid open access journals. We also investigated how thoroughly self-reported articles were indexed in Crossref, a DOI minting agency for scholarly literature, and analysed how the institutional spending was distributed across publishers and journal titles. According to self-reported data from 30 German universities and research organisations between 2005 and 2015, expenditures on open access publication fees increased over the years in Germany and amounted to € 9,627,537 for 7,417 open access journal articles. The average payment was € 1,298, and the median was € 1,231. A total of 94% of the total article volume included in the study was supported in accordance with the price cap of € 2,000, a limit imposed by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) as part of its funding activities for open access funding at German universities. Expenditures varied considerably at the institutional level. There were also differences in how much the institutions spent per journal and publisher. These differences reflect, at least in part, the varying pricing schemes in place including discounted publication fees. With an indexing coverage of 99%, Crossref thoroughly indexed the open access journals articles included in the study. A comparison with the related openly available cost data from Austria and

A study of institutional spending on open access publication fees in Germany

PubMed Central

Tullney, Marco

2016-01-01

Publication fees as a revenue source for open access publishing hold a prominent place on the agendas of researchers, policy makers, and academic publishers. This study contributes to the evolving empirical basis for funding these charges and examines how much German universities and research organisations spent on open access publication fees. Using self-reported cost data from the Open APC initiative, the analysis focused on the amount that was being spent on publication fees, and compared these expenditure with data from related Austrian (FWF) and UK (Wellcome Trust, Jisc) initiatives, in terms of both size and the proportion of articles being published in fully and hybrid open access journals. We also investigated how thoroughly self-reported articles were indexed in Crossref, a DOI minting agency for scholarly literature, and analysed how the institutional spending was distributed across publishers and journal titles. According to self-reported data from 30 German universities and research organisations between 2005 and 2015, expenditures on open access publication fees increased over the years in Germany and amounted to € 9,627,537 for 7,417 open access journal articles. The average payment was € 1,298, and the median was € 1,231. A total of 94% of the total article volume included in the study was supported in accordance with the price cap of € 2,000, a limit imposed by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) as part of its funding activities for open access funding at German universities. Expenditures varied considerably at the institutional level. There were also differences in how much the institutions spent per journal and publisher. These differences reflect, at least in part, the varying pricing schemes in place including discounted publication fees. With an indexing coverage of 99%, Crossref thoroughly indexed the open access journals articles included in the study. A comparison with the related openly available cost data from Austria and

Results of a Study of Hong Kong and Taiwan Open Universities.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sherritt, Caroline

Although the National Open University of Taiwan (NOU) and Open University of Hong Kong (OUHK) both opened in the 1980s in environments of rapid economic growth and political stability, the NOU reflects traditional Chinese values whereas the OUHK merges Chinese and Western beliefs. Categorized as a "supplemental" school, the NOU occupies…

Peer Mentoring during the Transition to University: Assessing the Usage of a Formal Scheme within the UK

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Collings, Rosalyn; Swanson, Vivien; Watkins, Ruth

2016-01-01

Although mentoring has become increasingly popular within UK higher education, there is little evaluative research. The current longitudinal study aimed to evaluate the usage of a peer mentoring scheme during a first semester at university amongst 124 students. Results indicate that during the first week at university the majority accessed the…

The Allama Iqbal Open University Library.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ul-Hassan, Mahmud

1984-01-01

This profile of an open university library system in Pakistan covers its primary objective; functional organization; library collection and collection development; staffing, budgets and expenditures; library services (users, technical, reference); departmental libraries (on-campus branch, regional); and the library building. A list of 16 library…

Multimedia University: A Paperless Environment to Take the Challenges for the 21st Century

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reaz, Mamun Bin Ibne; Hussain, Sazzad; Khadem, Shajib

2007-01-01

Predictability of absolute data transaction for real time information and reduction of incalculable data delivery time are the major factors to lead the global education as well as economic system towards a paperless environment. Some universities such as the University of Phoenix, Western Governors University, UK Open University, University of…

University teaching - where next?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

1999-03-01

A one-day workshop will take place on 23 April 1999 at the University of Edinburgh's Conference and Training Centre to consider the topic `The future of university teaching? Multimedia, web and new technologies'. The workshop is being organized by Edinburgh Parallel Computing Centre and will be attended by experts in distance learning from various institutions including the Clyde Virtual University and the Open University, plus a speaker from the USA. They will present case studies of the opportunities new technologies provide for higher education, covering all aspects from development of electronic courses through delivery mechanisms to user feedback. There is certainly an increasing need for quality teaching materials and new ways of learning. The workshop will aim to discuss how those involved in university teaching can benefit from new developments such as multimedia, the Internet, as well as new computing and networking technologies. Participation is free, with lunch and refreshments provided. More information and registration details can be found at http://www.epcc.ed.ac.uk/epcc-tec/JTAP/workshop/ or by e-mail to epcc-tec@epcc.ed.ac.uk.

Creating Open Textbooks: A Unique Partnership between Oregon State University Libraries and Press and Open Oregon State

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chadwell, Faye A.; Fisher, Dianna M.

2016-01-01

This article presents Oregon State University's experience launching an innovative Open Textbook initiative in spring 2014. The partners, Open Oregon State and the Oregon State University Libraries and Press, aimed to reduce the cost of course materials for students while ensuring the content created was peer-reviewed and employed multimedia…

Open-Book, Open-Web Online Examinations: Developing Examination Practices to Support University Students' Learning and Self-Efficacy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Myyry, Liisa; Joutsenvirta, Taina

2015-01-01

The aim of this study was to investigate university students' experiences of open-book, open-web online examinations compared to traditional class examinations concerning preparing, responding, and learning. The data (N?=?110) were collected by an online survey from the university students who took an online examination. The students used…

Language, Juridical Epistemologies and Power in the New UK University: Can Alternative Providers Escape?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hanson, Steve

2017-01-01

This paper describes how language, juridical epistemology and power is re-shaping mainstream UK universities, and how these changes create a default cultural floor that makes it difficult for alternative models to operate. It will make its argument via reflections on the second branch of Social Science Centre (SSC) in the country, in Manchester,…

Careers of Professional Staff in Australian and UK Universities: A Mixed Methods Pilot Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gander, Michelle

2017-01-01

This article confirms the reliability of a protean and boundaryless career attitudes scale, tested in a pilot study. Additionally, it summarises the results of this study into the career attitudes of professional staff in Australian and UK universities. A mixed methods approach was taken using a survey consisting of both closed questions on a…

Politics, Policies and Practice: Assessing the Impact of Sexual Harassment Policies in UK Universities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thomas, Alison M.

2004-01-01

Since sexual harassment was first named and identified as an obstacle to women's equality in the mid 1970s, concern about both its prevalence and its damaging effects has resulted in the widespread introduction of anti-harassment policies in UK universities, as in other work and educational settings. The study reported here sought to assess the…

The Influence of Physical Activity, Sport and Exercise Motives among UK-Based University Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roberts, Simon; Reeves, Matthew; Ryrie, Angus

2015-01-01

Recent evidence suggests that the majority of the adult population fails to achieve the recommended target of 30-minutes moderate intensity exercise, days a week. This includes university students who often have the time to engage in physical activity. The aim of this study was to determine exercise motives for a UK-based student population. The…

System of Monitoring the Quality of Higher Education in UK Universities: Experience for Ukraine

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Krasilnikova, Hanna

2014-01-01

The article deals with the experience of the use of the system of internal monitoring of the quality of higher education in UK Universities. There has been analyzed the existing model of the system of higher education monitoring at the level of a higher education institution within the scope of the British higher education model, discovered by a…

Sustaining Knowledge Exchange and Research Impact in the Social Sciences and Humanities: Investing in Knowledge Broker Roles in UK Universities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lightowler, Claire; Knight, Christine

2013-01-01

Over the last decade, higher education policy in the United Kingdom (UK) has increasingly focused on the impact of academic research. This has resulted in the emergence of specialist knowledge brokers within UK universities in the social sciences and humanities. Our empirical research identified a tension between the research impact agenda and the…

The UK National Quantum Technologies Hub in sensors and metrology (Keynote Paper)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bongs, K.; Boyer, V.; Cruise, M. A.; Freise, A.; Holynski, M.; Hughes, J.; Kaushik, A.; Lien, Y.-H.; Niggebaum, A.; Perea-Ortiz, M.; Petrov, P.; Plant, S.; Singh, Y.; Stabrawa, A.; Paul, D. J.; Sorel, M.; Cumming, D. R. S.; Marsh, J. H.; Bowtell, R. W.; Bason, M. G.; Beardsley, R. P.; Campion, R. P.; Brookes, M. J.; Fernholz, T.; Fromhold, T. M.; Hackermuller, L.; Krüger, P.; Li, X.; Maclean, J. O.; Mellor, C. J.; Novikov, S. V.; Orucevic, F.; Rushforth, A. W.; Welch, N.; Benson, T. M.; Wildman, R. D.; Freegarde, T.; Himsworth, M.; Ruostekoski, J.; Smith, P.; Tropper, A.; Griffin, P. F.; Arnold, A. S.; Riis, E.; Hastie, J. E.; Paboeuf, D.; Parrotta, D. C.; Garraway, B. M.; Pasquazi, A.; Peccianti, M.; Hensinger, W.; Potter, E.; Nizamani, A. H.; Bostock, H.; Rodriguez Blanco, A.; Sinuco-Leon, G.; Hill, I. R.; Williams, R. A.; Gill, P.; Hempler, N.; Malcolm, G. P. A.; Cross, T.; Kock, B. O.; Maddox, S.; John, P.

2016-04-01

The UK National Quantum Technology Hub in Sensors and Metrology is one of four flagship initiatives in the UK National of Quantum Technology Program. As part of a 20-year vision it translates laboratory demonstrations to deployable practical devices, with game-changing miniaturized components and prototypes that transform the state-of-the-art for quantum sensors and metrology. It brings together experts from the Universities of Birmingham, Glasgow, Nottingham, Southampton, Strathclyde and Sussex, NPL and currently links to over 15 leading international academic institutions and over 70 companies to build the supply chains and routes to market needed to bring 10-1000x improvements in sensing applications. It seeks, and is open to, additional partners for new application development and creates a point of easy open access to the facilities and supply chains that it stimulates or nurtures.

A Course Evaluation System in an Open University.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chacon, Fabio J.

A model is presented for response to evaluating instruction in a university based on the teaching-at-a-distance concept. Technically appropriate and operationally viable, this model is applied to the National Open University of Venezuela (UNA). The model is based on two principles of educational evaluation: (1) the concept of evaluation as a…

Teaching and Technology Transfer as Alternative Revenue Streams: A Primer on the Potential Legal Implications for UK Universities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Van Hoorebeek, Mark; Marson, James

2005-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to assess the financial and intellectual issues facing the university sector as many institutions in the UK pursue alternative revenue streams. As a consequence to the increasing financial pressures, university departments are increasingly exposed to new forms of potential litigation and also face the risk to…

Potentiality of Disaster Management Education through Open and Distance Learning System in Bangladesh Open University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ahmad, Saima; Numan, Sharker Md.

2015-01-01

Bangladesh Open University (BOU) is the only public educational institution in Bangladesh, where, a dual-mode method of learning system has been introduced. Established in 21st October, 1992, the University now accommodates 174,459 learners in 2012. The wide range networking of this university provides it a great prospect to execute a broad…

The Need for Participation in Open and Distance Education: The Open University Malaysia Experience

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Raghavan, Santhi; Kumar, P. Rajesh

2007-01-01

This paper provides an overview of adult learner participation in open and distance education by focusing participation needs based on selected socio-demographic variables such as age, years of working experience and monthly income. The related study involved a sample of 454 Open University Malaysia students from a number of learning centres…

The Open Education System, Anadolu University, Turkey: E-Transformation in a Mega-University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Latchem, Colin; Ozkul, Ali Ekrem; Aydin, Cengiz Hakan; Mutlu, Mehmet Emin

2006-01-01

Anadolu University in Turkey is one of the world's largest and least known mega-universities. Well over one million students in Turkey, the European Union and Northern Cyprus are enrolled in its Open Education System and yet few accounts of this dual-mode provider appear in the international literature. This article describes the evolution of the…

Challenges of University Adjustment in the UK: A Study of East Asian Master's Degree Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wu, Wenli; Hammond, Michael

2011-01-01

This paper reports on the adjustment of East Asian Master's level students who came to study at a campus-based university in the UK during 2004-05. International students face challenges in respect to language proficiency, academic expectations and social participation. In this longitudinal study the experiences of a group of students from East…

Similarity and Difference in Fee-Paying and No-Fee Learner Expectations, Interaction and Reaction to Learning in a Massive Open Online Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cross, Simon; Whitelock, Denise

2017-01-01

The new pedagogical opportunities that massive open online course (MOOC) learning environments offer for the teaching of fee-paying students on university-accredited courses are of growing interest to educators. This paper presents a case study from a postgraduate-taught course at the Open University, UK, where a MOOC performed the dual role of a…

Mapping the Information Systems Curricula in UK Universities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stefanidis, Angelos; Fitzgerald, Guy

2010-01-01

Information Systems (IS) undergraduate student numbers in the UK have reduced by half in the last five years. An increasing number of researchers have been pondering the possible relationship between the modernity of IS curricula and its attractiveness to potential students. To support the debate about IS curricula in the UK and elsewhere, this…

The University of the Third Age in the UK: An Interpretive and Critical Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Huang, Chin-Shan

2006-01-01

The idea of the University of the Third Age (U3A) in the UK was originated from France. However, the British formed their own model of U3As, which is different from that of French U3As. What are the reasons that the British U3As developed in a different way? The purpose of this article is to interpret and criticize in-depth the reasons why British…

Heritage Quay: What Will You Discover? Transforming the Archives of the University of Huddersfield, Yorkshire, UK

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wickham, M. Sarah

2015-01-01

The University of Huddersfield presents a key case study of the transformation of its Archives Service, using the newly-developed Staff/Space/Collections dependency model for archives and the lessons of the UK's Customer Service Excellence (CSE) scheme in order to examine and illustrate service development. Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and…

Challenges Facing Chinese Academic Staff in a UK University in Terms of Language, Relationships and Culture

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hsieh, Hui-hua

2012-01-01

The recruitment of international academic staff is viewed as one of the strategies to internationalise the universities. International academic staff, however, usually encounter many challenges when in a foreign context. This study aims to investigate the challenges of Chinese academic staff teaching in the UK in terms of language, relationships…

Retrospection and Reflection: The Emerging Influence of an Institutional Professional Recognition Scheme on Professional Development and Academic Practice in a UK University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

van der Sluis, Hendrik; Burden, Penny; Huet, Isabel

2017-01-01

Raising the quality and profile of teaching and student learning is something universities across the UK are aspiring to achieve in order to maintain reputations. Currently, the UK Professional Standards Framework (UKPSF) provides a standard by which academic staff can gain professional recognition for their academic practice and many UK…

Review of External Examining Arrangements in Universities and Colleges in the UK: Final Report and Recommendations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Universities UK, 2011

2011-01-01

This report outlines the final recommendations of the review of external examining arrangements undertaken by UUK and GuildHE and chaired by Professor Dame Janet Finch, former Vice-Chancellor of Keele University. The review found that, on the whole, external examining arrangements in the UK are working well, but the report offers recommendations…

Probing Scientists' Beliefs: How Open-Minded Are Modern Scientists?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Coll, Richard; Taylor, Neil

2004-01-01

Just how open-minded are modern scientists? In this paper we examine this question for the science faculty from New Zealand and UK universities. The Exeter questionnaire used by Preece and Baxter (2000) to examine superstitious beliefs of high school students and preservice science teachers was used as a basis for a series of in-depth interviews…

Developing Pedagogical Expertise in Modern Language Learning and Specific Learning Difficulties through Collaborative and Open Educational Practices

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gallardo, Matilde; Heiser, Sarah; Arias McLaughlin, Ximena

2017-01-01

This paper analyses teachers' engagement with collaborative and open educational practices to develop their pedagogical expertise in the field of modern language (ML) learning and specific learning difficulties (SpLD). The study analyses the findings of a staff development initiative at the Department of Languages, Open University, UK, in 2013,…

Climate Change and Sustainability Open Educational Resources: Lessons learned and challenges to tackle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Robinson, Zoe; Whitfield, Stephen; Gertisser, Ralf; Krause, Stefan; McKay, Deirdre; Pringle, Jamie; Szkornik, Katie; Waller, Richard

2010-05-01

The UK's Higher Education Academy Subject Centre for Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences (GEES) is currently running a project entitled ‘C-Change in GEES: Open licensing of climate change and sustainability resources in the Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences' as part of a national Open Educational Resource project. The C-Change project aims to explore the challenges involved in ‘repurposing' existing teaching materials on the topics of climate change and sustainability to make them open access. This project has produced an open access resource of diverse climate change and sustainability-related teaching materials across the subjects of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences. The process of repurposing existing face-to-face teaching resources requires consideration of a wide variety of issues including the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) associated with images and other material included in the teaching resources, in addition to issues of quality, accessibility and usability of resources. Open access education is an issue that will have implications across the whole of the organizational structure of a university, from legal advisors with commitments to University research and enterprise activities, to the academics wishing to produce open access resources, through to all levels of senior management. The attitudes, concerns and openness to Open Educational Resources of stakeholders from all positions within a HE institution will have implications for the participation of that institution within the OER movement. The many barriers to the whole-scale adoption of Open Educational Resources within the UK Higher Education system and the willingness of UK Higher Education Institutions to engage in the OER movement include institutional perspectives on the IPR of teaching materials developed by members of staff within the institution and financial viability, in addition to more sceptical attitudes of potential contributors. Keele University is

Four Rationales of HE Internationalization: Perspectives of U.K. Universities on Attracting Students from Former Soviet Countries

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chankseliani, Maia

2018-01-01

In the context marked by increasing competition between nation-states and universities, expanding individualization, growing influence of nonstate actors, and the new reality of Brexit, this study uses narrative and numeric data to explore the rationales of U.K. higher education (HE) internationalization, specifically motives of attracting…

Organizational and Pedagogical Fundamentals of Professional Training of Engineers in the Field of Nanoelectronics in UK Universities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mykhailiuk, Maryna

2014-01-01

The article deals with the organizational and pedagogical principles of the professional training of future nanoelectronics engineers in UK universities. There has been substantiated a number of general didactic and specific principles of the professional training of future nanoelectronics engineers, which facilitate the concretization of content,…

Observations on the Re-Emergence of a Binary System in UK Universities for Economics Degree Programmes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Talbot, Steve; Reeves, Alan; Johnston, James

2014-01-01

An audit of economics provision shows that over the past decade economics has disappeared from large parts of the UK's higher education landscape, especially the post-1992 universities. In the north of Britain the binary system has effectively re-emerged leaving many potential students unable to study key subjects such as economics. Post-1992…

Why Are Fewer Women than Men from Top UK Universities Still Not Securing Graduate Level Jobs?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Black, Jonathan P.; Turner, Malgorzata

2016-01-01

Research shows that a lower proportion of women than men are in graduate level jobs, six months after leaving seven top UK universities. This paper presents new empirical evidence from a unique dataset on the significantly different attitudes and behaviours between Oxford men and women undergraduates that might explain why women are less likely to…

Contribution of the SPEED Programme to the Enhancement of an Enterprise Culture in a UK University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clements, Mike

2012-01-01

When the current UK coalition government came to power in 2010, it sought amongst other things to stimulate a dormant economy and deal with the national budget deficit. One of its first acts was to charge universities to become the bedrock for entrepreneurial activity, and to deliver challenging enterprise education to all their students, so…

Reflections on a Degree Initiative: The UK's Birmingham Royal Ballet Dancers Enter the University of Birmingham

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Benn, Tansin

2003-01-01

This paper provides an opportunity to share experiences and perceptions of the first 5 years of a degree programme for professional dancers. A partnership developed in the mid-1990s between the UK's Birmingham Royal Ballet and the University of Birmingham, Westhill (now School of Education), to provide a part-time, post-experience, flexible study…

The Open Systems University and Organizational Intelligence.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Counelis, James Steve

The open systems model of the university defines the function of institutional research to be a cybernetic one. The internal and external reality-testing function is a vital duty and a moral charge. Though policy makers and educational practitioners can carry on for a considerable length of time with organizational intelligence of low validity,…

Alcohol industry sponsorship and hazardous drinking in UK university students who play sport.

PubMed

O'Brien, Kerry S; Ferris, Jason; Greenlees, Ian; Jowett, Sophia; Rhind, Daniel; Cook, Penny A; Kypri, Kypros

2014-10-01

To examine whether receipt of alcohol industry sponsorship is associated with problematic drinking in UK university students who play sport. University students (n = 2450) participating in sports were invited to complete a pen-and-paper questionnaire by research staff approaching them at sporting facilities and in university settings. Respondents were asked whether they, personally, their team and/or their club were currently in receipt of sponsorship (e.g. money, free or subsidized travel or sporting products) from an alcohol-related industry (e.g. bars, liquor stores, wholesalers), and whether they had solicited the sponsorship. Drinking was assessed using the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT). Questionnaires were completed by 2048 of those approached (response rate = 83%). Alcohol industry sponsorship was reported by 36% of the sample. After accounting for confounders (age, gender, disposable income and location) in multivariable models, receipt of alcohol sponsorship by a team (adjusted βadj  = 0.41, P = 0.013), club (βadj  = 0.73, P = 0.017), team and club (βadj  = 0.79, P = 0.002) and combinations of individual and team or club sponsorships (βadj  = 1.27, P < 0.002) were each associated with significantly higher AUDIT-consumption substance scores. Receipt of sponsorship by team and club [adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 2.04; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.04-3.99] and combinations of individual and team or club sponsorships (aOR = 4.12; 95% CI = 1.29-13.15) were each associated with increased odds of being classified a hazardous drinker (AUDIT score >8). Respondents who sought out sponsorship were not at greater risk than respondents, or whose teams or clubs, had been approached by the alcohol industry. University students in the United Kingdom who play sport and who personally receive alcohol industry sponsorship or whose club or team receives alcohol industry sponsorship appear to

Re-Visiting the Role of Disability Coordinators: The Changing Needs of Disabled Students and Current Support Strategies from a UK University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Koca-Atabey, Mujde

2017-01-01

This study aimed to investigate the system designed to support disabled university students from the perspective of disability coordinators. The research on this topic specifically is limited. Disability coordinators from a particular UK university were interviewed to better understand the support system from their own perspective. Interpretative…

The Open University in the Third World.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hawkridge, David G.

The British Open University is described in the first section of this paper as a multi-media system for teaching at a distance. Details are provided on the texts and other materials mailed to the students, the radio and television broadcasts provided by the British Broadcasting Company, and on the auxiliary sources of assistance offered to the…

Quality and Processes of Bangladesh Open University Course Materials Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Islam, Tofazzal; Rahman, Morshedur; Rahman, K. M. Rezanur

2006-01-01

A new member of the mega-Universities, Bangladesh Open University (BOU) introduced a course team approach for developing effective course materials for distance students. BOU teaching media includes printed course books, study guides, radio and television broadcasts, audiocassettes and occasional face-to-face tutorials. Each course team…

Is It Because of Partners or Partnerships?: An Investigation into the Main Obstacles of Developing International Partnerships in Four UK Universities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ayoubi, Rami M.; Massoud, Hiba

2012-01-01

Purpose: The main aim of the current study is to explore and model the major obstacles that UK universities encounter when developing international partnerships with overseas universities. Design/methodology/approach: Focusing on the obstacles to developing international partnerships, the study results are developed from 24 interviews with senior…

Universities UK: Manifesto for Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Universities UK, 2010

2010-01-01

The challenges that the UK faces today are global and they require world-class solutions. With continued support and investment from the Government, higher education will play a central role in meeting those challenges. Tomorrow's knowledge-based economy will demand a flexible, diverse and well educated workforce. Climate change and rapid…

The Early Development of the Open University: Report of the Vice-Chancellor January 1969-December 1970.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Open Univ., Walton, Bletchley, Bucks (England).

This report concerns the extablishment and development of the British Open University. Contents include the descriptions of: the development of the institution; staffing the open university; development of the Milton Keynes Campus; undergraduate course development; regional organization; demand for open university courses; development, production,…

Challenges of Designing Interdisciplinary Postgraduate Curricula: Case Studies of Interdisciplinary Master's Programmes at a Research-Intensive UK University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gantogtokh, Orkhon; Quinlan, Kathleen M.

2017-01-01

This study, based on case study analyses of two interdisciplinary programmes in a research-intensive university in the UK, focuses on the challenges involved in designing, coordinating, and leading interdisciplinary postgraduate curricula, including workload, student heterogeneity, and difficulties in achieving coherence. Solutions and approaches…

Diversity and Inclusivity at University: A Survey of the Experiences of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans (LGBT) Students in the UK

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ellis, Sonja J.

2009-01-01

The extent to which UK universities are "gay friendly" has received some attention in the press. Whilst there are a number of published studies exploring campus climate for lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) students and/or staff, these are primarily localised studies undertaken in State Universities and Baccalaureate Colleges in…

76 FR 18737 - Notification of Open Meeting of the National Defense University Board of Visitors (BOV)

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-04-05

... DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE Office of the Secretary Notification of Open Meeting of the National Defense University Board of Visitors (BOV) AGENCY: National Defense University, DoD. ACTION: Notice of Open Meeting... an open meeting of the National Defense University (NDU) Board of Visitors. The dates of the meeting...

A Comparison of Student Confidence Levels in Open Access and Undergraduate University Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Atherton, Mirella

2017-01-01

Confidence levels of students enrolled in open access programs and undergraduate courses were measured at the University of Newcastle. The open access science students aimed to gain access to undergraduate studies in various disciplines at University. The undergraduate students were enrolled in a variety of degrees and were surveyed during their…

Digital Badging at The Open University: Recognition for Informal Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Law, Patrina

2015-01-01

Awarding badges to recognise achievement is not a new development. Digital badging now offers new ways to recognise learning and motivate learners, providing evidence of skills and achievements in a variety of formal and informal settings. Badged open courses (BOCs) were piloted in various forms by the Open University (OU) in 2013 to provide a…

Under Pressure: An Exploration of the Module Design Experiences of Academic Staff Employed in One UK University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Binns, Carole

2017-01-01

This paper discusses some of the qualitative data obtained from a small number (23) of semi-structured interviews of academic staff who are involved in module design, and who are employed within one UK university. Analysing the interview transcripts produced eight main themes. One of these themes was the perceived pressures or constraints on…

The Impediments to the Change to UK University Accounting Education, a Comparison to the USA Pathways Commission

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ellington, Peter

2017-01-01

There is much debate in the literature concerning the changes necessary for university accounting education to meet the needs of the business environment and broader society. In the USA the Pathways Commission has responded by implementing a programme of evaluation and improvement. In the UK there is no formal agenda for change. This paper…

Large-Scale Innovation and Change in UK Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown, Stephen

2013-01-01

This paper reflects on challenges universities face as they respond to change. It reviews current theories and models of change management, discusses why universities are particularly difficult environments in which to achieve large scale, lasting change and reports on a recent attempt by the UK JISC to enable a range of UK universities to employ…

A pilot study of an online universal school-based intervention to prevent alcohol and cannabis use in the UK

PubMed Central

Newton, Nicola C; Conrod, Patricia J; Rodriguez, Daniel M; Teesson, Maree

2014-01-01

Objectives The online universal Climate Schools intervention has been found to be effective in reducing the use of alcohol and cannabis among Australian adolescents. The aim of the current study was to examine the feasibility of implementing this prevention programme in the UK. Design A pilot study examining the feasibility of the Climate Schools programme in the UK was conducted with teachers and students from Year 9 classes at two secondary schools in southeast London. Teachers were asked to implement the evidence-based Climate Schools programme over the school year with their students. The intervention consisted of two modules (each with six lessons) delivered approximately 6 months apart. Following completion of the intervention, students and teachers were asked to evaluate the programme. Results 11 teachers and 222 students from two secondary schools evaluated the programme. Overall, the evaluations were extremely positive. Specifically, 85% of students said the information on alcohol and cannabis and how to stay safe was easy to understand, 84% said it was easy to learn and 80% said the online cartoon-based format was an enjoyable way to learn health theory topics. All teachers said the students were able to recall the information taught, 82% said the computer component was easy to implement and all teachers said the teacher's manual was easy to use to prepare class activities. Importantly, 82% of teachers said it was likely that they would use the programme in the future and recommend it to others. Conclusions The Internet-based universal Climate Schools prevention programme to be both feasible and acceptable to students and teachers in the UK. A full evaluation trial of the intervention is now required to examine its effectiveness in reducing alcohol and cannabis use among adolescents in the UK before implementation in the UK school system. PMID:24840248

Nurse-delivered universal point-of-care testing for HIV in an open-access returning traveller clinic.

PubMed

Herbert, R; Ashraf, A N; Yates, T A; Spriggs, K; Malinnag, M; Durward-Brown, E; Phillips, D; Mewse, E; Daniel, A; Armstrong, M; Kidd, I M; Waite, J; Wilks, P; Burns, F; Bailey, R; Brown, M

2012-09-01

Early diagnosis of HIV infection reduces morbidity and mortality associated with late presentation. Despite UK guidelines, the HIV testing rate has not increased. We have introduced universal HIV screening in an open-access returning traveller clinic. Data were prospectively recorded for all patients attending the open-access returning traveller clinic between August 2008 and December 2010. HIV testing was offered to all patients from May 2009; initially testing with laboratory samples (phase 1) and subsequently a point-of-care test (POCT) (phase 2). A total of 4965 patients attended the clinic; 1342 in phase 0, 792 in phase 1 and 2831 in phase 2. Testing rates for HIV increased significantly from 2% (38 of 1342) in phase 0 to 23.1% (183 of 792) in phase 1 and further increased to 44.5% (1261 of 2831) during phase 2 (P < 0.0001). Two new diagnoses of HIV-1 were identified in phase 1 (1.1% of tested); seven patients had a reactive POCT test in phase 2, of whom five (0.4% of those tested) were confirmed in a 4th generation assay. The patients with false reactive tests had a concurrent Plasmodium falciparum infection. Patients travelling to the Middle East and Europe were less likely to accept an HIV test with POCT. A nurse-delivered universal point-of-care HIV testing service has been successfully introduced and sustained in an acute medical clinic in a low-prevalence country. Caution is required in communicating reactive results in low-prevalence settings where there may be alternative diagnoses or a low population prevalence of HIV infection. © 2012 British HIV Association.

Opening Up the Pandora's Box of Sustainability League Tables of Universities: A Kafkaesque Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jones, David R.

2017-01-01

The aim of this paper is to explore the institutional impact of sustainability league tables on current university agendas. It focuses on a narrative critique of one such league table, the UK's "Green League Table", compiled and reported by the student campaigning NGO, "People & Planet" annually between 2007 and 2013.…

Interactive Radio Counseling in Indira Gandhi National Open University: A Study.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chaudhary, Sohanvir S.; Bansal, Kiron

2000-01-01

Explains interactive radio as an effective tool for open and distance learning provided it is planned, designed, implemented, and monitored systematically. Describes the interactive radio counseling at Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) that provides support to students who study print material and may attend weekend…

The UK-DALE dataset, domestic appliance-level electricity demand and whole-house demand from five UK homes.

PubMed

Kelly, Jack; Knottenbelt, William

2015-01-01

Many countries are rolling out smart electricity meters. These measure a home's total power demand. However, research into consumer behaviour suggests that consumers are best able to improve their energy efficiency when provided with itemised, appliance-by-appliance consumption information. Energy disaggregation is a computational technique for estimating appliance-by-appliance energy consumption from a whole-house meter signal. To conduct research on disaggregation algorithms, researchers require data describing not just the aggregate demand per building but also the 'ground truth' demand of individual appliances. In this context, we present UK-DALE: an open-access dataset from the UK recording Domestic Appliance-Level Electricity at a sample rate of 16 kHz for the whole-house and at 1/6 Hz for individual appliances. This is the first open access UK dataset at this temporal resolution. We recorded from five houses, one of which was recorded for 655 days, the longest duration we are aware of for any energy dataset at this sample rate. We also describe the low-cost, open-source, wireless system we built for collecting our dataset.

Typical Intellectual Engagement as a Byproduct of Openness, Learning Approaches, and Self-Assessed Intelligence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Arteche, Adriane; Chamorro-Premuzic, Tomas; Ackerman, Phillip; Furnham, Adrian

2009-01-01

Students (n = 328) from US and UK universities completed four self-report measures related to intellectual competence: typical intellectual engagement (TIE), openness to experience, self-assessed intelligence (SAI), and learning approaches. Confirmatory data reduction was used to examine the structure of TIE and supported five major factors:…

Role of Radio and TV Programmes in Distance and Open Learning System: A Case of Bangladesh Open University.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Karim, Salma; Kama, Mustafa Azad; Islam, Md. Mayenul

2001-01-01

Examines the role and effectiveness of radio and television programs in distance and open learning systems based on a survey of students at Bangladesh Open University. Offers recommendations for improvements, including extending the time span, ensuring the quality of presentations, teacher involvement, and audio and video cassette…

The Rocks From Space outreach initiative and The Space Safari: the development of virtual learning environments for planetary science outreach in the UK.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pearson, V. K.; Greenwood, R. C.; Bridges, J.; Watson, J.; Brooks, V.

The Rocks From Space outreach initiative and The Space Safari: the development of virtual learning environments for planetary science outreach in the UK. V.K. Pearson (1), R.C. Greenwood (1), J. Bridges (1), J. Watson (2) and V. Brooks (2) (1) Plantetary and Space Sciences Research Institute (PSSRI), The Open University, Milton Keynes, MK7 6AA. (2) Stockton-on-Tees City Learning Centre, Marsh House Avenue, Billingham, TS23 3QJ. (v.k.pearson@open.ac.uk Fax: +44 (0) 858022 Phone: +44 (0) 1908652814 The Rocks From Space (RFS) project is a PPARC and Open University supported planetary science outreach initiative. It capitalises on the successes of Open University involvement in recent space missions such as Genesis and Stardust which have brought planetary science to the forefront of public attention.Our traditional methods of planetary science outreach have focussed on activities such as informal school visits and public presentations. However, these traditional methods are often limited to a local area to fit within time and budget constraints and therefore RFS looks to new technologies to reach geographically dispersed audiences. In collaboration with Stockton-on-Tees City Learning Centre, we have conducted a pilot study into the use of Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs) for planetary science outreach. The pilot study was undertaken under the guise of a "Space Safari" in which pupils dispersed across the Teesside region of the UK could collaboratively explore the Solar System. Over 300 students took part in the pilot from 11 primary schools (ages 6-10). Resources for their exploration were provided by Open University scientists in Milton Keynes and hosted on the VLE. Students were encouraged to post their findings, ideas and questions via wikis and a VLE forum. This combination of contributions from students, teachers and scientists encouraged a collaborative learning environment. These asynchronous activities were complemented by synchronous virtual classroom

Openness in Resource Planning in State Universities. AIR Forum 1980 Paper.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Delmont, Timothy J.

Managerial approaches to budget planning for state universities were investigated using an open budgeting model that emphasizes the function of communication, technical analysis, and participative decision making. System-level and central officers in 32 research universities were surveyed to determine whether they used and endorsed technical…

Setting Up the Open University. Monograph No. 5.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hawkridge, David G.

An unofficial history is given of the Open University in England. Its intent is to recreate the atmosphere in which the institution was conceived and organized. First the main events of 1963-1969 are summarized. Separate sections are then devoted to events in 1970 and each subsequent calendar year through 1975. Milestones are noted, and the…

Industry-University Collaborations in Canada, Japan, the UK and USA – With Emphasis on Publication Freedom and Managing the Intellectual Property Lock-Up Problem

PubMed Central

Kneller, Robert; Mongeon, Marcel; Cope, Jeff; Garner, Cathy; Ternouth, Philip

2014-01-01

As industry-university collaborations are promoted to commercialize university research and foster economic growth, it is important to understand how companies benefit from these collaborations, and to ensure that resulting academic discoveries are developed for the benefit of all stakeholders: companies, universities and public. Lock up of inventions, and censoring of academic publications, should be avoided if feasible. This case-study analysis of interviews with 90 companies in Canada, Japan, the UK and USA assesses the scope of this challenge and suggests possible resolutions. The participating companies were asked to describe an important interaction with universities, and most described collaborative research. The most frequently cited tensions concerned intellectual property management and publication freedom. IP disagreements were most frequent in the context of narrowly-focused collaborations with American universities. However, in the case of exploratory research, companies accepted the IP management practices of US universities. It might make sense to let companies have an automatic exclusive license to IP from narrowly defined collaborations, but to encourage universities to manage inventions from exploratory collaborations to ensure development incentives. Although Canada, the UK and US have strong publication freedom guarantees, tensions over this issue arose frequently in focused collaborations, though were rare in exploratory collaborations. The UK Lambert Agreements give sponsors the option to control publications in return for paying the full economic cost of a project. This may offer a model for the other three countries. Uniquely among the four countries, Japan enables companies to control exclusively most collaborative inventions and to censor academic publications. Despite this high degree of control, the interviews suggest many companies do not develop university discoveries to their full potential. The steps suggested above may rebalance the

The Adoption and Diffusion of eLearning in UK Universities: A Comparative Case Study Using Giddens's Theory of Structuration

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hardaker, Glenn; Singh, Gurmak

2011-01-01

Purpose: This exploratory study seeks to identify the factors that influence the adoption and diffusion of instructional technology at five prominent universities in the UK. The study aims to examine the organisational factors that enable and inhibit organisational adoption and diffusion of innovation. Design/methodology/approach: A qualitative…

Assuring Quality Evaluation Practices in Open and Distance Learning System: The Case of National Open University of Nigeria

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ofoha, D.

2012-01-01

The success of any open and distance learning (ODL) programme depends on how well it is evaluated. In the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), students are assessed and evaluated through continuous assessment as well as end of semester examinations. This paper focuses on Tutor Marked Assignment (TMA), which forms part of continuous…

Does Price Matter? Overseas Students in UK Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Soo, Kwok Tong; Elliott, Caroline

2010-01-01

This paper explores the determinants of the choice of UK universities by overseas undergraduate applicants. We use data on overseas applicants in Business Studies and Engineering from 2002 to 2007, to 97 UK universities. Estimating using a Hausman-Taylor model to control for the possible correlation between our explanatory variables and…

Genetics, lifestyle and environment. UK Biobank is an open access resource following the lives of 500,000 participants to improve the health of future generations.

PubMed

Trehearne, Andrew

2016-03-01

UK Biobank is a long-term prospective epidemiology study having recruited and now following the lives of 500,000 people in England, Scotland and Wales, aged 40-69 years when they joined the study (Sudlow et al., PLoS Med 12(3):e1001779, 2015). Participants were recruited by letter and asked to attend one of 22 assessment centres in towns and cities across Britain, where they provided consent, answered detailed questions about their health and lifestyle, had body measures taken and donated blood, urine and saliva. Participants provided consent for the long-term follow-up of their health via medical records, such as general practice and hospital records, cancer and death records. Samples are being stored long term for a wide range of analyses, including genetic. The resource is open to all bona fide scientists from the UK and overseas, academic and industry who register via its access management system. Summary of UK Biobank data can be viewed via its Data Showcase and the resource will be strengthened over time as the results of new analyses and studies are returned, health links and participants provide additional information about themselves. Some will attend full repeat assessment visits. UK Biobank is open for business, and it hopes researchers will find it a valuable tool to improve the health of future generations.

76 FR 14950 - Cancellation of Open Meeting of the National Defense University Board of Visitors (BOV)

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-03-18

... DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE Office of the Secretary Cancellation of Open Meeting of the National Defense... cancellation of an open meeting. SUMMARY: The Department of Defense, National Defense University, announced an open meeting of the National Defense University Board of Visitors on January 10, 2011 (76 FR 1408). The...

The Anatomy of International Students' Acculturation in UK Universities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gbadamosi, Ayantunji

2018-01-01

The diversity of the student population in the United Kingdom's higher education sector evokes a vision of the world as a global village. The effect of this diversity on the UK economy has been considerable. Nevertheless, the research attention given to how overseas students can become integrated into UK culture remains inadequate. This…

Estimating the Economic Payoff to Virtual University Education: A Case Study of the Open University of Catalonia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Castaño-Muñoz, Jonatan; Carnoy, Martin; Duart, Josep M.

2016-01-01

There is surprisingly little analysis of the employment and earnings impact on students of taking and completing Internet-based programs and of how it compares with earnings outcomes for graduates of face-to-face universities. This paper analyzes a follow-up survey of students who began attending the virtual Internet-based Open University of…

University Supports for Open Access: A Canadian National Survey

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Greyson, Devon; Vezina, Kumiko; Morrison, Heather; Taylor, Donald; Black, Charlyn

2009-01-01

The advent of policies at research-funding organizations requiring grantees to make their funded research openly accessible alters the life cycle of scholarly research. This survey-based study explores the approaches that libraries and research administration offices at the major Canadian universities are employing to support the…

Nutritional value of foods sold in vending machines in a UK University: Formative, cross-sectional research to inform an environmental intervention.

PubMed

Park, Hanla; Papadaki, Angeliki

2016-01-01

Vending machine use has been associated with low dietary quality among children but there is limited evidence on its role in food habits of University students. We aimed to examine the nutritional value of foods sold in vending machines in a UK University and conduct formative research to investigate differences in food intake and body weight by vending machine use among 137 University students. The nutrient content of snacks and beverages available at nine campus vending machines was assessed by direct observation in May 2014. Participants (mean age 22.5 years; 54% males) subsequently completed a self-administered questionnaire to assess vending machine behaviours and food intake. Self-reported weight and height were collected. Vending machine snacks were generally high in sugar, fat and saturated fat, whereas most beverages were high in sugar. Seventy three participants (53.3%) used vending machines more than once per week and 82.2% (n 60) of vending machine users used them to snack between meals. Vending machine accessibility was positively correlated with vending machine use (r = 0.209, P = 0.015). Vending machine users, compared to non-users, reported a significantly higher weekly consumption of savoury snacks (5.2 vs. 2.8, P = 0.014), fruit juice (6.5 vs. 4.3, P = 0.035), soft drinks (5.1 vs. 1.9, P = 0.006), meat products (8.3 vs. 5.6, P = 0.029) and microwave meals (2.0 vs. 1.3, P = 0.020). No between-group differences were found in body weight. Most foods available from vending machines in this UK University were of low nutritional quality. In this sample of University students, vending machine users displayed several unfavourable dietary behaviours, compared to non-users. Findings can be used to inform the development of an environmental intervention that will focus on vending machines to improve dietary behaviours in University students in the UK. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Exploration of Counsellors' Perceptions of the Redesigned Service Pathways: A Qualitative Study of a UK University Student Counselling Service

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Randall, Eve M.; Bewick, Bridgette M.

2016-01-01

To address the mental health needs of students, UK universities offer bespoke student counselling services. Economic pressures have led services to find innovative ways of redesigning their service pathway. Few studies have investigated staff perceptions of these changes. The aim of this study was to investigate perceptions of staff employed as…

The UK-DALE dataset, domestic appliance-level electricity demand and whole-house demand from five UK homes

PubMed Central

Kelly, Jack; Knottenbelt, William

2015-01-01

Many countries are rolling out smart electricity meters. These measure a home’s total power demand. However, research into consumer behaviour suggests that consumers are best able to improve their energy efficiency when provided with itemised, appliance-by-appliance consumption information. Energy disaggregation is a computational technique for estimating appliance-by-appliance energy consumption from a whole-house meter signal. To conduct research on disaggregation algorithms, researchers require data describing not just the aggregate demand per building but also the ‘ground truth’ demand of individual appliances. In this context, we present UK-DALE: an open-access dataset from the UK recording Domestic Appliance-Level Electricity at a sample rate of 16 kHz for the whole-house and at 1/6 Hz for individual appliances. This is the first open access UK dataset at this temporal resolution. We recorded from five houses, one of which was recorded for 655 days, the longest duration we are aware of for any energy dataset at this sample rate. We also describe the low-cost, open-source, wireless system we built for collecting our dataset. PMID:25984347

The UK-DALE dataset, domestic appliance-level electricity demand and whole-house demand from five UK homes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kelly, Jack; Knottenbelt, William

2015-03-01

Many countries are rolling out smart electricity meters. These measure a home’s total power demand. However, research into consumer behaviour suggests that consumers are best able to improve their energy efficiency when provided with itemised, appliance-by-appliance consumption information. Energy disaggregation is a computational technique for estimating appliance-by-appliance energy consumption from a whole-house meter signal. To conduct research on disaggregation algorithms, researchers require data describing not just the aggregate demand per building but also the ‘ground truth’ demand of individual appliances. In this context, we present UK-DALE: an open-access dataset from the UK recording Domestic Appliance-Level Electricity at a sample rate of 16 kHz for the whole-house and at 1/6 Hz for individual appliances. This is the first open access UK dataset at this temporal resolution. We recorded from five houses, one of which was recorded for 655 days, the longest duration we are aware of for any energy dataset at this sample rate. We also describe the low-cost, open-source, wireless system we built for collecting our dataset.

Maintaining the Access Mission: Open Access Universities and the Challenges of Performance-Based Funding

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mathuews, Katy; Pulcini, Brad

2017-01-01

For the purposes of this article, open access universities are defined as bachelor's degree-granting institutions that do not restrict admission on the basis of ACT/SAT scores, high school grade point average, and the like. Typically, the mission of an open access university is to provide all students with the opportunity to pursue a degree. The…

Developing Internationalisation Strategies, University of Winchester, UK

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Neale, Richard Hugh; Spark, Alasdair; Carter, Joy

2018-01-01

Purpose: Internationalisation has been a theme in UK higher education for a decade or more. The review of this paper, a practice-based case study, is to find how Winchester formulated two successive internationalisation strategies. Design/methodology/approach: The strategies were developed using a research-oriented method: grounded in the…

In Search for the Open Educator: Proposal of a Definition and a Framework to Increase Openness Adoption among University Educators

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nascimbeni, Fabio; Burgos, Daniel

2016-01-01

The paper explores the change process that university teachers need to go through in order to become fluent with Open Education approaches. Based on a literature review and a set of interviews with a number of leading experts in the field of Open Educational Resources and Open Education, the paper puts forward an original definition of Open…

The Impact of Role Conflict, Role Ambiguity and Organizational Climate on the Job Satisfaction of Academic Staff in Research-Intensive Universities in the UK

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schulz, John

2013-01-01

This study focuses on academics in research-intensive universities in the UK and explores their perceptions of organizational climate, role conflict, role ambiguity and job satisfaction. The findings suggest that the universities have multiple organizational climates. Three organizational climate types -- the Clan, the Hierarchy and the Adhocracy…

Quality Assurance, Open and Distance Learning, and Australian Universities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reid, Ian C.

2005-01-01

Open and distance education has integrated quality assurance processes since its inception. Recently, the increased use of distance teaching systems, technologies, and pedagogies by universities without a distance education heritage has enabled them to provide flexible learning opportunities. They have done this in addition to, or instead of,…

Increasing Access to Higher Education through Open and Distance Learning: Empirical Findings from Mzuzu University, Malawi

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chawinga, Winner Dominic; Zozie, Paxton Andrew

2016-01-01

Slowly but surely, open and distance learning (ODL) programmes are being regarded as one of the most practical ways that universities across the world are increasingly adopting in order to increase access to university education. Likewise, Mzuzu University (MZUNI) set up the Centre for Open and Distance Learning (CODL) to oversee the running of…

Effectiveness of Different Medium of Education to Imparting Knowledge at Bangladesh Open University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Islam, Anwarul; Islam, Nasirul

2008-01-01

Open and distance learning system meanly based on different types of media to impart education to the learners. Bangladesh Open University (BOU) offered education through open and distance learning system. There are two largest programs one is Secondary School Certificate (SSC) and another one is Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) offered by BOU…

Acceptance and Adoption of Open Access Publication (OAP) in University Libraries in South East Nigeria

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sambe, Manasseh Tyungu; Raphael, Gabriel Okplogidi

2015-01-01

This study examines the kinds of open access scholarly publication or information resources accepted and adopted by federal university libraries in South East Nigeria. The purpose was to determine the factors that affect open access scholarly publication or information resources acceptance and adoption in university libraries. The study adopted…

Grade Inflation in UK Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bachan, Ray

2017-01-01

This paper examines the continual increase in the proportion of "good" honour degrees awarded by UK universities since the mid-2000s. This trend has brought with it the charge of "grade inflation" that may reflect falling standards in UK higher education. This issue has been raised in the national press and in government which…

Open University Courses in Science and Technology Applicable to the Education of Teachers of Integrated Science.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pentz, M. J.

The Open University, founded in 1969, has already become the largest university in Britain in terms of the number of undergraduate students, with an enrollment of 41,000 in 1973. This paper is concerned with three areas of discussion: (1) the number of teachers studying Open University courses; (2) the courses available or planned in science and…

Distance Teaching of Environmental Engineering Courses at the Open University.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Porteous, Andrew; Nesaratnam, Suresh T.; Anderson, Judith

1997-01-01

Describes two integrated distance learning environmental engineering degree courses offered by the environmental engineering group of the Open University in Great Britain. Discusses admission requirements for courses, advantages offered by distance learning, professional accreditation, site visits, and tutors. (AIM)

Transforming Support for Students with Disabilities in UK Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Taylor, Mark; Turnbull, Yvonne; Bleasdale, Jo; Francis, Hulya; Forsyth, Henry

2016-01-01

Intended UK government changes to the Disabled Students' Allowance will have a significant impact on the support that UK universities provide for students with disabilities. In this article we examine the types of transformation that may be needed to support for university students with disabilities, from a socio-technical perspective. The…

Locating the "I" in the Teaching of Death and Dying: Challenges of the Open Distance Learning Model

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Watts, Jacqueline H.

2007-01-01

The UK Open University's second-level undergraduate course "Death and Dying" (K260) draws on personal and professional experience to explore the issues of loss, care, ethical practice, communication and grief. Students come from diverse occupational backgrounds (nurses, social workers, medical practitioners) but many study K260 for…

Teachers as a Special Target Population at the Open University of Israel.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Guri-Rozenblit, Sarah

1992-01-01

Examines the programs of the Open University of Israel (OUI) that offer preservice and in-service teacher training. Policies and trends that led to a new model of Israeli teacher education are discussed, and the role of distance teaching universities in teacher training is considered. (15 references) (LRW)

Stanford university medical media and information technologies hosts open source surgical simulation workshop.

PubMed

Cornelius, Craig W; Heinrichs, Leroy; Youngblood, Patricia; Dev, Parvati

2007-01-01

Stanford University Medical Media and Information Technologies's technical workshop "Prototyping of Surgical Simulators using Open Source Simulation Software" was held in August 2006 at Stanford University. The objectives, program, and topics covered are presented in this short report.

Conceptualising Student Voice in UK Higher Education: Four Theoretical Lenses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Canning, John

2017-01-01

The "student voice" is highly profiled in UK higher education, yet highly under-theorised. Over the past 20 years UK universities have gone from a taxpayer-funded, free at the point of use model, to one supported through tuition fees via Government-backed loans. Subsequently, there is a growth of discourse about universities as…

Teachers Training through Distance Mode in Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) Pakistan: A Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jumani, Nabi Bux; Rahman, Fazalur; Chishti, Saeedul Hasan; Malik, Samina

2011-01-01

Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) is the first Open University in Asia and established in 1974 on the model of UKOU. AIOU uses different media for the delivery of instruction. It has a well established Institute of Educational Technology which has radio and TV production facilities and advance level of work in computer technology. AOU offers…

A Year in the Life of an Open University Student in the United Kingdom.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ismail, Nazira

1988-01-01

Describes a Ugandan student's first-year experiences at the Open University in the United Kingdom. Discusses how the University operates; comments on course texts and supplementary materials; and presents a month-by-month breakdown of university and course activities and requirements. (GEA)

Policymaking and the Politics of Change in Higher Education: The New 1960s Universities in the UK, Then and Now

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Filippakou, Ourania; Tapper, Ted

2016-01-01

Through an analysis of the foundation of the so-called "new universities" in the UK, this article offers an interpretation of the change process in higher education. The argument is that although change is driven by economic and social forces, it is the political interpretation of these forces that steers the change process…

Managing Differences in Stakeholder Relationships and Organizational Cultures in E-Learning Development: Lessons from the UK eUniversity Experience

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Conole, Grainne; Carusi, Annamaria; de Laat, Maarten; Wilcox, Pauline; Darby, Jonathan

2006-01-01

This paper presents some of the initial findings of a series of studies documenting the UK eUniversity (UKeU) approach to and experience of e-learning. It will focus on the experiences and lessons learned of members of the learning technology team within the UKeU or people working closely with them. Our particular interest is to describe the…

A 10-year case study on the changing determinants of university student satisfaction in the UK.

PubMed

Burgess, Adrian; Senior, Carl; Moores, Elisabeth

2018-01-01

Higher Education (HE), once the prerogative of a tiny elite, is now accessible to larger numbers of people around the world than ever before yet despite the fact that an understanding of student satisfaction has never been more important for today's universities, the concept remains poorly understood. Here we use published data from the UK's National Student Survey (NSS), representing data from 2.3 million full-time students collected from 2007 to 2016, as a case study of the benefits and limitations of measuring student satisfaction that might have applicability for other countries, particularly those that, like the UK, have experienced significant growth in student numbers. The analyses showed that the factor structure of the NSS remained generally stable and that the ability of the NSS to discriminate between different subjects at different universities actually improved over the ten-year sample period. The best predictors of overall satisfaction were 'Teaching Quality' and 'Organisation & Management', with 'Assessment & Feedback' having relatively weak predictive ability, despite the sector's tangible efforts to improve on this metric. The tripling of student fees in 2012 for English students (but not the rest of the UK) was used as a 'natural experiment' to investigate the sensitivity of student satisfaction ratings to the real economic costs of HE. The tuition fee increase had no identifiable negative effect, with student satisfaction steadily improving throughout the decade. Although the NSS was never designed to measure perceived value-for-money, its insensitivity to major changes in the economic costs of HE to the individual suggest that the conventional concept of student satisfaction is incomplete. As such we propose that the concept of student satisfaction: (i) needs to be widened to take into account the broader economic benefits to the individual student by including measures of perceived value-for-money and (ii) should measure students' level of

First-Order Open-Universe POMDPs: Formulation and Algorithms

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-12-25

A full DTBLOG model for the airport domain example is presented in the appendix. Let M ( S , A ) be a DTBLOG model defined using the sets S and A of...respectively. IfM satisfies BLOG’s requirements for well-defined probabilistic models then it constitutes a well-defined OUPOMDP model wrt S and A . Actions on... a first-order, open-universe language to describe POMDPs and identify non-trivial representational issues in describing an agent? s

The UK-Japan Young Scientist Workshop Programme...

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Albone, Eric; Okano, Toru

2012-01-01

The authors have been running UK-Japan Young Scientist Workshops at universities in Britain and Japan since 2001: for the past three years in England with Cambridge University and, last year, also with Kyoto University and Kyoto University of Education. For many years they have worked jointly with colleagues in a group of Super Science High…

Are UK undergraduate Forensic Science degrees fit for purpose?

PubMed

Welsh, Charles; Hannis, Marc

2011-09-01

In October 2009 Skills for Justice published the social research paper 'Fit for purpose?: Research into the provision of Forensic Science degree programmes in UK Higher Education Institutions.' The research engaged employers representing 95% of UK Forensic Science providers and 79% of UK universities offering Forensic Science or Crime Scene degree programmes. In addition to this, the research collected the views of 430 students studying these degrees. In 2008 there were approximately 9000 people working in the Forensic Science sector in the UK. The research found that the numbers of students studying Forensic Science or Crime Scene degrees in the UK have more than doubled since 2002-03, from 2191 in to 5664 in 2007-08. Over the same period there were twice as many females as males studying for these degrees. The research concluded that Forensic Science degree programmes offered by UK universities were of a good quality and they provided the student with a positive learning experience but the content was not relevant for Forensic Science employers. This echoed similar research by the former Government Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills on graduates from wider science, technology, engineering and mathematics degree programmes. The research also found that 75% of students studying Forensic Science or Crime Scene degrees expected to have a career in the Forensic Science sector, meaning that ensuring these courses are relevant for employers is a key challenge for universities. This paper reflects on the original research and discusses the implications in light of recent government policy. Copyright © 2011 Forensic Science Society. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Assessing an Institutional Response of Universities to HIV/AIDS Epidemic: A Case of National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nom, Ambe-Uva Terhemba

2007-01-01

Universities have come under serious attack because of their lackluster response to HIV/AIDS. The article endevours--from an institutional perspective--to what extent National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) has responded to this challenge. This is done by first, highlighting NOUN basic structures that position it to respond better to the…

Do Universities Have "Successful" Brands?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chapleo, Chris

2005-01-01

Branding in universities is a topical issue, but arguably few UK universities have fully developed "successful" brands in the manner of commercial organizations. This qualitative paper explores the opinions of 40 opinion formers on which UK universities have successful brands and the associations these brands have. Current literature on…

The Open Admissions Story; 1970 At the City University of New York.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

City Univ. of New York, NY. Office of Univ. Relations.

This report briefly reviews the history of the open admissions policy at the City University of New York, which offers admission to all New York City high school students graduated in June 1970 and thereafter to some college or center of the University, effective September 1970. The report consists of six sections: (1) The Decision for Open…

Pre-Service Teachers' Attitudes toward Teaching Science and Their Science Learning at Indonesia Open University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Suprapto, Nadi; Mursid, Ali

2017-01-01

This study focuses on attitudes toward (teaching) science and the learning of science for primary school among pre-service teachers at the Open University of Indonesia. A three-year longitudinal survey was conducted, involving 379 students as pre-service teachers (PSTs) from the Open University in Surabaya regional office. Attitudes toward…

Perspectives on Quality and Quality Assurance in Learner Support Areas at Three Southeast Asian Open Universities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Darojat, Ojat; Nilson, Michelle; Kaufman, David

2015-01-01

While quality measures in higher education in general have gained significant and growing attention over the past 30 years, questions remain about quality in open universities. This research was an international comparative case study focusing on perceptions of quality and quality assurance (QA) in learner support areas at open universities. The…

Publishers' PR Tactic Angers University Presses and Open-Access Advocates

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Howard, Jennifer

2007-01-01

This article reports on reactions to the Association of American Publishers' new public-relations campaign, which has upset many university presses and research librarians, as well as open-access advocates. The effort, known as the "Partnership for Research Integrity in Science & Medicine," or Prism, is the latest tactic in a continuing…

Continuous bioprocessing: the real thing this time? 10(th) Annual bioProcessUK Conference, December 3-4, 2013, London, UK.

PubMed

Farid, Suzanne S; Thompson, Bill; Davidson, Andrew

2014-01-01

The Annual bioProcessUK Conference has acted as the key networking event for bioprocess scientists and engineers in the UK for the past 10 years. The following article is a report from the sessions that focused on continuous bioprocessing during the 10(th) Annual bioProcessUK Conference (London, December 2013). These sessions were organized by the 'EPSRC Centre for Innovative Manufacturing in Emergent Macromolecular Therapies' hosted at University College London. A plenary lecture and workshop provided a forum for participants to debate topical issues in roundtable discussions with industry and academic experts from institutions such as Genzyme, Janssen, Novo Nordisk, Pfizer, Merck, GE Healthcare and University College London. The aim of these particular sessions was to understand better the challenges and opportunities for continuous bioprocessing in the bioprocessing sector.

International outreach for promoting open geoscience content in Finnish university libraries - libraries as the advocates of citizen science awareness on emerging open geospatial data repositories in Finnish society

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rousi, A. M.; Branch, B. D.; Kong, N.; Fosmire, M.

2013-12-01

In their Finnish National Spatial Strategy 2010-2015 the Finland's Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry delineated e.g. that spatial data skills should support citizens everyday activities and facilitate decision-making and participation of citizens. Studies also predict that open data, particularly open spatial data, would create, when fully realizing their potential, a 15% increase into the turnovers of Finnish private sector companies. Finnish libraries have a long tradition of serving at the heart of Finnish information society. However, with the emerging possibilities of educating their users on open spatial data a very few initiatives have been made. The National Survey of Finland opened its data in 2012. Finnish technology university libraries, such as Aalto University Library, are open environments for all citizens, and seem suitable of being the first thriving entities in educating citizens on open geospatial data. There are however many obstacles to overcome, such as lack of knowledge about policies, lack of understanding of geospatial data services and insufficient know-how of GIS software among the personnel. This framework examines the benefits derived from an international collaboration between Purdue University Libraries and Aalto University Library to create local strategies in implementing open spatial data education initiatives in Aalto University Library's context. The results of this international collaboration are explicated for the benefit of the field as a whole.

Combating HIV/AIDS Epidemic in Nigeria: Responses from National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ambe-Uva, Terhemba Nom

2007-01-01

Universities have come under serious attack because of their lackluster response to HIV/AIDS. This article examines the response of National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) and its strategic responses in combating HIV/AIDS epidemic. This is achieved by examining NOUN's basic structures that position the University to respond to the epidemic; and…

Globalisation of Researcher Mobility within the UK Higher Education: Explaining the Presence of Overseas Academics in the UK Academia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Khattab, Nabil; Fenton, Steve

2016-01-01

In this paper, we argue that the power structure that lies within the UK elite universities dictates a division of labour through which the inflows of overseas academics into the UK academic labour markets are skewed towards these elite academic institutions where they are employed primarily in research-only posts. These posts, are less valued and…

News UK public libraries offer walk-in access to research Atoms for Peace? The Atomic Weapons Establishment and UK universities Students present their research to academics: CERN@school Science in a suitcase: Marvin and Milo visit Ethiopia Inspiring telescopes A day for everyone teaching physics 2014 Forthcoming Events

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2014-05-01

UK public libraries offer walk-in access to research Atoms for Peace? The Atomic Weapons Establishment and UK universities Students present their research to academics: CERN@school Science in a suitcase: Marvin and Milo visit Ethiopia Inspiring telescopes A day for everyone teaching physics 2014 Forthcoming Events

A Qualitative Study of the UK Academic Role: Positive Features, Negative Aspects and Associated Stressors in a Mainly Teaching-Focused University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Darabi, Mitra; Macaskill, Ann; Reidy, Lisa

2017-01-01

The literature demonstrates that stress in the working life of academics has increased over recent years. However, qualitative research on how academics cope with this is very scarce. Using online interviewing with thematic analysis, this paper examines how 31 academics in a post-92 predominantly teaching-focused UK university cope with the…

Developing Conceptual Framework for Revising Self-Learning Materials (SLMs) of the Open School (OS) of Bangladesh Open University (BOU) at a Digital Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yeasmin, Sabina; Murthy, C. R. K.

2011-01-01

Bangladesh Open University (BOU) runs school programs as part of its academic activities through open schooling since its inception. As of today, the Open School uses the first generation self-learning materials (SLMs) written, before an era, following an in-house style and template. The concerned faculty member corrects, every year, texts before…

Developing Conceptual Framework for Revising Self-Learning Materials (SLMs) of the Open School (OS) of Bangladesh Open University (BOU) at a Digital Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yeasmin, Sabina; Murthy, C. R. K.

2012-01-01

Bangladesh Open University (BOU) runs school programs as part of its academic activities through open schooling since its inception. As of today, the Open School uses the first generation self-learning materials (SLMs) written, before an era, following an in-house style and template. The concerned faculty member corrects, every year, texts before…

Academic Freedom and Racial Injustice: South Africa's Former "Open Universities"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Taylor, Y.; Taylor, R.

2010-01-01

The article critically re-interrogates three high profile cases of white racism at South Africa's former "open universities" to highlight the way in which existing debates around academic freedom fail to come to terms with questions of racial injustice after apartheid. The cases covered are the Makgoba affair at Wits, the Mamdani affair…

Teaching Particle Physics in the Open University's Science Foundation Course.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Farmelo, Graham

1992-01-01

Discusses four topics presented in the science foundation course of the Open University that exemplify current developments in particle physics, in particular, and that describe important issues about the nature of science, in general. Topics include the omega minus particle, the diversity of quarks, the heavy lepton, and the discovery of the W…

Augmentation of UK Space Debris Observing Capabilities Using Univiersity Optical Telescopes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Herridge, Philip; Brown, David; Crowther, Richard

2013-08-01

The study of space debris requires a range of different sensors. Debris population monitoring requires survey, follow-on and characterisation capable sensors. In order to fully participate in space debris measurement the range of sensors available to the UK Space Agency needs to be augmented with additional capability. One source of untapped resource resides within the UK university sector. This paper discusses investigation into extending the optical sensor diversity available to the UK for participation in study of the debris environment through a collaboration between Space Insight Limited, a commercial company providing Space Situational Awareness (SSA) services to the UK Space Agency, and the Astronomy Group at the University of St Andrews.

Patterns and Trends in UK Higher Education 2016

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Universities UK, 2016

2016-01-01

This report provides an interim update to the Universities UK "Patterns" series, before the publication of the full "Patterns and Trends" publication in spring 2017. It includes updates of the main charts included in the 2015 publication, covering trends in student and staff numbers and finances of the UK higher education…

Depressive symptoms in elderly participants of an open university for elderly

PubMed Central

Batistoni, Samila Sathler Tavares; Ordonez, Tiago Nascimento; da Silva, Thaís Bento Lima; do Nascimento, Priscila Pascarelli Pedrico; Kissaki, Priscilla Tiemi; Cachioni, Meire

2011-01-01

Although the prevalence of depressive disorders among the elderly is lower than among the younger population, the presence of significant symptoms of depression is common in this group. Studies report that participation in social, educational and leisure activities is related to fewer depressive symptoms in this population. Objective The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence of depression among elderly participants of an Open University for the Third Age, in terms of the time studying. Methods The study had a cross-sectional design and the participation of 95.2% (n=184) of total enrollers in the first half of 2010 on the activities of the Third Age Open University’s School of Arts, Sciences and Humanities of the University of São Paulo. All participants answered a socio-demographic questionnaire and the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15). Results An association between studying time of over one semester at the University of the Third Age and a lower rate of depressive symptoms, was observed. Conclusion Study time of over one semester was associated with less depressive symptoms, acting as a possible protective factor against depression. PMID:29213728

Assessing Perseverance in Studies at the Open University of Israel.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Guri-Rozenblit, Sarah

1990-01-01

A study at the Open University of Israel found students who study in organized groups and get weekly tutorials have a higher persistence rate than those with tutorials every three weeks. More experienced students and those in liberal arts and social sciences have a higher course completion rate. Age, sex, and educational background have little…

Optimising the Blended Learning Environment: The Arab Open University Experience

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hamdi, Tahrir; Abu Qudais, Mohammed

2018-01-01

This paper will offer some insights into possible ways to optimise the blended learning environment based on experience with this modality of teaching at Arab Open University/Jordan branch and also by reflecting upon the results of several meta-analytical studies, which have shown blended learning environments to be more effective than their face…

Paediatric home care in the UK.

PubMed Central

Tatman, M A; Woodroffe, C

1993-01-01

Paediatric home care services in the UK were ascertained in 1991 and 1992. Respondents from 209 (97%) UK health districts and boards identified 62 general and 124 specialist paediatric home care services by January 1993, 15% having opened in the previous year. Of all UK children, 30% lived in a district with a general home care service. Five health regions had only specialist services. Districts differed widely in the availability of home care for different disorders. The home care services were small, general services employing a mean (SD) of 2.5 (1.6) whole time equivalent (WTE) nurses, and specialist services 1.3 (0.8) WTE nurses. Few services were available 24 hours a day. Funding arrangements were diverse and some services had difficulties in obtaining consumables and equipment for home use. Despite rapid growth there remains considerable scope for the development of paediatric home care throughout the UK. PMID:8285782

An Evaluation of the Informedia Digital Video Library System at the Open University.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kukulska-Hulme, Agnes; Van der Zwan, Robert; DiPaolo, Terry; Evers, Vanessa; Clarke, Sarah

1999-01-01

Reports on an Open University evaluation study of the Informedia Digital Video Library System developed at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU). Findings indicate that there is definite potential for using the system, provided that certain modifications can be made. Results also confirm findings of the Informedia team at CMU that the content of video…

Stress among UK Academics: Identifying Who Copes Best

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Darabi, Mitra; Macaskill, Ann; Reidy, Lisa

2017-01-01

This article examined levels of stress and associated coping strategies among UK academics. Adopting a positive psychology approach, the influence of the character strengths of hope, optimism, gratitude and self-efficacy on stress, subjective well-being (SWB), and mental health was examined in 216 academics in a UK university. The study explored…

China's Radio and TV Universities: Reflections on Theory and Practice of Open and Distance Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wei, Runfang

2010-01-01

Distance education and open learning are western innovations, representing the educational concepts, cultures and societies of western countries. The introduction of distance education and the adoption of open learning in China's radio and TV universities are by no means an indication that they will and can be copied wholesale. Open and distance…

Perception of Learners on Electronic Examination in Open and Distance Learning Institutions: A Case Study of National Open University of Nigeria

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Adewale, Olubiyi Adeniyi; Ajadi, Timothy Olugbenga; Inegbedion, Juliet O.

2011-01-01

In mid-2009, the NOUN (National Open University of Nigeria) reached the decision to shift from conventional (that is, pen-and-paper) examination to electronic examination in the conduct of the end of semester examinations. One of the major factors prompting this decision is the inability of the university to release the results of past…

Challenges for Academic Accreditation: The UK Experience

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shearman, Richard; Seddon, Deborah

2010-01-01

Several factors (government policy, demographic trends, employer pressure) are leading to new forms of degree programmes in UK universities. The government is strongly encouraging engagement between universities and employers. Work-based learning is increasingly found in first and second cycle programmes, along with modules designed by employers…

"I've Never Heard of It Before": Awareness of Open Access at a Small Liberal Arts University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kocken, Gregory J.; Wical, Stephanie H.

2013-01-01

Small colleges and universities, often late adopters of institutional repositories and open access initiatives, face challenges that have not fully been explored in the professional literature. In an effort to gauge the level of awareness of open access and institutional repositories at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire (UWEC), the authors of…

Increasing Public Access to University Qualifications: Evolution of The University of the West Indies Open Campus

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thomas, Michael L.; Soares, Judith

2009-01-01

This paper traces the evolution of The University of the West Indies' Open Campus (UWIOC), which is expected to expand service and increase access to the underserved communities of the Eastern Caribbean. At present, UWI, which caters to the needs of the 16 far flung countries of the Commonwealth Caribbean, has not been able to fully serve these…

National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN): A Historical Perspective and Challenges

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ambe-Uva, Terhemba Nom

2007-01-01

Distance education has become an important policy option for educational planners in developing countries. In the context of Nigeria, increasing population, growing national demand for education, dwindling financial resources, increasing fiscal constraints, and therefore narrowing of access to education led to the emergence of Open University in…

Knowledge and attitudes of UK university students in relation to ultraviolet radiation (UVR) exposure and their sun-related behaviours: a qualitative study

PubMed Central

Kirk, Lucy; Greenfield, Sheila

2017-01-01

Objectives To explore whether knowledge about the harms of ultraviolet radiation (UVR) influences UK university students' sun-related behaviours and examine in depth their attitudes towards: sun protection, natural and artificial tanning behaviours. Design Qualitative methodology with 15 semistructured, individual interviews. Thematic analysis using the Framework Method with analyst triangulation and member validation. Setting One university in the West Midlands, UK. Participants 15 Caucasian male (n=4) and female (n=11) students, aged 18–22 years, from a UK university. Participants were recruited using convenience sampling from the university's main campus followed by purposive sampling for: gender, course and sun-related behaviours. Results Five main themes emerged: (1) knowledge of UVR; (2) sun-protection practices; (3) attitudes towards tanning; (4) external influences and (5) internal influences. All students knew the associated skin cancer risks from the sun and sunbed use, but this did not appear an important influence in their sun-related behaviours. Body image strongly motivated sun-protection practices and the desire to tan naturally or artificially, across both genders. However, participants' final decision-making appeared to be influenced by their beliefs that practising known harmful sun-related behaviours would not affect them or the perceived susceptibility to sunburn. Beliefs about sunbathing and sunscreen use prompted improper use of sun protection and inadvertently caused more harmful practices. Participants' peers, family and the media had dual roles influencing the development of attitudes towards sun protection and tanning, which contributed to how participants behaved in the sun and their engagement in tanning methods. Conclusions Knowledge about the risk of skin cancer associated with UVR did not strongly influence sun-related behaviours, whereas body image appeared as a key motivator. Attitudes towards sun protection and tanning stemmed

Knowledge, Attitude, and Experience of Cervical Cancer and Screening among Sub-saharan African Female Students in a UK University

PubMed Central

Ogbonna, Faith Sopuruchukwu

2017-01-01

Background: Cervical cancer is one of the major diseases that affect women of child bearing age. Its main cause is the human papilloma virus; although, other associated factors have been evidenced to increase its risk. Pap-smear screening and vaccination which has been shown to be successful in reducing the incidence and prevalence of the disease in developed countries, has been neglected in developing countries due to lack of knowledge, misconceptions, and cultural beliefs. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study involving only female Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) students in a UK university setting. Results: One hundred and eighty-six (42%) African female students were recruited from the 442 SSA students attending one of the major Universities in the UK. Seventy-one (38.2%) of the students were aware of cervical screening, but only 20 (10.8%) reported having knowledge of cervical cancer. A small percentage of about 26.9% (50 Students) were already part of this screening program; although, 81 (43.5%) showed willingness to participate in future screening programs. More so, it was evident that student's perception was dependent on their experience of the disease (P = 000) just as their participation in screening program was dependent on their awareness level (P ≤ 0.01). Conclusion: Female African students from the SSA region have poor knowledge of the disease which influenced their attitude toward screening. More needs to be carried out to increase awareness and uptake of screening within the school environment as university setting provides a viable platform to promote healthy behavior. PMID:28300047

Creating an integrated clinical enterprise at the University of Kentucky: the emergence of UK HealthCare.

PubMed

Karpf, Michael; Perman, Jay; Lofgren, Richard; Melgar, Sergio; Butler, Frank; Day, Zed; Clark, Murray; Claypool, Joseph O; Gilbert, Peter; Gombeski, William; Higdon, Courtney M

2007-12-01

If the medical system in the United States is to change, as has been recommended, academic medical centers must, in fact, lead this change process. To prepare for the future, the University of Kentucky decided to move aggressively toward developing an integrated clinical enterprise branded as UK HealthCare, where leadership of the various components of the academic medical center make strategic and financial decisions together to achieve common organizational goals. The authors discuss senior leadership's development of the vision for the enterprise and the governance structure that was established to engage board members and faculty of the institution. They examine the rigorous strategic, facilities, financial, and academic planning that ensued, and the early successes achieved. The authors introduce some of the lessons learned by the organization during the emergence of UK HealthCare and describe the corporate structure and senior management team that was established to support the quick and efficient implementation of the planning strategies. It was this corporate structure and senior management team which has proven to be an effective agent of change and a key to the successful development of a truly integrated clinical enterprise.

How Do Scientists Define Openness? Exploring the Relationship Between Open Science Policies and Research Practice.

PubMed

Levin, Nadine; Leonelli, Sabina; Weckowska, Dagmara; Castle, David; Dupré, John

2016-06-01

This article documents how biomedical researchers in the United Kingdom understand and enact the idea of "openness." This is of particular interest to researchers and science policy worldwide in view of the recent adoption of pioneering policies on Open Science and Open Access by the U.K. government-policies whose impact on and implications for research practice are in need of urgent evaluation, so as to decide on their eventual implementation elsewhere. This study is based on 22 in-depth interviews with U.K. researchers in systems biology, synthetic biology, and bioinformatics, which were conducted between September 2013 and February 2014. Through an analysis of the interview transcripts, we identify seven core themes that characterize researchers' understanding of openness in science and nine factors that shape the practice of openness in research. Our findings highlight the implications that Open Science policies can have for research processes and outcomes and provide recommendations for enhancing their content, effectiveness, and implementation.

How Do Scientists Define Openness? Exploring the Relationship Between Open Science Policies and Research Practice

PubMed Central

Levin, Nadine; Leonelli, Sabina; Weckowska, Dagmara; Castle, David; Dupré, John

2016-01-01

This article documents how biomedical researchers in the United Kingdom understand and enact the idea of “openness.” This is of particular interest to researchers and science policy worldwide in view of the recent adoption of pioneering policies on Open Science and Open Access by the U.K. government—policies whose impact on and implications for research practice are in need of urgent evaluation, so as to decide on their eventual implementation elsewhere. This study is based on 22 in-depth interviews with U.K. researchers in systems biology, synthetic biology, and bioinformatics, which were conducted between September 2013 and February 2014. Through an analysis of the interview transcripts, we identify seven core themes that characterize researchers’ understanding of openness in science and nine factors that shape the practice of openness in research. Our findings highlight the implications that Open Science policies can have for research processes and outcomes and provide recommendations for enhancing their content, effectiveness, and implementation. PMID:27807390

Patterns and Trends in UK Higher Education, 2011

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Universities UK, 2011

2011-01-01

This report builds on the time series data produced annually since 2001 under the title "Patterns of higher education institutions in the UK." It offers a unique overview of provision at publicly-funded higher education institutions in the UK. All charts and tables in the report are now also available to download from the Universities UK…

Open Source in Higher Education: Towards an Understanding of Networked Universities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Quint-Rapoport, Mia

2012-01-01

This article addresses the question of understanding more about networked universities by looking at open source software developers working in academic contexts. It sketches their identities and work as an emerging professional community that both relies upon and develops digitally mediated networks and contributes to the progress of academic…

Present Problems and Future Challenges of the Korea National Open University. ZIFF Papiere 113.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kim, Jae-Woong

Korea National Open University (KNOU) opened in 1972 as a correspondence college designed to improve adult learners' preparation for Korea's college examination. KNOU has been redefined as "an institution for adults who are deprived, by various reasons, of higher education opportunities and is now playing a major role in developing lifelong…

The Open University of the Netherlands: "Serving the Adult Learner" by Distance Education and "Innovating Higher Education."

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

van Enckevort, G.; Leibbrandt, G. J.

The Dutch Open University accepted its first students in September 1984 after a two-year preparation period. Like its British counterpart, the Dutch Open University offers free access and has no requirements as far as previous education is concerned. Its principal aims are to (1) provide higher education for adults either as a second chance (for…

Open Access, Retention and Throughput at the Central University of Technology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

de Beer, K. J.

2006-01-01

The most debatable question in higher education today is: Why first "open access" to promote massafication and now "capping" to restrict learner intake? (cf. SA Media Information 2004). Concerning the managing of this difficult and extremely sensitive issue, the Central University of Technology, Free State (CUT) has come a long…

Towards Development of OER Derived Custom-Built Open Textbooks: A Baseline Survey of University Teachers at the University of the South Pacific

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Prasad, Deepak; Usagawa, Tsuyoshi

2014-01-01

Textbook prices have soared over the years, with several studies revealing many university students are finding it difficult to afford textbooks. Fortunately, two innovations--open educational resources (OER) and open textbooks--hold the potential to increase textbook affordability. Experts, though, have stated the obvious: that students can save…

Large-angle cosmic microwave background anisotropies in an open universe

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kamionkowski, Marc; Spergel, David N.

1994-01-01

If the universe is open, scales larger than the curvature scale may be probed by observation of large-angle fluctuations in the cosmic microwave background (CMB). We consider primordial adiabatic perturbations and discuss power spectra that are power laws in volume, wavelength, and eigenvalue of the Laplace operator. Such spectra may have arisen if, for example, the universe underwent a period of `frustated' inflation. The resulting large-angle anisotropies of the CMB are computed. The amplitude generally increases as Omega is decreased but decreases as h is increased. Interestingly enough, for all three Ansaetze, anisotropies on angular scales larger than the curvature scale are suppressed relative to the anisotropies on scales smaller than the curvature scale, but cosmic variance makes discrimination between various models difficult. Models with 0.2 approximately less than Omega h approximately less than 0.3 appear compatible with CMB fluctuations detected by Cosmic Background Explorer Satellite (COBE) and the Tenerife experiment and with the amplitude and spectrum of fluctuations of galaxy counts in the APM, CfA, and 1.2 Jy IRAS surveys. COBE normalization for these models yields sigma(sub 8) approximately = 0.5 - 0.7. Models with smaller values of Omega h when normalized to COBE require bias factors in excess of 2 to be compatible with the observed galaxy counts on the 8/h Mpc scale. Requiring that the age of the universe exceed 10 Gyr implies that Omega approximately greater than 0.25, while requiring that from the last-scattering term in the Sachs-Wolfe formula, large-angle anisotropies come primarily from the decay of potential fluctuations at z approximately less than 1/Omega. Thus, if the universe is open, COBE has been detecting temperature fluctuations produced at moderate redshift rather than at z approximately 1300.

Use and Mastery of Virtual Learning Environment in Brazilian Open University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gomez, Margarita Victoria

2014-01-01

This paper describes and analyses the dynamics of the use and/or mastery of Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs) by educators and students Open University, important part of the Brazilian Educational System. A questionnaire with 32 items was answered by 174 students/instructors/coordinators of the Media in Education and Physics courses, of two…

Communicating geohazard information for emergency responders, a case study from the UK.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Banks, Vanessa; Cooper, Anthony

2016-04-01

SSS11.4/ESSI4.6/HS11.39/NH9.13 Communication of uncertain information in earth sciences: data, models and visualization Communicating geohazard information for emergency responders, a case study from the UK. Cooper, A. H.1, Banks, V.J.1, Cowup, P.2, Curness, J.3, Davis, R.4, Dawson, L3. and Gazzard, L.4 1 British Geological Survey, Keyworth, NG12 5GG, UK 2 London Fire Brigade, 169 Union Street, London, SE1 0LL, UK 3.Coventry University, Priory Street, Coventry, CV1 5FB, UK 4.Avon Fire and Rescue, Temple Back, Bristol, BS1 6EU, UK. In February 2013 a sinkhole opened beneath a Florida Home resulting in the loss of a life and demolition of the affected home. The resulting void was in the order of 15 m deep. Neighbouring homes also had to be demolished. Television footage of this unfortunate incident resonated with an Assistant Commissioner of the London Fire Brigade who questioned whether or not such a feature would be recognised in the UK and if so, how the emergency response would be managed. Stemming from this, the British Geological Survey was invited to work with the Chief Fire Officers Association Urban Search and Rescue working group on geohazards. The aim of this group was to develop national tactical operational guidance on geohazards that would form the basis for regional guidance and training. The project was addressed collaboratively providing opportunities for two students from the Coventry University Disaster Management course, that were on placements with Avon Fire and Rescue, to work with the BGS to develop the guidance. Key to the success of the project was an iterative approach to knowledge exchange with respect to firstly, the characterization of the geohazards, and the processes and uncertainties associated with them and secondly, with respect to emergency responders' needs and priorities. Effective communication was achieved through challenging and rationalising the geoscience language for the end user and through a series of customised

A Case Study on the Experiences of University-Based Muslim Women in Physical Activity during Their Studies at One UK Higher Education Institution

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miles, Claire; Benn, Tansin

2016-01-01

The case study explores the experiences of Muslim women in the area of physical activity participation conducted whilst they were studying at one UK University. Previous research in the field indicated that Muslim women can be denied opportunities to participate in areas of sport-related physical activity through multiple factors such as…

Electronic Media Learning Materials of Indira Gandhi National Open University, India: An Analytical Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roy, V. Manoj; Ghosh, Chinmoy Kumar

2013-01-01

The establishment of the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) in 1985 has been a milestone in the growth of higher education in India. A very special feature of the University is that a composite of several instructional methods in practice are aimed at giving effective support to distance learners. Self-instructional print materials are…

Terra Harvest Open Source Environment (THOSE): a universal unattended ground sensor controller

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gold, Joshua; Klawon, Kevin; Humeniuk, David; Landoll, Darren

2011-06-01

Under the Terra Harvest Program, the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) has the objective of developing a universal Controller for the Unattended Ground Sensor (UGS) community. The mission is to define, implement, and thoroughly document an open architecture that universally supports UGS missions, integrating disparate systems, peripherals, etc. The Controller's inherent interoperability with numerous systems enables the integration of both legacy and future Unattended Ground Sensor System (UGSS) components, while the design's open architecture supports rapid third-party development to ensure operational readiness. The successful accomplishment of these objectives by the program's Phase 3b contractors is demonstrated via integration of the companies' respective plug-'n-play contributions that include various peripherals, such as sensors, cameras, etc., and their associated software drivers. In order to independently validate the Terra Harvest architecture, L-3 Nova Engineering, along with its partner, the University of Dayton Research Institute (UDRI), is developing the Terra Harvest Open Source Environment (THOSE), a Java based system running on an embedded Linux Operating System (OS). The Use Cases on which the software is developed support the full range of UGS operational scenarios such as remote sensor triggering, image capture, and data exfiltration. The Team is additionally developing an ARM microprocessor evaluation platform that is both energyefficient and operationally flexible. The paper describes the overall THOSE architecture, as well as the implementation strategy for some of the key software components. Preliminary integration/test results and the Team's approach for transitioning the THOSE design and source code to the Government are also presented.

Open access, open education resources and open data in Uganda.

PubMed

Salvo, Ivana Di; Mwoka, Meggie; Kwaga, Teddy; Rukundo, Priscilla Aceng; Ernest, Dennis Ssesanga; Osaheni, Louis Aikoriogie; John, Kasibante; Shafik, Kasirye; de Sousa, Agostinho Moreira

2015-01-01

As a follow up to OpenCon 2014, International Federation of Medical Students' Associations (IFMSA) students organized a 3 day workshop Open Access, Open Education Resources and Open Data in Kampala from 15-18 December 2014. One of the aims of the workshop was to engage the Open Access movement in Uganda which encompasses the scientific community, librarians, academia, researchers and students. The IFMSA students held the workshop with the support of: Consortium for Uganda University Libraries (CUUL), The Right to Research Coalition, Electronic Information for Libraries (EIFL), Makerere University, International Health Sciences University (IHSU), Pan African Medical Journal (PAMJ) and the Centre for Health Human Rights and Development (CEHURD). All these organizations are based or have offices in Kampala. The event culminated in a meeting with the Science and Technology Committee of Parliament of Uganda in order to receive the support of the Ugandan Members of Parliament and to make a concrete change for Open Access in the country.

Mapping Public Engagement with Research in a UK University

PubMed Central

Grand, Ann; Davies, Gareth; Holliman, Richard; Adams, Anne

2015-01-01

Notwithstanding that ‘public engagement’ is conceptualised differently internationally and in different academic disciplines, higher education institutions largely accept the importance of public engagement with research. However, there is limited evidence on how researchers conceptualise engagement, their views on what constitutes engagement and the communities they would (or would not) like to engage with. This paper presents the results of a survey of researchers in the Open University that sought to gather data to fill these gaps. This research was part of an action research project designed to embed engagement in the routine practices of researchers at all levels. The findings indicate that researchers have a relatively narrow view of public engagement with research and the communities with which they interact. It also identified that very few strategically evaluate their public engagement activities. We conclude by discussing some of the interventions we have introduced with the aim of broadening and deepening future researcher engagement. PMID:25837803

Widening Access through Openness in Higher Education in the Developing World: A Bourdieusian Field Analysis of Experiences from the National Open University of Nigeria

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Olakulehin, Felix Kayode; Singh, Gurmit

2013-01-01

Bourdieu has argued that higher education is a field that reproduces social inequality, thus complicating how openness widens access to higher education in the developing world. Drawing on the experiences of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), this paper critically analyses and evaluates the rationale, approach, difficulties,…

Knowledge and attitudes of UK university students in relation to ultraviolet radiation (UVR) exposure and their sun-related behaviours: a qualitative study.

PubMed

Kirk, Lucy; Greenfield, Sheila

2017-03-13

To explore whether knowledge about the harms of ultraviolet radiation (UVR) influences UK university students' sun-related behaviours and examine in depth their attitudes towards: sun protection, natural and artificial tanning behaviours. Qualitative methodology with 15 semistructured, individual interviews. Thematic analysis using the Framework Method with analyst triangulation and member validation. One university in the West Midlands, UK. 15 Caucasian male (n=4) and female (n=11) students, aged 18-22 years, from a UK university. Participants were recruited using convenience sampling from the university's main campus followed by purposive sampling for: gender, course and sun-related behaviours. Five main themes emerged: (1) knowledge of UVR; (2) sun-protection practices; (3) attitudes towards tanning; (4) external influences and (5) internal influences . All students knew the associated skin cancer risks from the sun and sunbed use, but this did not appear an important influence in their sun-related behaviours. Body image strongly motivated sun-protection practices and the desire to tan naturally or artificially, across both genders. However, participants' final decision-making appeared to be influenced by their beliefs that practising known harmful sun-related behaviours would not affect them or the perceived susceptibility to sunburn. Beliefs about sunbathing and sunscreen use prompted improper use of sun protection and inadvertently caused more harmful practices. Participants' peers, family and the media had dual roles influencing the development of attitudes towards sun protection and tanning, which contributed to how participants behaved in the sun and their engagement in tanning methods. Knowledge about the risk of skin cancer associated with UVR did not strongly influence sun-related behaviours, whereas body image appeared as a key motivator. Attitudes towards sun protection and tanning stemmed from the media, peers and family, and particularly from

77 FR 68745 - Notification of an Open Meeting of the National Defense University Board of Visitors (BOV)

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-11-16

..., organizational management, strategic planning, resource management, and other matters of interest to the National... Defense University Board of Visitors (BOV) AGENCY: National Defense University, DoD. ACTION: Notice of open meeting. SUMMARY: The National Defense University (NDU), Designated Federal Officer, has scheduled...

The Extent of and Reasons for Non Re-Enrollment: A Case of Korea National Open University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Choi, Hyoseon; Lee, Yekyung; Jung, Insung; Latchem, Colin

2013-01-01

Despite continuous efforts to increase retention, dropout rates are high in distance universities. The objectives of this study were: 1) to investigate the extent and causes of non re-enrollment at a mega university, Korea National Open University; and 2) to suggest actions to improve the retention of students, in general, and those with higher…

Making Academic OER Easy: Reflections on Technology and Openness at Oxford University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Highton, Melissa; Fresen, Jill; Wild, Joanna

2011-01-01

Due to its stringent entry requirements, academic reputation and world ranking, Oxford University in the United Kingdom is perceived by some as being a closed, exclusive, and elitist institution. As learning technologists working in the institution, we have experienced an enthusiasm amongst academic colleagues for openness in publication and…

The Organization of the Distance Teaching Sub-System in an Open University.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chacon, Fabio J.

The problem of finding an adequate organization for the distance teaching subsystem in the Open University of Venezuela (Universidad Nacional Abierta) is analyzed. Problems facing this subsystem concern: communications with the headquarters and within the learning centers network, interaction with the environment in order to create a favorable…

Adapting on Demand Examination System in National Open University of Nigeria End of Semester Examination

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Okonkwo, Charity Akuadi

2011-01-01

Teaching-learning process is incomplete without effective and meaningful assessment of students learning outcomes. This applies to both conventional modes of education as well as to open and distance learning modes. So far, conduct of examinations at the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), has been cumbersome and be-decked with "hydra…

Which terms should be used to describe autism? Perspectives from the UK autism community.

PubMed

Kenny, Lorcan; Hattersley, Caroline; Molins, Bonnie; Buckley, Carole; Povey, Carol; Pellicano, Elizabeth

2016-05-01

Recent public discussions suggest that there is much disagreement about the way autism is and should be described. This study sought to elicit the views and preferences of UK autism community members - autistic people, parents and their broader support network - about the terms they use to describe autism. In all, 3470 UK residents responded to an online survey on their preferred ways of describing autism and their rationale for such preferences. The results clearly show that people use many terms to describe autism. The most highly endorsed terms were 'autism' and 'on the autism spectrum', and to a lesser extent, 'autism spectrum disorder', for which there was consensus across community groups. The groups disagreed, however, on the use of several terms. The term 'autistic' was endorsed by a large percentage of autistic adults, family members/friends and parents but by considerably fewer professionals; 'person with autism' was endorsed by almost half of professionals but by fewer autistic adults and parents. Qualitative analysis of an open-ended question revealed the reasons underlying respondents' preferences. These findings demonstrate that there is no single way of describing autism that is universally accepted and preferred by the UK's autism community and that some disagreements appear deeply entrenched. © The Author(s) 2015.

The One Universal Graph — a free and open graph database

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ng, Liang S.; Champion, Corbin

2016-02-01

Recent developments in graph database mostly are huge projects involving big organizations, big operations and big capital, as the name Big Data attests. We proposed the concept of One Universal Graph (OUG) which states that all observable and known objects and concepts (physical, conceptual or digitally represented) can be connected with only one single graph; furthermore the OUG can be implemented with a very simple text file format with free software, capable of being executed on Android or smaller devices. As such the One Universal Graph Data Exchange (GOUDEX) modules can potentially be installed on hundreds of millions of Android devices and Intel compatible computers shipped annually. Coupled with its open nature and ability to connect to existing leading search engines and databases currently in operation, GOUDEX has the potential to become the largest and a better interface for users and programmers to interact with the data on the Internet. With a Web User Interface for users to use and program in native Linux environment, Free Crowdware implemented in GOUDEX can help inexperienced users learn programming with better organized documentation for free software, and is able to manage programmer's contribution down to a single line of code or a single variable in software projects. It can become the first practically realizable “Internet brain” on which a global artificial intelligence system can be implemented. Being practically free and open, One Universal Graph can have significant applications in robotics, artificial intelligence as well as social networks.

Migrant cap 'may damage' UK physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harris, Margaret

2011-01-01

Scientists have expressed concern that changes to UK immigration rules - including a sharp drop in the number of visas available for the most highly skilled migrants - could make it more difficult for universities and other institutions to recruit talented researchers from overseas.

Proteus in a Kaleidoscope: The Educational Technologist in Open University Course Production.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gale, Janet

1980-01-01

Describes the educational technologist's work in Open University course production in terms of the work's context and the potential roles and tasks that may be assumed, and concludes that the educational technologist must continually construct and reconstruct his/her own role according to a number of sets of criteria. (Author/CMV)

Mobile Learning via SMS at Open University Malaysia: Equitable, Effective, and Sustainable

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lim, Tina; Fadzil, Mansor; Mansor, Norziati

2011-01-01

This article describes Open University Malaysia's efforts at enhancing the blended learning approach for undergraduate distance learners with the successful implementation of the Mobile Learning via SMS initiative. The pilot project was implemented in the May 2009 semester, and this coming January 2011 semester will be in its sixth consecutive…

Bringing Open Educational Practice to a Research-Intensive University: Prospects and Challenges

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Masterman, Elizabeth

2016-01-01

This article describes a small-scale study that explored the relationship between the pedagogical practices characterised as "open" and the existing model of undergraduate teaching and learning at a large research-intensive university (RIU). The aim was to determine the factors that might enable (conversely impede) the greater uptake of…

Interactivity in Distance Education: The National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) Experience

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ambe-Uva, Terhemba Nom

2006-01-01

The paper represents a study of students' experience of interactivity in distance education programmes at the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN). Through surveys and focus groups with students, facilitators, and administrative support staff, we found out that interactivity is a key determinant of student success rate. Majority of the…

UK report on waste management

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ferguson, J.

1995-09-01

Arising jointly from the National and European Union requirements for more intensive attention to be paid to the environment, the United Kingdom (UK) has taken many strides forward in protecting the environment from pollution and preventing harm to human health arising from the handling, transport and disposal of wastes. Major adjustments are taking place in Europe following the opening up of the Eastern European countries. The consequences of the illegal movement of wastes and its mistreatment and disposal are now recognised within the European Union. The UK as a member State is well aware of the consequences which arise frommore » the lack of proper waste management. This paper discusses waste management and legislation pertaining to waste management in the United Kingdom.« less

Student Feedback on Tutor and Academic Support of Wawasan Open University: A Four-Semester Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ng, Wai-Kong; Kong, Sow-Lai

2009-01-01

Standards for academic and student support services (SSS) in distance education as identified by the University of Wisconsin System Administration Board of Regents were applied to the SSS provided by the Wawasan Open University (WOU). A student feedback survey conducted over 4 semesters confirmed that WOU's SSS had been positively received and…

University Knowledge Exchange (KE) Framework: Good Practice in Technology Transfer. Report to the UK Higher Education Sector and HEFCE by the McMillan Group

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Higher Education Funding Council for England, 2016

2016-01-01

As part of its commitment to keeping the UK at the leading edge as a global knowledge-based economy, the last Government asked the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) in 2014 to develop a knowledge exchange (KE) performance framework that would secure effective practice in universities on key productive elements in the…

A Review of the Short Life of the U.S. Open University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Krenelka, Lynette M.

2009-01-01

This article presents the findings of a single case study of the United States Open University (USOU), including factors affecting its demise and success. Interviews were conducted with administrators, board members, associate faculty, and staff who played a major role in the planning and operation of the USOU, and pertinent documents were…

Attitudes toward English among Al-Quds Open University Students in Tulkarm Branch

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tanni, Ziyad Ahmed Ibraheem

2015-01-01

The aim of this study is to identify the attitudes toward English among AL-Quds Open University students in Tulkarm Branch, Palestine. To achieve this purpose, the researcher used a questionnaire composed of 30 items distributed to 70 male and 110 female students in four faculties: Education, Social Development, Administrative Sciences and…

Students and Sex Work in the UK: Providers and Purchasers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roberts, Ron; Jones, Amy; Sanders, Teela

2013-01-01

Available evidence suggests that changes in the funding of UK higher education in recent years have been accompanied by an increased student presence in the sex industry, ostensibly for financial reasons and to make ends meet. The current study comprises a sample of students ("N" = 200) drawn from several universities in the UK. Data…

Open access: a closed shop?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bradford, Rick

2013-01-01

Your December 2012 issue contains both a short news article on the progress of the open-access movement ("UK open access gains ground", p11) and a lengthy feature about the visionary Irish physicist Edward Hutchinson Synge ("Unknown genius", pp26-29). I find the combination of these articles ironic.

Mathematical E-Learning: State of the Art and Experiences at the Open University of Catalonia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Juan, A.; Huertas, A.; Steegmann, C.; Corcoles, C.; Serrat, C.

2008-01-01

In this article we present a review of the state of the art in mathematical e-learning and some personal experiences on this area developed during the last eleven years at the Open University of Catalonia (UOC), a completely online university located in Spain. The article discusses important aspects related to online mathematics courses offered in…

University Students' Unions: Changing Functions, a UK and Comparative Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Guan, Lu; Cole, Michael; Worthington, Frank

2016-01-01

In this article, we consider the functions of students' unions (SUs) through a UK case study. First, a functional classification of educational representation; wider representation; delivery of commercial services and faciliating a student community is outlined. Second, we specify a theoretical framework in terms of neo-liberalism and therapeutic…

AUPress: A Comparison of an Open Access University Press with Traditional Presses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McGreal, Rory; Chen, Nian-Shing

2011-01-01

This study is a comparison of AUPress with three other traditional (non-open access) Canadian university presses. The analysis is based on the rankings that are correlated with book sales on Amazon.com and Amazon.ca. Statistical methods include the sampling of the sales ranking of randomly selected books from each press. The results of one-way…

Analytical Study of E-Learning Resources in National Open University of Nigeria

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ajegbomogun, Fredrick Olatunji; Okunlaya, Rifqah Olufunmilayo Afolake; Alawiye, Mariam Kehinde

2017-01-01

This paper analyses e-learning resources in the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) using Abeokuta study center. Survey research method was adopted for this study. A questionnaire was designed and used to collect data for this study. A sample of 150 respondents was randomly selected from the final year students in the six schools of the…

A Pre-Post Evaluation of OpenMinds: a Sustainable, Peer-Led Mental Health Literacy Programme in Universities and Secondary Schools.

PubMed

Patalay, Praveetha; Annis, Jennifer; Sharpe, Helen; Newman, Robbie; Main, Dominic; Ragunathan, Thivvia; Parkes, Mary; Clarke, Kelly

2017-11-01

Engaging young people in the design and delivery of mental health education could lead to more effective interventions; however, few of these interventions have been evaluated. This study aimed to gain preliminary evidence with regards to the efficacy and acceptability of OpenMinds: a peer-designed and facilitated mental health literacy programme for university and secondary school students. The programme involves a structured programme of education and training for university medical students, who then deliver workshops in secondary schools. Pre- and post-surveys were completed by 234 school students who received two workshops and 40 university medical students who completed the OpenMinds programme and delivered the workshops. The main outcomes in both groups were components of mental health literacy (non-stigmatising attitudes, knowledge, social distance and helping attitudes). Perceived teaching efficacy and interest in mental health careers (university medical students) and workshop acceptability (school students) were also examined. University and school student participation in OpenMinds was associated with significant improvements in three of four mental health literacy elements in both samples. Knowledge and attitudes improved in both samples, social distance improved only in the university sample and knowledge of helping behaviours increased in the school sample. University students' perceived teaching efficacy improved but there was no change in their reported interest in pursuing psychiatry in their career. Acceptability was high; over 70% of the school students agreed that they enjoyed the workshops and liked being taught by a university student. This study provides preliminary evidence for the acceptability and efficacy of OpenMinds as a sustainable peer-led model of mental health education for young people. The OpenMinds programme is ready for efficacy testing in a randomised trial.

Curriculum, Intellectual Property Rights and Open Educational Resources in British Universities--and Beyond

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hawkridge, David; Armellini, Alejandro; Nikoi, Samuel; Rowlett, Tania; Witthaus, Gabi

2010-01-01

Is the curriculum in British universities being influenced by decisions about ownership of intellectual property rights (IPR) in "open educational resources" (OERs) that are available online under Creative Commons licenses, free of charge? This paper provides the context for, describes and analyses three significant examples in British…

Process Consultancy. The Demand for Consultancy on Group Processes in the Open University--Implications of Change (Report No. 59). Process Consultancy within the Open University 1981-1991 (Report No. 61).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nicodemus, Robert

The two reports combined here provide introductory information on consultancy work at Great Britain's Open University Institution of Educational Technology. The approach at the institution was influenced by the theories and methods developed at the Tavistock Institute of Human Relations and applied to group relations training. It is noted that the…

A 10-year case study on the changing determinants of university student satisfaction in the UK

PubMed Central

Burgess, Adrian; Senior, Carl; Moores, Elisabeth

2018-01-01

Higher Education (HE), once the prerogative of a tiny elite, is now accessible to larger numbers of people around the world than ever before yet despite the fact that an understanding of student satisfaction has never been more important for today’s universities, the concept remains poorly understood. Here we use published data from the UK’s National Student Survey (NSS), representing data from 2.3 million full-time students collected from 2007 to 2016, as a case study of the benefits and limitations of measuring student satisfaction that might have applicability for other countries, particularly those that, like the UK, have experienced significant growth in student numbers. The analyses showed that the factor structure of the NSS remained generally stable and that the ability of the NSS to discriminate between different subjects at different universities actually improved over the ten-year sample period. The best predictors of overall satisfaction were ‘Teaching Quality’ and ‘Organisation & Management’, with ‘Assessment & Feedback’ having relatively weak predictive ability, despite the sector’s tangible efforts to improve on this metric. The tripling of student fees in 2012 for English students (but not the rest of the UK) was used as a ‘natural experiment’ to investigate the sensitivity of student satisfaction ratings to the real economic costs of HE. The tuition fee increase had no identifiable negative effect, with student satisfaction steadily improving throughout the decade. Although the NSS was never designed to measure perceived value-for-money, its insensitivity to major changes in the economic costs of HE to the individual suggest that the conventional concept of student satisfaction is incomplete. As such we propose that the concept of student satisfaction: (i) needs to be widened to take into account the broader economic benefits to the individual student by including measures of perceived value-for-money and (ii) should measure

Faculty Perception of Openness and Attitude to Open Sharing at the Indian National Open University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Panda, Santosh; Santosh, Sujata

2017-01-01

In the past decade, the educational scenario world over has significantly been impacted by open access and open education movements. The philosophy of openness and sharing forms the cornerstone of the open education movement. The distance education approaches, together with open educational resources (OER) and massive open online courses (MOOCs),…

Use of Information and Communication Technologies in India's First Open University: Experience and Perceptions of Learners and Learner Support Providers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Satyanarayana, P.; Meduri, Emmanuel D. K.

2015-01-01

Dr. B. R. Ambedkar Open University (BRAOU), the first distance teaching university in India, was a great educational event. It started a new chapter in the history of India's distance higher education. The general objects this research studies are: (1) to identify the information and communication technologies used in open distance education…

Integrated surface and groundwater modelling in the Thames Basin, UK using the Open Modelling Interface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mackay, Jonathan; Abesser, Corinna; Hughes, Andrew; Jackson, Chris; Kingdon, Andrew; Mansour, Majdi; Pachocka, Magdalena; Wang, Lei; Williams, Ann

2013-04-01

The River Thames catchment is situated in the south-east of England. It covers approximately 16,000 km2 and is the most heavily populated river basin in the UK. It is also one of the driest and has experienced severe drought events in the recent past. With the onset of climate change and human exploitation of our environment, there are now serious concerns over the sustainability of water resources in this basin with 6 million m3 consumed every day for public water supply alone. Groundwater in the Thames basin is extremely important, providing 40% of water for public supply. The principal aquifer is the Chalk, a dual permeability limestone, which has been extensively studied to understand its hydraulic properties. The fractured Jurassic limestone in the upper catchment also forms an important aquifer, supporting baseflow downstream during periods of drought. These aquifers are unconnected other than through the River Thames and its tributaries, which provide two-thirds of London's drinking water. Therefore, to manage these water resources sustainably and to make robust projections into the future, surface and groundwater processes must be considered in combination. This necessitates the simulation of the feedbacks and complex interactions between different parts of the water cycle, and the development of integrated environmental models. The Open Modelling Interface (OpenMI) standard provides a method through which environmental models of varying complexity and structure can be linked, allowing them to run simultaneously and exchange data at each timestep. This architecture has allowed us to represent the surface and subsurface flow processes within the Thames basin at an appropriate level of complexity based on our understanding of particular hydrological processes and features. We have developed a hydrological model in OpenMI which integrates a process-driven, gridded finite difference groundwater model of the Chalk with a more simplistic, semi

Copyright Infringement and Potential Technological Prevention Measures in UK Universities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Van Hoorebeek, Mark

2004-01-01

"Sony Music v. Easyinternetcafe" has introduced a new facet to the debate concerning the copyright legality of peer-to-peer file transfer. The judgment and subsequent settlement has highlighted that companies offering services that are used to infringe copyright may be held to account in the UK courts. Liability may extend from the…

Analytical Views of Student Enrollment Trend of Different Programs of Bangladesh Open University and Its Projection

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Numan, Sharker; Islam, Anwarul; Sadat, Anwar

2007-01-01

Bangladesh Open University (BOU) is only University of the country which provides mass education in different dimensions in science, agriculture, humanities, social science, health, etc. It intends to provide opportunities of education to all classes of people and create efficient and skilled manpower by improving the quality of education. BOU was…

University Enterprise: The Growth and Impact of University-Related Companies in London

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chapman, Dave; Smith, Helen Lawton; Wood, Peter; Barnes, Timothy; Romeo, Saverio

2011-01-01

Over the last decade policies framing the enterprise agenda for UK higher education institutions (HEIs) have consistently emphasized the potential impact of successful universities on both regional and national economies. Such policies have been backed by significant public funding to ensure that the UK HEI sector is able to compete globally in…

An exploratory cluster randomised trial of a university halls of residence based social norms intervention in Wales, UK

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Excessive alcohol consumption amongst university students has received increasing attention. A social norms approach to reducing drinking behaviours has met with some success in the USA. Such an approach is based on the assumption that student's perceptions of the norms of their peers are highly influential, but that these perceptions are often incorrect. Social norms interventions therefore aim to correct these inaccurate perceptions, and in turn, to change behaviours. However, UK studies are scarce and it is increasingly recognised that social norm interventions need to be supported by socio ecological approaches that address the wider determinants of behaviour. Objectives To describe the research design for an exploratory trial examining the acceptability, hypothesised process of change and implementation of a social norm marketing campaign designed to correct misperceptions of normative alcohol use and reduce levels of misuse, implemented alongside a university wide alcohol harm reduction toolkit. It also assesses the feasibility of a potential large scale effectiveness trial by providing key trial design parameters including randomisation, recruitment and retention, contamination, data collection methods, outcome measures and intracluster correlations. Methods/design The study adopts an exploratory cluster randomised controlled trial design with halls of residence as the unit of allocation, and a nested mixed methods process evaluation. Four Welsh (UK) universities participated in the study, with residence hall managers consenting to implementation of the trial in 50 university owned campus based halls of residence. Consenting halls were randomised to either a phased multi channel social norm marketing campaign addressing normative discrepancies (n = 25 intervention) or normal practice (n = 25 control). The primary outcome is alcohol consumption (units per week) measured using the Daily Drinking Questionnaire. Secondary outcomes assess frequency of

Intelligent Computer-Aided Instruction Research at the Open University. CITE Report No. 10.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Elsom-Cook, Mark

This document introduces the aims and activities of the Intelligent Computer Aided Instruction (ICAI) research community situated within the Centre for Information Technology in Education (CITE) at the Open University in Great Britain, outlines the nature of the problems which come under the auspices of ICAI, and describes the research…

Access to Higher Education: Students with Disabilities at the Open University. Working Together?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Child, Derek

Services to students with disabilities at the Open University (OU) in Great Britain are described. This large distance teaching institution offers courses in multi-media form, using printed texts, audio and video material, radio and television programs, microcomputer software, and tutorial support (available either from local study centers or at…

Challenges in the Adoption and Use of OpenCourseWare: Experience of the United Nations University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barrett, Brendan F. D.; Grover, Velma I.; Janowski, Tomasz; van Lavieren, Hanneke; Ojo, Adegboyega; Schmidt, Philipp

2009-01-01

This paper provides insights on the adoption or use of OpenCourseWare (OCW) to support broader research, training and institutional capacity development goals, based on the experience of the United Nations University. Specifically, it explains the strategic context for the use of OCW in the university through its related efforts in the area of…

Effects of text messaging in addition to emails on physical activity among university and college employees in the UK.

PubMed

Suggs, Suzanne; Blake, Holly; Bardus, Marco; Lloyd, Scott

2013-04-01

To test the effects of adding text messages to weekly email communications on recipients' total physical activity (leisure-time; workplace; domestic and garden; and active transportation) in employees of universities and colleges in the UK. A randomised trial with two study groups (email only or email plus text messaging for 12 weeks) was implemented at five workplaces. Data were collected at baseline, immediately after, and four weeks after the intervention. Intervention effects on physical activity were evaluated using latent growth modelling. Total physical activity decreased over time in both groups but the decrease was non-significant. The only significant difference between groups was found for workplace physical activity, with the group receiving emails and text messages having a linear decrease of 2.81 Metabolic Equivalent h/week (β = -0.31, p = 0.035) compared to the email only group. Sending employees two additional text messages resulted in less physical activity. Further investigation is needed to understand whether text messaging may play a beneficial role in promoting physical activity in workplace settings. © The Author(s) 2013 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav.

Prior Education of Open University Students Contributes to Their Capability in Critical Thinking

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Repo, Saara; Lehtinen, Taina; Rusanen, Erja; Hyytinen, Heidi

2017-01-01

The focus of this study is on Open University students' entry-level critical thinking skills. The research questions were: how are students' age, and level and discipline of previous education related to critical thinking skills; is the level and discipline of previous education connected to the accuracy of students' self-evaluation of their…

Transactional Distance among Open University Students: How Does it Affect the Learning Process?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kassandrinou, Amanda; Angelaki, Christina; Mavroidis, Ilias

2014-01-01

This study examines the presence of transactional distance among students, the factors affecting it, as well as the way it influences the learning process of students in a blended distance learning setting in Greece. The present study involved 12 postgraduate students of the Hellenic Open University (HOU). A qualitative research was conducted,…

Going for (Nano)Gold: A University Open Day Experiment for Year 13 Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baker, Christopher; Patel, Bhavik Ani; Cragg, Alexander S.; Cragg, Peter J.

2013-01-01

Open day activities rarely give applicants a real sense of the practical and intellectual work that goes on in university chemistry departments. We devised an experiment for year 13 (age 17-18) students based on the size-dependent colours of gold nanoparticles and linked this to current research in diagnostic medicine. The experience was designed…

Part-Time Students and Part-Time Study in Higher Education in the UK: Strand 2--A Survey of the Issues Facing Institutions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boorman, Susan; Brown, Nigel; Payne, Philip; Ramsden, Brian

2006-01-01

This is the report on part-time study in UK higher education institutions (HEIs) for Universities UK and GuildHE (previously SCOP) from Nigel Brown Associates. It forms Strand 2 of the wider research into part-time higher education commissioned by Universities UK and GuildHE using quantitative data not available from published sources and…

Marketing Strategies of United Kingdom Universities during Clearing and Adjustment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mogaji, Emmanuel

2016-01-01

Purpose: The clearing system in the UK enables students without a university place after exam results have been announced to find suitable vacancies, as it is important for universities to fill their vacancies as any shortfall loses them a lot of money. The purpose of this paper is to examine marketing strategies adopted by UK universities on…

Educational opportunities based on the university-industry synergies in an open innovation framework

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lucia, Óscar; Burdio, José M.; Acero, Jesús; Barragán, Luis A.; Garcia, José R.

2012-03-01

Collaboration between Industry and University is becoming more important in order to improve the competitiveness of the research and development activities. Moreover, establishing synergies to bridge the gap between the academic and industrial spheres has demonstrated to be advantageous for both of them. Nowadays, Industry is moving towards an open innovation structure, in which external agents as universities play a key role. Besides, University is also seeking a more active learning methodology to improve the education of students for the real world. Considering this framework, a special effort should be done to take advantage of the collaborative work between Industry and University. The aim of this paper is to present the collaborative framework and the benefits obtained of the educational activities as a consequence of the long-term collaboration established between the University of Zaragoza and the Bosh and Siemens Home Appliances Group. The key stones of the collaboration are presented, and the positive outcomes for the students are highlighted. The strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of the proposed program are also discussed.

Seasonal variations of alkenones and UK37 in the Chesapeake Bay water column

USGS Publications Warehouse

Mercer, J.L.; Zhao, M.; Colman, Steven M.

2005-01-01

Alkenone unsaturation indices (UK37 and U K???37) have long been used as proxies for surface water temperature in the open ocean. Recent studies have suggested that in other marine environments, variables other than temperature may affect both the production of alkenones and the values of the indices. Here, we present the results of a reconnaissance field study in which alkenones were extracted from particulate matter filtered from the water column in Chesapeake Bay during 2000 and 2001. A multivariate analysis shows a strong positive correlation between UK37 (and UK???37) values and temperature, and a significant negative correlation between UK37 (and UK???37) values and nitrate concentrations. However, temperature and nitrate concentrations also co-vary significantly. The temperature vs. UK37 relationships (UK37=0.018 (T)-0.162, R2=0.84, UK???37=0.013 (T)-0.04, R2=0.80) have lower slopes than the open-ocean equations of Prahl et al. [1988. Further evaluation of long-chain alkenones as indicators of paleoceanographic conditions. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 52, 2303-2310] and Mu??ller et al. [1998. Calibration of the alkenone paleotemperature index UK???37 based on core-tops from the eastern South Atlantic and the global ocean (60??N-60??S). Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 62, 1757-1772], but are similar to the relationships found in controlled studies with elevated nutrient levels and higher nitrate:phosphate (N:P) ratios. This implies that high nutrient levels in Chesapeake Bay have either lowered the UK37 vs. temperature slope, or nutrient levels are the main controller of the U K37 index. In addition, particularly high abundances (>5% of total C37 alkenones) of the tetra-unsaturated ketone, C37:4, were found when water temperatures reached 25??C or higher, thus posing further questions about the controls on alkenone production as well as the biochemical roles of alkenones. ?? 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Abstracts of the 24th international isotope society (UK group) symposium: synthesis and applications of labelled compounds 2015.

PubMed

Aigbirhio, F I; Allwein, S; Anwar, A; Atzrodt, J; Audisio, D; Badman, G; Bakale, R; Berthon, F; Bragg, R; Brindle, K M; Bushby, N; Campos, S; Cant, A A; Chan, M Y T; Colbon, P; Cornelissen, B; Czarny, B; Derdau, V; Dive, V; Dunscombe, M; Eggleston, I; Ellis-Sawyer, K; Elmore, C S; Engstrom, P; Ericsson, C; Fairlamb, I J S; Georgin, D; Godfrey, S P; He, L; Hickey, M J; Huscroft, I T; Kerr, W J; Lashford, A; Lenz, E; Lewinton, S; L'Hermite, M M; Lindelöf, Å; Little, G; Lockley, W J S; Loreau, O; Maddocks, S; Marguerit, M; Mirabello, V; Mudd, R J; Nilsson, G N; Owens, P K; Pascu, S I; Patriarche, G; Pimlott, S L; Pinault, M; Plastow, G; Racys, D T; Reif, J; Rossi, J; Ruan, J; Sarpaki, S; Sephton, S M; Simonsson, R; Speed, D J; Sumal, K; Sutherland, A; Taran, F; Thuleau, A; Wang, Y; Waring, M; Watters, W H; Wu, J; Xiao, J

2016-04-01

The 24th annual symposium of the International Isotope Society's United Kingdom Group took place at the Møller Centre, Churchill College, Cambridge, UK on Friday 6th November 2015. The meeting was attended by 77 delegates from academia and industry, the life sciences, chemical, radiochemical and scientific instrument suppliers. Delegates were welcomed by Dr Ken Lawrie (GlaxoSmithKline, UK, chair of the IIS UK group). The subsequent scientific programme consisted of oral presentations, short 'flash' presentations in association with particular posters and poster presentations. The scientific areas covered included isotopic synthesis, regulatory issues, applications of labelled compounds in imaging, isotopic separation and novel chemistry with potential implications for isotopic synthesis. Both short-lived and long-lived isotopes were represented, as were stable isotopes. The symposium was divided into a morning session chaired by Dr Rebekka Hueting (University of Oxford, UK) and afternoon sessions chaired by Dr Sofia Pascu (University of Bath, UK) and by Dr Alan Dowling (Syngenta, UK). The UK meeting concluded with remarks from Dr Ken Lawrie (GlaxoSmithKline, UK). Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A Study of Learners Perception and Attitude towards BA/BSS Program of SSHL of Bangladesh Open University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sultana, Sabiha; Jahan, Tasrun; Numan, Sharker Md.

2011-01-01

In the present day open and distance education has become a significant way of the development of higher education. Bangladesh Open University (BOU), the only public institution in Bangladesh offers several formal and non-formal programs from secondary to post graduate level through distance mode. The main objectives of BOU's program is to provide…

Globalisation and MATESOL Programmes in the UK

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hasrati, Mostafa; Tavakoli, Parvaneh

2015-01-01

This article reports the results of a mixed-methods approach to investigating the association between globalisation and MATESOL in UK universities. Qualitative and quantitative data collected from academic staff through eight emails, four interviews and 41 questionnaires indicate that the globalised context of higher education has affected these…

The End of the Botany Degree in the UK

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Drea, Sinead

2011-01-01

The last student enrolled in a pure "Botany" degree in the UK began in the University of Bristol this year, 2010. In recent years only the University of Reading also offered the Botany degree, before it was dropped there 3 years ago. This short article is written to draw attention to this fact and to a more general relative decline in…

The Supply of Part-Time Higher Education in the UK. Research Report

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Callender, Claire; Birkbeck, Anne Jamieson; Mason, Geoff

2010-01-01

This report explores the supply of part-time higher education in the UK, with particular consideration to the study of part-time undergraduate provision in England. It is the final publication in the series of reports on individual student markets that were commissioned by Universities UK following the publication of the reports on the Future size…

First Year Learning Experiences of University Undergraduates in the Use of Open Educational Resources in Online Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Afolabi, Folashade

2017-01-01

This study investigated the first year University undergraduates' experiences in the use of open educational resources (OER) in online learning and their in-course achievement. The design selected for the study was survey and quasi-experimental. A total number of 106 University undergraduates participated in the study after a preliminary study was…

Current Capabilities, Requirements and a Proposed Strategy for Interdependency Analysis in the UK

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bloomfield, Robin; Chozos, Nick; Salako, Kizito

The UK government recently commissioned a research study to identify the state-of-the-art in Critical Infrastructure modelling and analysis, and the government/industry requirements for such tools and services. This study (Cetifs) concluded with a strategy aiming to bridge the gaps between the capabilities and requirements, which would establish interdependency analysis as a commercially viable service in the near future. This paper presents the findings of this study that was carried out by CSR, City University London, Adelard LLP, a safety/security consultancy and Cranfield University, defense academy of the UK.

BioContainers: an open-source and community-driven framework for software standardization.

PubMed

da Veiga Leprevost, Felipe; Grüning, Björn A; Alves Aflitos, Saulo; Röst, Hannes L; Uszkoreit, Julian; Barsnes, Harald; Vaudel, Marc; Moreno, Pablo; Gatto, Laurent; Weber, Jonas; Bai, Mingze; Jimenez, Rafael C; Sachsenberg, Timo; Pfeuffer, Julianus; Vera Alvarez, Roberto; Griss, Johannes; Nesvizhskii, Alexey I; Perez-Riverol, Yasset

2017-08-15

BioContainers (biocontainers.pro) is an open-source and community-driven framework which provides platform independent executable environments for bioinformatics software. BioContainers allows labs of all sizes to easily install bioinformatics software, maintain multiple versions of the same software and combine tools into powerful analysis pipelines. BioContainers is based on popular open-source projects Docker and rkt frameworks, that allow software to be installed and executed under an isolated and controlled environment. Also, it provides infrastructure and basic guidelines to create, manage and distribute bioinformatics containers with a special focus on omics technologies. These containers can be integrated into more comprehensive bioinformatics pipelines and different architectures (local desktop, cloud environments or HPC clusters). The software is freely available at github.com/BioContainers/. yperez@ebi.ac.uk. © The Author(s) 2017. Published by Oxford University Press.

Alcohol and other substance use among medical and law students at a UK university: a cross-sectional questionnaire survey.

PubMed

Bogowicz, Paul; Ferguson, Jennifer; Gilvarry, Eilish; Kamali, Farhad; Kaner, Eileen; Newbury-Birch, Dorothy

2018-03-01

To examine the use of alcohol and other substances among medical and law students at a UK university. Anonymous cross-sectional questionnaire survey of first, second and final year medical and law students at a single UK university. 1242 of 1577 (78.8%) eligible students completed the questionnaire. Over half of first and second year medical students (first year 53.1%, second year 59.7%, final year 35.9%) had an Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) score suggestive of an alcohol use disorder (AUDIT≥8), compared with over two-thirds of first and second year law students (first year 67.2%, second year 69.5%, final year 47.3%). Approximately one-quarter of medical students (first year 26.4%, second year 28.4%, final year 23.7%) and over one-third of first and second year law students (first year 39.1%, second year 42.4%, final year 18.9%) reported other substance use within the past year. Over one-third of medical students (first year 34.4%, second year 35.6%, final year 46.3%) and approximately half or more of law students (first year 47.2%, second year 52.7%, final year 59.5%) had a Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale anxiety score suggestive of a possible anxiety disorder. Study participants had high levels of substance misuse and anxiety. Some students' fitness to practice may be impaired as a result of their substance misuse or symptoms of psychological distress. Further efforts are needed to reduce substance misuse and to improve the mental well-being of students. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

Fabricated World Class: Global University League Tables, Status Differentiation and Myths of Global Competition

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

David, Matthew

2016-01-01

UK media coverage of global university league tables shows systematic bias towards the Russell Group, although also highlighting tensions within its membership. Coverage positions UK "elite" institutions between US superiority and Asian ascent. Coverage claims that league table results warrant UK university funding reform. However,…

Open Admissions and Remediation: A Case Study of Policymaking by the City University of New York Board

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Duitch, Suri

2010-01-01

An open admissions policy for the City University of New York was approved by the University's Board of Higher Education in 1969, ushering in a new era of greater access to college for the city's poor and working class Blacks, Latinos, and white youth. This policy change was made in response to demands from students, civil rights organizations,…

Language Learning over 50 at the Open University in Poland: An Exploratory Study of Needs and Emotions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Klimczak-Pawlak, Agata; Kossakowska-Pisarek, Sylwia

2018-01-01

This exploratory, retrospective study, which focuses on the needs, attitudes, and emotions of learners attending English as a foreign language courses at the Open University of the University of Warsaw is part of a larger scale project which aims at answering calls voiced, among others, by Boulton-Lewis (2010) to gather more data from older adults…

UK Institutional Responses to Undergraduates' Term-Time Working.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Little, Brenda

2002-01-01

Examines research findings on the impact of working on undergraduate students' experience and academic performance, and considers UK institutions' responses, specifically the establishment of university job-shops and curriculum frameworks that try to "capture" learning derived from work experience. Considers to what extent these…

The Impact of Individual Factors on the Academic Attainment of Chinese and UK Students in Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Crawford, Ian; Wang, Zhiqi

2015-01-01

This study investigates the academic performance differences between Chinese and UK students in a UK university using two undergraduate cohorts by uniquely exploring academic performance patterns among Chinese and UK students across a full degree study period (3 or 4 years). The results reveal a dramatic drop in performance among Chinese students…

Captivating Open University Students with Online Literature Search Tutorials Created Using Screen Capture Software

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wales, Tim; Robertson, Penny

2008-01-01

Purpose: The aim of this paper is to share the experiences and challenges faced by the Open University Library (OUL) in using screen capture software to develop online literature search tutorials. Design/methodology/approach: A summary of information literacy support at the OUL is provided as background information to explain the decision to…

IMO and Internal Branding Outcomes: An Employee Perspective in UK HE

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yu, Qionglei; Asaad, Yousra; Yen, Dorothy A.; Gupta, Suraksha

2018-01-01

This study extends our knowledge of internal branding in the context of employees in the higher education sector. Employing a quantitative methodology in UK universities, a conceptual model is presented and tested on 235 employees. Internal market orientation (IMO) is examined as a management tool to drive employees' university brand commitment…

Is Academic Freedom under Threat in UK and US Higher Education?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Palfreyman, David

2007-01-01

This article explores the concept of academic freedom and whether it is under threat in US and UK higher education. How is "academic freedom" protected by the law in each country? What are the threats to "academic freedom"--from government micro-management of universities, from commercial sponsors of university research, from…

Universal inverse power-law distribution for temperature and rainfall in the UK region

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Selvam, A. M.

2014-06-01

Meteorological parameters, such as temperature, rainfall, pressure, etc., exhibit selfsimilar space-time fractal fluctuations generic to dynamical systems in nature such as fluid flows, spread of forest fires, earthquakes, etc. The power spectra of fractal fluctuations display inverse power-law form signifying long-range correlations. A general systems theory model predicts universal inverse power-law form incorporating the golden mean for the fractal fluctuations. The model predicted distribution was compared with observed distribution of fractal fluctuations of all size scales (small, large and extreme values) in the historic month-wise temperature (maximum and minimum) and total rainfall for the four stations Oxford, Armagh, Durham and Stornoway in the UK region, for data periods ranging from 92 years to 160 years. For each parameter, the two cumulative probability distributions, namely cmax and cmin starting from respectively maximum and minimum data value were used. The results of the study show that (i) temperature distributions (maximum and minimum) follow model predicted distribution except for Stornowy, minimum temperature cmin. (ii) Rainfall distribution for cmin follow model predicted distribution for all the four stations. (iii) Rainfall distribution for cmax follows model predicted distribution for the two stations Armagh and Stornoway. The present study suggests that fractal fluctuations result from the superimposition of eddy continuum fluctuations.

Challenges Faced by Cantonese Speakers in a UK University Mandarin Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lo, Lan

2016-01-01

After Hong Kong returned to China in 1997, those in the Chinese migrant community in the UK who anticipated returning to China saw the significant benefits of learning Mandarin. The challenges are not only related to the social and cultural differences between the Cantonese and Mandarin migrant groups, but also the intrinsic linguistic differences…

Examination Management as a Way of Achieving Quality Assurance in ODL Institutions: The Case of Zimbabwe Open University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mafa, Onias; Gudhlanga, Enna Sukutai

2012-01-01

An examination is an important component of any institution that educates people. It is a form of assessment used to measure the students' understanding of the concepts and principles they would have learnt. Zimbabwe Open University, an Open and Distance Learning institution has been setting its own examinations for the academic programmes…

Iodine intake and status of UK women of childbearing age recruited at the University of Surrey in the winter

PubMed Central

Bath, Sarah C.; Sleeth, Michelle L.; McKenna, Marianne; Walter, Alan; Taylor, Andrew; Rayman, Margaret P.

2015-01-01

As intra-thyroidal iodine stores should be maximised before conception to facilitate the increased thyroid-hormone production of pregnancy, women who may become pregnant should ideally consume 150 μg iodine/day [US Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA)]. As few UK data exist in this population group, our aim was to assess iodine intake and status in women of childbearing age in a cross-sectional study at the University of Surrey. Total iodine excretion was measured from 24-h urine samples in 57 women; iodine intake was estimated by assuming that 90% of ingested iodine was excreted. Average iodine intake was also estimated from 48-h food diaries that the women completed. The median urinary-iodine concentration (63.1 μg/L) classified the group as mildly iodine deficient by WHO criteria. By contrast, the median 24-h iodine excretion (149.8 μg/24-h), suggested a relatively low risk of iodine deficiency. Median estimated iodine intake, extrapolated from urinary excretion, was 167 μg/day, whereas it was lower, at 123 μg/day, when estimated from the 48-h food-diaries. Iodine intake from food diaries and 24-h iodine excretion were strongly correlated (r=0.75, p<0.001). Intake of milk, eggs and dairy products was positively associated with iodine status. The iodine status of this UK cohort is probably a best-case scenario as the women were mostly nutrition students and were recruited in the winter when milk-iodine content is at its highest; further study in more representative cohorts of UK women is required. Our study highlights a need for revised cut-offs for iodine deficiency that are method- and age-group specific. PMID:25274294

Positioning University as a Brand: Distinctions between the Brand Promise of Russell Group, 1994 Group, University Alliance, and Million+ Universities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Furey, Sheila; Springer, Paul; Parsons, Christine

2014-01-01

Branding is now widely used by higher education (HE) institutions, yet questions still surround the transference of private sector concepts to a university context. This article reports on findings from studies that investigated the brand promises of four UK universities--one from each of the HE "mission groups." The evidence indicated…

Student Representations of Psychology in the UK

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Banyard, Philip; Duffy, Karen

2014-01-01

Psychology is a popular choice for UK students in their secondary school curriculum. Policy makers and elite universities, however, express concern about the subject. The British Psychological Society (2013) commissioned a detailed study of the provision of school curricula in psychology and as part of this work a survey of students was conducted.…

UK Higher Education Institutions' Technology-Enhanced Learning Strategies from the Perspective of Disruptive Innovation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Flavin, Michael; Quintero, Valentina

2018-01-01

The publication of institutional strategies for learning, teaching and assessment in UK higher education is practically ubiquitous. Strategies for technology-enhanced learning are also widespread. This article examines 44 publicly available UK university strategies for technology-enhanced learning, aiming to assess the extent to which…

Meeting the Needs of Distance Learners of M.Ed Program: Bangladesh Open University Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Islam, Amirul; Ferdowsi, Sakiba

2014-01-01

This study draws on the experience of a cohort of 22 students from 09 tutorial centers enrolled in a Master of Education (M Ed) distance learning program administered by the Bangladesh Open University (BOU). It's purpose is to locate the aims and philosophies of distance learning within the experiences of actual distance learners in order to see…

Disruptive Innovation? Open Educational Projects Peer 2 Peer University and StraighterLine Take Shape

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Observatory on Borderless Higher Education, 2010

2010-01-01

The pilot phase of Peer 2 Peer University (P2PU), a "grassroots" open educational project aimed at creating a new model for lifelong learning is now underway. Billing itself as an institution which promotes "learning for everyone, by everyone, about almost anything", P2PU is seeking to provide high-quality, low-cost educational opportunities by…

Student Assessment of Quality of Access at the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Inegbedion, Juliet O.; Adu, Folorunso I.; Ofulue, Christine Y.

2016-01-01

This paper presents a study conducted by Inegbedion, Adu and Ofulue from the National Open University of Nigeria. The study focused on the quality of access (admission and registration) at NOUN from a student perspective. A survey design was used for the study while a multi-stage sampling technique was used to select the sample size. All the…

Information Society: Agenda for Action in the UK.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Phillips of Ellesmere, Lord

1997-01-01

Explains the House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology in the UK (United Kingdom) and discusses its report that addresses the need for information technology planning on a national basis. Topics include electronic publishing for access to government publications, universal access, regulatory framework, encryption and verification,…

Predicting a Taxonomy of Organisational Effectiveness in U.K. Higher Educational Institutions.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lysons, Art; Hatherly, David

1996-01-01

The framework of a study of organizational effectiveness in Australian higher education institutions was applied to a similar study in the United Kingdom. The approach was found useful for classifying U.K. institutions as classical universities, former polytechnics and colleges of advanced technology, and greenfield universities. (Author/MSE)

Using Interactive Videodiscs in Open University Courses. I.E.T. Papers on Broadcasting No. 218.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fuller, Robert G., Ed.

This nine-paper collection from a June 1983 Open University (OU) campus workshop in Milton Keynes, England, describes an interactive video project developed for an OU undergraduate course, T252, Introduction to Engineering Materials, and discusses varied aspects of interactive videodisc program development. The following papers are included:…

A Backstairs to a Degree. Demands for an Open University in Late Victorian England. Leeds Studies in Adult and Continuing Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marriott, Stuart

This book examines the proposal of individuals in England's university extension movement in the final 2 decades of the 19th century to create a part-time teaching university that shared the following similarities with present-day open universities: a policy of admitting all individuals likely to benefit from the university irrespective of their…

Social Support Network for the Elderly Attending the Open University Program for Senior Citizens at the School of Arts, Sciences and Humanities, University of Sao Paulo, Brazil

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Domingues, Marisa Accioly; Ordonez, Tiago Nascimento; Lima-Silva, Thais Bento; Torres, Maria Juliana; de Barros, Thabata Cruz; Cachioni, Meire

2013-01-01

This study describes the social support network of older adults enrolled in the Open University for Senior Citizens at the School of Arts, Sciences and Humanities, University of Sao Paulo. A cross-sectional study was conducted with a sample of 117 elderly or older adults, mostly female (78%), married (53%), retired (82%), and aged on average…

Advice and guidance on the admissions process to UK dental schools.

PubMed

McAndrew, Robert; Salem-Rahemi, Morva

2013-03-01

Students looking to read dentistry can be overwhelmed by the information and requirements presented to them by dental schools, career advisors and the printed literature. In the UK, there are currently 16 dental schools which provide a dentistry degree. While there are variations in the specific aspects of the dental courses at each school, there are common principles and generic application requirements that apply. This paper provides a guide to facilitate applications and inform potential students, career advisors and dentists. The information presented has been gathered from UK dental school websites and university prospectuses and corroborated through contact with university admissions offices. This paper is relevant to dental practitioners who are often asked to provide advice on applications to dental schools by potential students.

Towards a Typology of Debt Attitudes among Contemporary Young UK Undergraduates

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harrison, Neil; Chudry, Farooq; Waller, Richard; Hatt, Sue

2015-01-01

As the UK sits on the verge of a major change in the financing of both universities and students, this study seeks to capture and analyse attitudes to money, borrowing and debt among contemporary young undergraduates. It reports findings from a qualitative study of 62 individuals in the second term of their first year at university, these being…

Burnout Syndrome in Students of a Distance Learning Program: The Open University of Cyprus Experience

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pavlakis, Andreas; Kaitelidou, Dafni

2012-01-01

Introduction: Distance learning seems to have a crucial impact on the social and emotional life of students. Within the framework of distance learning at the Open University of Cyprus, the "Healthcare Management" department conducted a study regarding the levels of stress, anxiety and depression reported by the student population. The…

University Physics Students' Ideas of Thermal Radiation Expressed in Open Laboratory Activities Using Infrared Cameras

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Haglund, Jesper; Melander, Emil; Weiszflog, Matthias; Andersson, Staffan

2017-01-01

Background: University physics students were engaged in open-ended thermodynamics laboratory activities with a focus on understanding a chosen phenomenon or the principle of laboratory apparatus, such as thermal radiation and a heat pump. Students had access to handheld infrared (IR) cameras for their investigations. Purpose: The purpose of the…

Administering Examinations for Quality Control in Distance Education: The National Open University of Nigeria Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ibara, E. C.

2008-01-01

Examination is an important tool for evaluating students learning outcome and require proper planning to meet high standards. This paper therefore examines the processes leading to administration of face-to-face examination in distance education with focus on the National Open University of Nigeria. It highlighted some procedures such as test…

Benchmarking Course Completion Rates: A Method with an Example from the British Columbia Open University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Giguere, Louis

2007-01-01

We report findings on the methodological phase of a research project designed to assess the progress of the British Columbia Open University (BCOU) toward a 1997 goal of increasing distance education course completion rates to British Columbia system levels by adapting existing "off-line" courses for online delivery (a virtualization…

Open Source as Appropriate Technology for Global Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carmichael, Patrick; Honour, Leslie

2002-01-01

Economic arguments for the adoption of "open source" software in business have been widely discussed. In this paper we draw on personal experience in the UK, South Africa and Southeast Asia to forward compelling reasons why open source software should be considered as an appropriate and affordable alternative to the currently prevailing…

Benchmarking in Universities: League Tables Revisited

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Turner, David

2005-01-01

This paper examines the practice of benchmarking universities using a "league table" approach. Taking the example of the "Sunday Times University League Table", the author reanalyses the descriptive data on UK universities. Using a linear programming technique, data envelope analysis (DEA), the author uses the re-analysis to…

Giving to Excellence: Generating Philanthropic Support for UK Higher Education. Ross-CASE Report 2016

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jain, Yashraj

2016-01-01

This report presents findings from the 2016 Ross-CASE Survey of Philanthropic Giving to Universities in UK. The project was conducted by CASE Europe and funded by HEFCE and the Ross-Group. This year's survey comes at a time of great change for the UK charity sector. The historical trend data of previous surveys will be invaluable in helping…

Implications of the University of South Africa's (UNISA) Shift to Open Distance e-Learning on Teacher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ngubane-Mokiwa, Sindile A.

2017-01-01

This conceptual and exploratory article seeks to explore the implications of the University of South Africa's (Unisa) shift from open distance learning (ODL) to open distance e-learning (ODeL) on Teacher Education. In addition, the article problematizes the shift as a policy imperative. Unisa's mandate to provide teacher education opportunities to…

Cultivating Textbook Alternatives from the Ground Up: One Public University's Sustainable Model for Open and Alternative Educational Resource Proliferation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lashley, Jonathan; Cummings-Sauls, Rebel; Bennett, Andrew B.; Lindshield, Brian L.

2017-01-01

This note from the field reviews the sustainability of an institution-wide program for adopting and adapting open and alternative educational resources (OAER) at Kansas State University (K-State). Developed in consult of open textbook initiatives at other institutions and modified around the needs and expectations of K-State students and faculty,…

The Role of Postgraduate Students in Co-Authoring Open Educational Resources to Promote Social Inclusion: A Case Study at the University of Cape Town

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hodgkinson-Williams, Cheryl; Paskevicius, Michael

2012-01-01

Like many universities worldwide, the University of Cape Town (UCT) in South Africa has joined the open educational resources (OER) movement, making a selection of teaching and learning materials available through its OER directory, UCT OpenContent. However, persuading and then supporting busy academics to share their teaching materials as OER…

The Transition from a University College to a University: A United Kingdom Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hemmings, Brian; Hill, Doug; Sharp, John

2015-01-01

As a result of policy changes, nearly all university colleges in the UK have been redesignated as universities. This transition was studied in one such institution using semi-structured interviews with a representative sample of six academic staff and the transcripts subjected to a thematic analysis. This analysis identified three themes: staying…

Gold or green: the debate on open access policies.

PubMed

Abadal, Ernest

2013-09-01

The movement for open access to science seeks to achieve unrestricted and free access to academic publications on the Internet. To this end, two mechanisms have been established: the gold road, in which scientific journals are openly accessible, and the green road, in which publications are self-archived in repositories. The publication of the Finch Report in 2012, advocating exclusively the adoption of the gold road, generated a debate as to whether either of the two options should be prioritized. The recommendations of the Finch Report stirred controversy among academicians specialized in open access issues, who felt that the role played by repositories was not adequately considered and because the green road places the burden of publishing costs basically on authors. The Finch Report's conclusions are compatible with the characteristics of science communication in the UK and they could surely also be applied to the (few) countries with a powerful publishing industry and substantial research funding. In Spain, both the current national legislation and the existing rules at universities largely advocate the green road. This is directly related to the structure of scientific communication in Spain, where many journals have little commercial significance, the system of charging a fee to authors has not been adopted, and there is a good repository infrastructure. As for open access policies, the performance of the scientific communication system in each country should be carefully analyzed to determine the most suitable open access strategy.

Age and First Destination Employment from UK Universities: Are Mature Students Disadvantaged?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Woodfield, Ruth

2011-01-01

This article analyses a recent cohort (2006) of UK graduates, and explores the previously neglected relationship between age and post-degree employment. Much work on mature students assumes their overall experience to be one of disadvantage relative to traditional-age graduates, and this includes employability research. Here, mature students are…

A Universal Definition of Life: Autonomy and Open-Ended Evolution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ruiz-Mirazo, Kepa; Peretó, Juli; Moreno, Alvaro

2004-06-01

Life is a complex phenomenon that not only requires individual self-producing and self-sustaining systems but also a historical-collective organization of those individual systems, which brings about characteristic evolutionary dynamics. On these lines, we propose to define universally living beings as autonomous systems with open-ended evolution capacities, and we claim that all such systems must have a semi-permeable active boundary (membrane), an energy transduction apparatus (set of energy currencies) and, at least, two types of functionally interdependent macromolecular components (catalysts and records). The latter is required to articulate a `phenotype-genotype' decoupling that leads to a scenario where the global network of autonomous systems allows for an open-ended increase in the complexity of the individual agents. Thus, the basic-individual organization of biological systems depends critically on being instructed by patterns (informational records) whose generation and reliable transmission cannot be explained but take into account the complete historical network of relationships among those systems. We conclude that a proper definition of life should consider both levels, individual and collective: living systems cannot be fully constituted without being part of the evolutionary process of a whole ecosystem. Finally, we also discuss a few practical implications of the definition for different programs of research.

New Openings in University-Industry Cooperation: Aalto University as the Forerunner of European University Reform

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Markkula, Markku; Lappalainen, Pia

2009-01-01

The Innovation University (IU)--to be called the Aalto University after Alvav Aalto, a famous Finnish architect and MIT professor--is a new university which will be created through a merger of three existing universities: the Helsinki University of Technology (TKK), the Helsinki School of Economics (HSE) and the University of Art and Design…

Exploring Foreign Undergraduate Students' Experiences of University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Liu, Danica Wai Yee; Winder, Belinda

2014-01-01

Although international students are an important source of income to universities in the UK, the emotional impact of their experiences may be ignored and unacknowledged. This study explored the personal experiences of international students studying for an undergraduate degree in the UK. Semi-structured interviews with five participants were…

Department Involvement in Instructional Materials Development for ODL Study at the Zimbabwe Open University (ZOU)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tanyanyiwa, Vincent Itai; Mutambanengwe, Betty

2015-01-01

The teaching and designing of modules at Zimbabwe Open University (ZOU) is the principal responsibility of a single body of teaching staff, although some authors and content reviewers could be sourced from elsewhere if they are not available in ZOU. This survey, through a case study, examines the involvement of lecturers and staff in the…

Charting a Course through CORAL: Texas A&M University Libraries' Experience Implementing an Open-Source Electronic Resources Management System

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hartnett, Eric; Beh, Eugenia; Resnick, Taryn; Ugaz, Ana; Tabacaru, Simona

2013-01-01

In 2010, after two previous unsuccessful attempts at electronic resources management system (ERMS) implementation, Texas A&M University (TAMU) Libraries set out once again to find an ERMS that would fit its needs. After surveying the field, TAMU Libraries selected the University of Notre Dame Hesburgh Libraries-developed, open-source ERMS,…

AFOSR Indo-UK -US Joint Physics Initiative for Study of Angular Optical Mode Fiber Amplification

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-02-20

AFRL -AFOSR-UK-TR-2017-0011 AFOSR Indo-UK -US Joint Physics Initiative for study of angular optical mode fiber amplification Johan Nilsson UNIVERSITY...ES) EOARD Unit 4515 APO AE 09421-4515 10. SPONSOR/MONITOR’S ACRONYM(S) AFRL /AFOSR IOE 11. SPONSOR/MONITOR’S REPORT NUMBER(S) AFRL -AFOSR-UK-TR-2017-0011...this travel, he had the opportunity to visit the Kirtland Air Force Base and interact with Dr Leanne Henry as well as Dr Iyad Dajani to discuss

Preventing substance misuse: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial of the Strengthening Families Programme 10–14 UK (SFP 10–14 UK)

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Prevention of alcohol, drug and tobacco misuse by young people is a key public health priority. There is a need to develop the evidence base through rigorous evaluations of innovative approaches to substance misuse prevention. The Strengthening Families Programme 10–14 is a universal family-based alcohol, drugs and tobacco prevention programme, which has achieved promising results in US trials, and which now requires cross-cultural assessment. This paper therefore describes the protocol for a randomised controlled trial of the UK version of the Strengthening Families Programme 10–14 (SFP 10–14 UK). Methods/Design The trial comprises a pragmatic cluster randomised controlled effectiveness trial with families as the unit of randomisation, with embedded process and economic evaluations. Participating families will be randomised to one of two treatment groups - usual care with full access to existing services (control group), or usual care plus SFP 10–14 UK (intervention group). The trial has two primary outcomes - the number of occasions that young people report having drunk alcohol in the last 30 days, and drunkenness during the last 30 days, both dichotomised as ‘never’ and ‘1-2 times or more’. The main follow-up is at 2 years past baseline, and short-term and intermediate outcomes are also measured at 9 and 15 months. Discussion The results from this trial will provide evidence on the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of an innovative universal family-based substance misuse prevention programme in a UK context. Trial registration Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN63550893. PMID:24438460

The Impact of "Virtualization" on Independent Study Course Completion Rates: The British Columbia Open University Experiment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Giguere, Louis

2009-01-01

In 1997 the British Columbia Open University (BCOU) adopted a virtualization strategy based primarily on twinning off-line independent study distance education courses (textbook-based with study guide and telephone and e-mail tutor support) with alternate online versions (textbook-based with integrated conferencing and communications provided…

Exploring Synthetic and Systems Biology at the University of Edinburgh.

PubMed

Fletcher, Liz; Rosser, Susan; Elfick, Alistair

2016-06-15

The Centre for Synthetic and Systems Biology ('SynthSys') was originally established in 2007 as the Centre for Integrative Systems Biology, funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). Today, SynthSys embraces an extensive multidisciplinary community of more than 200 researchers from across the University with a common interest in synthetic and systems biology. Our research is broad and deep, addressing a diversity of scientific questions, with wide ranging impact. We bring together the power of synthetic biology and systems approaches to focus on three core thematic areas: industrial biotechnology, agriculture and the environment, and medicine and healthcare. In October 2015, we opened a newly refurbished building as a physical hub for our new U.K. Centre for Mammalian Synthetic Biology funded by the BBSRC/EPSRC/MRC as part of the U.K. Research Councils' Synthetic Biology for Growth programme. © 2016 The Author(s). published by Portland Press Limited on behalf of the Biochemical Society.

What Makes a MOOC? Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCSs) Compared to Mainstream Online University Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johnston, Timothy C.

2014-01-01

A Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) is a model for delivering learning content online to any person who wants to take a course, with no limit on attendance. The MOOC industry is growing rapidly, fueled by students interested in free higher-education learning, and the universities and venture capitalists willing to fund the courses. This paper…

The Growth of Private and For-Profit Higher Education Providers in the UK. Research Report

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fielden, John

2010-01-01

This report was commissioned by Universities UK's Longer Term Strategy Group to examine private and for-profit providers' role in the delivery of higher education in the UK, and to inform further discussions on this issue. The private higher education sector is emerging as a growing force in many parts of the world and presents a range of…

Centre of IT Excellence for SMEs in the West Midlands, UK: A Suitable Project Methodology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thompson, Diana; Homer, Garry

2005-01-01

This paper presents an analysis of the IT Futures Centre, a European technology transfer project based at the University of Wolverhampton in the UK. After reviewing UK government policy in technology transfer, the authors highlight the project's two key elements--a new state-of-the-art building and an IT consultancy team--both of which are…

The Impact of Sunshine/Open Meeting Laws on the Governing Boards of Public Colleges and Universities.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kaplowitz, Richard A.

The provisions of "sunshine" or "open meeting" laws are discussed to assist governing boards and chief executive officers of public universities and colleges. These laws stipulate that the business of the public must be conducted in public. Topics include: the legal constitution of a meeting, personnel matters, collective…

Does On-Line Distance Higher Education Pay off for Adult Learners? The Case of the Open University of Catalonia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carnoy, Martin; Rabling, Brenda Jarillo; Castano-Munoz, Jonatan; Montoliu, Josep Maria Duart; Sancho-Vinuesa, Teresa

2012-01-01

The increasing opportunities created for adults by on-line distance universities raise important issues about the payoff to such education. This study uses a unique set of survey data gathered by the Open University of Catalonia (UOC) in 2009 to estimate the earnings gains of the 2000-2003 cohorts of UOC students in six programmes of study over an…

Towards a Moral Ecology of Pharmacological Cognitive Enhancement in British Universities.

PubMed

Vagwala, Meghana Kasturi; Bicquelet, Aude; Didziokaite, Gabija; Coomber, Ross; Corrigan, Oonagh; Singh, Ilina

2017-01-01

Few empirical studies in the UK have examined the complex social patterns and values behind quantitative estimates of the prevalence of pharmacological cognitive enhancement (PCE). We conducted a qualitative investigation of the social dynamics and moral attitudes that shape PCE practices among university students in two major metropolitan areas in the UK. Our thematic analysis of eight focus groups ( n  = 66) suggests a moral ecology that operates within the social infrastructure of the university. We find that PCE resilience among UK university students is mediated by normative and cultural judgments disfavoring competitiveness and prescription drug taking. PCE risk can be augmented by social factors such as soft peer pressure and normalization of enhancement within social and institutional networks. We suggest that moral ecological dynamics should be viewed as key mechanisms of PCE risk and resilience in universities. Effective PCE governance within universities should therefore attend to developing further understanding of the moral ecologies of PCE.

Research on OpenStack of open source cloud computing in colleges and universities’ computer room

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Lei; Zhang, Dandan

2017-06-01

In recent years, the cloud computing technology has a rapid development, especially open source cloud computing. Open source cloud computing has attracted a large number of user groups by the advantages of open source and low cost, have now become a large-scale promotion and application. In this paper, firstly we briefly introduced the main functions and architecture of the open source cloud computing OpenStack tools, and then discussed deeply the core problems of computer labs in colleges and universities. Combining with this research, it is not that the specific application and deployment of university computer rooms with OpenStack tool. The experimental results show that the application of OpenStack tool can efficiently and conveniently deploy cloud of university computer room, and its performance is stable and the functional value is good.

Evolving Knowledge Integration and Absorptive Capacity Perspectives upon University-Industry Interaction within a University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sparrow, John; Tarkowski, Krystyna; Lancaster, Nick; Mooney, Michele

2009-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to report upon an initiative within a case study UK university to facilitate service innovation in small firms. The paper aims to outline how explicit use of such concepts has the potential to enhance the effectiveness of this form of university-industry interaction. Design/methodology/approach: The paper…

Teleconferencing for Distance Education and Training: Is the Open University Experience Typical? Optel Report No. 16.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bacsich, Paul D.

This paper surveys the various teleconferencing trials in the Open University, and attempts to analyze why they have been relatively unsuccessful compared to other new media initiatives such as audio cassettes and computer assisted learning. The situation is placed in the context of British and European educational use of telecommunications in…

QuTiP: An open-source Python framework for the dynamics of open quantum systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Johansson, J. R.; Nation, P. D.; Nori, Franco

2012-08-01

We present an object-oriented open-source framework for solving the dynamics of open quantum systems written in Python. Arbitrary Hamiltonians, including time-dependent systems, may be built up from operators and states defined by a quantum object class, and then passed on to a choice of master equation or Monte Carlo solvers. We give an overview of the basic structure for the framework before detailing the numerical simulation of open system dynamics. Several examples are given to illustrate the build up to a complete calculation. Finally, we measure the performance of our library against that of current implementations. The framework described here is particularly well suited to the fields of quantum optics, superconducting circuit devices, nanomechanics, and trapped ions, while also being ideal for use in classroom instruction. Catalogue identifier: AEMB_v1_0 Program summary URL:http://cpc.cs.qub.ac.uk/summaries/AEMB_v1_0.html Program obtainable from: CPC Program Library, Queen's University, Belfast, N. Ireland Licensing provisions: GNU General Public License, version 3 No. of lines in distributed program, including test data, etc.: 16 482 No. of bytes in distributed program, including test data, etc.: 213 438 Distribution format: tar.gz Programming language: Python Computer: i386, x86-64 Operating system: Linux, Mac OSX, Windows RAM: 2+ Gigabytes Classification: 7 External routines: NumPy (http://numpy.scipy.org/), SciPy (http://www.scipy.org/), Matplotlib (http://matplotlib.sourceforge.net/) Nature of problem: Dynamics of open quantum systems. Solution method: Numerical solutions to Lindblad master equation or Monte Carlo wave function method. Restrictions: Problems must meet the criteria for using the master equation in Lindblad form. Running time: A few seconds up to several tens of minutes, depending on size of underlying Hilbert space.

International Higher Education and the Mobility of UK Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brooks, Rachel; Waters, Johanna

2009-01-01

In the context of increasing academic interest in the internationalization of education and the international mobility of university students, this article draws on findings of a recent research project examining students from the UK as they seek higher education overseas before entering the labour market. The discussion is framed around four key…

The Effect of Work Placements on the Academic Performance of Chinese Students in UK Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Crawford, Ian; Wang, Zhiqi

2015-01-01

The main controversy as a result of the commercialisation of international education markets is that international students especially those from China are unable to perform as well as UK students in UK universities. So far, research has yet to identify the influence of placements on the academic performance of Chinese students from entry to…

Recent Developments in Information about Programme Quality in the UK

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown, Roger; Carpenter, Caroline; Collins, Roz; Winkvist-Noble, Lilian

2007-01-01

There is general recognition that increased demand for information about programme quality has accompanied the nearly universal massification of higher education, the consequential pressures on public expenditure, and the associated requirements of greater accountability. The UK government has sought to respond to this demand by establishing an…

Open-Ended Evolution: Perspectives from the OEE Workshop in York.

PubMed

Taylor, Tim; Bedau, Mark; Channon, Alastair; Ackley, David; Banzhaf, Wolfgang; Beslon, Guillaume; Dolson, Emily; Froese, Tom; Hickinbotham, Simon; Ikegami, Takashi; McMullin, Barry; Packard, Norman; Rasmussen, Steen; Virgo, Nathaniel; Agmon, Eran; Clark, Edward; McGregor, Simon; Ofria, Charles; Ropella, Glen; Spector, Lee; Stanley, Kenneth O; Stanton, Adam; Timperley, Christopher; Vostinar, Anya; Wiser, Michael

2016-01-01

We describe the content and outcomes of the First Workshop on Open-Ended Evolution: Recent Progress and Future Milestones (OEE1), held during the ECAL 2015 conference at the University of York, UK, in July 2015. We briefly summarize the content of the workshop's talks, and identify the main themes that emerged from the open discussions. Two important conclusions from the discussions are: (1) the idea of pluralism about OEE-it seems clear that there is more than one interesting and important kind of OEE; and (2) the importance of distinguishing observable behavioral hallmarks of systems undergoing OEE from hypothesized underlying mechanisms that explain why a system exhibits those hallmarks. We summarize the different hallmarks and mechanisms discussed during the workshop, and list the specific systems that were highlighted with respect to particular hallmarks and mechanisms. We conclude by identifying some of the most important open research questions about OEE that are apparent in light of the discussions. The York workshop provides a foundation for a follow-up OEE2 workshop taking place at the ALIFE XV conference in Cancún, Mexico, in July 2016. Additional materials from the York workshop, including talk abstracts, presentation slides, and videos of each talk, are available at http://alife.org/ws/oee1 .

Gender Inequality in British and German Universities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pritchard, Rosalind

2007-01-01

Gender inequality exists within higher education in the UK and Germany. In the UK only 15.3% of professors in pre-and post-1992 universities were women (2003), whilst in Germany only 8.6% attained the highest grade of professorship (2003). The research uses existing data sets combined with theoretical constructs to investigate the reasons for…

Employing Discourse: Universities and Graduate "Employability"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boden, Rebecca; Nedeva, Maria

2010-01-01

What constitutes graduate employability is discursively framed. In this paper we argue that whilst universities in the UK have long had an involvement in producing useful and productive citizens, the ongoing neoliberalisation of higher education has engendered a discursive shift in definitions of employability. Traditionally, universities regarded…

Content Analysis of Research Projects Submitted by Undergraduate Students (2000-2009) at the Zimbabwe Open University: Implications for Quality Assessment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kangai, Caleb; Bukaliya, Richard; Musika, Farirai; Babra, Mapuranga

2011-01-01

One of the issues that have continued to attract the attention of Open and Distance Learning (ODL) educators, scholars and researchers at the Zimbabwe Open University (ZOU) is the question of quality in the assessment of students' research work. This study was part of a series of studies, into issues of quality, currently being conducted at the…

Universities and nursing education.

PubMed

Hayward, J

1982-07-01

Trends reflected by Department of Health and Social Security statistics on the nursing workforce are examined and the ratios between grades discussed. Recruitment into nursing degree courses in the UK is considered in relation to overall recruitment into nursing. The somewhat ambiguous position of nursing degree courses in the UK leads into consideration of policy statements by the universities and the nursing profession. The importance of such policies is emphasized in the current financial climate, as are the potential contributions of university departments to professional debate, for example standards of care. Comparisons are drawn between the goals of courses involving full-time studentships as opposed to part-time apprenticeships and the present boundaries between these noted, especially in relation to the expanding roles of courses. On-going research into the preparation of nurse-tutors in the UK is mentioned, together with a preliminary analysis of the academic basis in the biological sciences possessed by learners and tutors. Out of this is derived a suggestion that the present-day shortage of nurse teachers could be helped by varying the existing patterns of recruitment, especially involving subject specialists in the biological, behavioural and social sciences.

Assessing Learners' Satisfication towards Support Services Delivery in National Open University Nigeria: Implications for Counselling Services

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Okopi, Fidel; Ofole, Ndidi

2013-01-01

This study aims at determining the level of students' satisfaction of learner support services in the study centres of NOUN--National Open University of Nigeria and whether the support services offered at the study centres have significant influence on the level of students' satisfaction. A descriptive survey of ex-post facto research design was…

Implementing a successful data-management framework: the UK10K managed access model

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

This paper outlines the history behind open access principles and describes the development of a managed access data-sharing process for the UK10K Project, currently Britain’s largest genomic sequencing consortium (2010 to 2013). Funded by the Wellcome Trust, the purpose of UK10K was two-fold: to investigate how low-frequency and rare genetic variants contribute to human disease, and to provide an enduring data resource for future research into human genetics. In this paper, we discuss the challenge of reconciling data-sharing principles with the practicalities of delivering a sequencing project of UK10K’s scope and magnitude. We describe the development of a sustainable, easy-to-use managed access system that allowed rapid access to UK10K data, while protecting the interests of participants and data generators alike. Specifically, we focus in depth on the three key issues that emerge in the data pipeline: study recruitment, data release and data access. PMID:24229443

The alcohol industry, charities and policy influence in the UK.

PubMed

Lyness, Sarah M; McCambridge, Jim

2014-08-01

Charities exist to pursue a public benefit, whereas corporations serve the interests of their shareholders. The alcohol industry uses corporate social responsibility activities to further its interests in influencing alcohol policy. Many charities also seek to influence alcohol and other policy. The aim of this study was to explore relationships between the alcohol industry and charities in the UK and whether these relationships may be used as a method of influencing alcohol policy. The charity regulator websites for England and Wales and for Scotland were the main data sources used to identify charities involved in UK alcohol policy making processes and/or funded by the alcohol industry. Five charities were identified that both receive alcohol industry funding and are active in UK alcohol policy processes: Drinkaware; the Robertson Trust; British Institute of Innkeeping; Mentor UK and Addaction. The latter two are the sole remaining non-industry non-governmental members of the controversial responsibility deal alcohol network, from which all other public health interests have resigned. This study raises questions about the extent to which the alcohol industry is using UK charities as vehicles to further their own interests in UK alcohol policy. Mechanisms of industry influence in alcohol policy making globally is an important target for further investigations designed to assist the implementation of evidenced-based policies. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Public Health Association. All rights reserved.

An Introduction to ESERO-UK, the UK Space Education Office

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clements, Allan; Mather, Edward

2012-01-01

This article introduces the UK branch of the European Space Education Resource Office (ESERO-UK), also known as the UK Space Education Office. It is a teaching project designed to use space to enthuse primary and secondary students to study science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects. The office is funded by the European Space…

The University as an Open Laboratory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Birx, Donald L.; Ford, Ralph M.; Payne, Carrie A.

2013-01-01

Colleges and universities are two of the most formidable resources a country has to reinvent and grow its economy. This is the second of two papers that outlines a process of building and strengthening research universities that enhances regional technology development and facilitates flexible networks of collaboration and resource sharing. In the…

Openly Published Environmental Sensing (OPEnS) | Advancing Open-Source Research, Instrumentation, and Dissemination

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Udell, C.; Selker, J. S.

2017-12-01

The increasing availability and functionality of Open-Source software and hardware along with 3D printing, low-cost electronics, and proliferation of open-access resources for learning rapid prototyping are contributing to fundamental transformations and new technologies in environmental sensing. These tools invite reevaluation of time-tested methodologies and devices toward more efficient, reusable, and inexpensive alternatives. Building upon Open-Source design facilitates community engagement and invites a Do-It-Together (DIT) collaborative framework for research where solutions to complex problems may be crowd-sourced. However, barriers persist that prevent researchers from taking advantage of the capabilities afforded by open-source software, hardware, and rapid prototyping. Some of these include: requisite technical skillsets, knowledge of equipment capabilities, identifying inexpensive sources for materials, money, space, and time. A university MAKER space staffed by engineering students to assist researchers is one proposed solution to overcome many of these obstacles. This presentation investigates the unique capabilities the USDA-funded Openly Published Environmental Sensing (OPEnS) Lab affords researchers, within Oregon State and internationally, and the unique functions these types of initiatives support at the intersection of MAKER spaces, Open-Source academic research, and open-access dissemination.

Managing Leadership in the UK University: A Case for Researching the Missing Professoriate?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rayner, Steve; Fuller, Mary; McEwen, Lindsey; Roberts, Hazel

2010-01-01

This article offers a critical review of literature dealing with the topic of educational management and academic leadership as applied to the role of the professor or professoriate in the UK. The review identified a range of leadership issues and associated contemporary developments in the "management" of higher education. The subject…

Chinese Language Teaching in the UK: Present and Future

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zhang, George X.; Li, Linda M.

2010-01-01

There has been a long history of Chinese learning and teaching (CLT) in the UK, but until recently CLT was predominantly confined to community schools for Chinese children at weekends and a small number of other schools and universities. Therefore, it had remained peripheral for a long time in terms of student numbers and its position in the…

The Counseling Center Assessment of Psychological Symptoms (CCAPS-62): Acceptance, feasibility, and initial psychometric properties in a UK student population.

PubMed

Broglia, Emma; Millings, Abigail; Barkham, Michael

2017-09-01

The burden and severity of student mental health continue to increase in parallel with increasing financial pressures on students and services alike. There is a need for a student-specific measure of distress that acknowledges their unique context. This study examined the feasibility, acceptance, and initial psychometric properties of a US measure, the Counseling Center Assessment of Psychological Symptoms (CCAPS), in a UK student sample. A sample of 294 UK help-seeking students from two universities completed the CCAPS-62 and Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation (CORE-10) as a comparator. The factor solution and reliability of the CCAPS-62 were examined. Correlations and clinical boundaries were determined between the CCAPS-62 subscales and CORE-10, and comparisons were made with US published norms. The CCAPS-62 demonstrated a strong factor solution that matched the intended subscales. All subscales had good reliability and correlated significantly with the CORE-10. The agreement on caseness between the two measures was 92.8% with 86.3% reaching clinical threshold on both the CCAPS-62 and CORE-10. Severity was most noticeable for academic distress, depression, anxiety, and social anxiety. Compared to US data, UK students showed higher clinical severity for all psychological symptoms. The CCAPS-62 is a reliable and psychometrically valid assessment measure to use with UK students without revision. The overall distress indicated is similar to that of the CORE-10, but the individual subscales are more informative of specific student concerns including academic distress, social anxiety, and substance abuse. Potential benefits of administering a student-focused assessment measure in student counselling services are discussed. University students attending counselling in the UK demonstrate clinical severity for academic distress, depression, anxiety, and social anxiety. Compared to university students in the US, UK students present with higher clinical severity on

Highlights from SelectBio 2015: Academic Drug Discovery Conference, Cambridge, UK, 19-20 May 2015.

PubMed

Spencer, John; Coaker, Hannah

2015-01-01

The SelectBio 2015: Academic Drug Discovery Conference was held in Cambridge, UK, on 19-20 May 2015. Building on the success of academic drug discovery events in the USA, this conference aimed to showcase the exciting new research emerging from academic drug discovery and to help bridge the gap between basic research and commercial application. At the event the authors heard from a number of speakers on a broad array of topics, from partnering models for academia and industry to novel drug discovery approaches across various therapeutic areas, with a few talks, such as those by Susanne Muller-Knapp (Structure Genomics Consortium, Oxford University, Oxford, UK) and Julian Blagg (Institute of Cancer Research, UK), covering both remits, by highlighting a number of such partnerships and then delving into some case studies. The conference concluded with a heated debate on whether phenotypic discovery should be favored over targeted discovery in academia and pharma, in a panel discussion chaired by Roland Wolkowicz (San Diego State University, USA).

Exploring the Experiences of International Students in UK Higher Education: Possibilities and Limits of Interculturality in University Life

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schweisfurth, Michele; Gu, Qing

2009-01-01

This article is based on a two-year multi-method research project, funded by the UK Economic and Social Research Council, investigating the experiences of international undergraduate students in UK higher education. In investigating the influences on their experiences and the strategies that students employ, the study has also revealed something…

The evidence-based practice profiles of academic and clinical staff involved in pre-registration nursing students' education: a cross sectional survey of US and UK staff.

PubMed

Upton, Penney; Scurlock-Evans, Laura; Williamson, Kathleen; Rouse, Joanne; Upton, Dominic

2015-01-01

Competency in evidence-based practice (EBP) is a requirement for graduate nurses. Despite a growing body of research exploring the EBP profiles of students, little research has explored the EBP profiles of nurse educators. To explore: the differences/similarities in the EBP profiles of US and UK clinical and academic faculty; the barriers nurse educators experience when teaching EBP; the impact of postgraduate education on EBP profile and; what nurse educators perceive "success" in implementing and teaching EBP to be. A cross-sectional online survey design was employed. Two Universities delivering undergraduate nursing education in the US and UK, in partnership with large hospital systems, small community hospitals, community settings, and independent sector health organisations. Eighty-one nurse educators working in academic and clinical contexts in the US and UK (US academic=12, US clinical=17, UK academic=9, UK clinical=43) were recruited opportunistically. Participants were emailed a weblink to an online survey, comprising demographic questions, the Evidence-Based Practice Questionnaire and open-ended questions about EBP barriers, facilitators and successes. Quantitative results indicated that academic faculty scored significantly higher on knowledge and skills of EBP, than clinical faculty, but revealed no other significant differences on EBP use or attitudes, or between US and UK professionals. Participants with postgraduate training scored significantly higher on EBP knowledge/skills, but not EBP attitudes or use. Qualitative findings identified key themes relating to EBP barriers and facilitators, including: Evidence-, organisational-, and teaching-related issues. Perceptions of successes in EBP were also described. Nurse educators working in the UK and US face similar EBP barriers to teaching and implementation, but view it positively and use it frequently. Clinical staff may require extra support to maintain their EBP knowledge and skills in

Bullying amongst University Students in the UK

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cowie, Helen; Myers, Carrie-Anne

2014-01-01

This study with 20 university students examined perspectives in three different participant roles: the perpetrator, the target and the bystander. The purpose of the exercise was to resolve the outcome of an alleged incident of cyberbullying using a social network site via the means of a restorative conference. The findings suggest that the power…

Representing 30 Years of Higher Education Change: UK Universities and the "Times Higher"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gewirtz, Sharon; Cribb, Alan

2013-01-01

This paper argues that the "Times Higher" provides a powerful tool for understanding the changing character of UK higher education (HE) and can usefully be seen as representative, and in some ways constitutive, of that changing character. Drawing on an analysis of a sample of stories from the "Times Higher," it documents the…

Who applies and who gets admitted to UK graduate entry medicine? - an analysis of UK admission statistics

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Graduate-entry medicine is a recent development in the UK, intended to expand and broaden access to medical training. After eight years, it is time to evaluate its success in recruitment. Objectives This study aimed to compare the applications and admissions profiles of graduate-entry programmes in the UK to traditional 5 and 6-year courses. Methods Aggregate data on applications and admissions were obtained from the Universities and Colleges Admission Service covering 2003 to 2009. Data were extracted, grouped as appropriate and analysed with the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences. Results Graduate-entry attracts 10,000 applications a year. Women form the majority of applicants and admissions to graduate-entry and traditional medicine programmes. Graduate-entry age profile is older, typically 20's or 30's compared to 18 or 19 years in traditional programmes. Graduate-entry applications and admissions were higher from white and black UK ethnic communities than traditional programmes, and lower from southern and Chinese Asian groups. Graduate-entry has few applications or admissions from Scotland or Northern Ireland. Secondary educational achievement is poorer amongst graduate-entry applicants and admissions than traditional programmes. Conclusions Graduate-entry has succeeded in recruiting substantial additional numbers of older applicants to medicine, in which white and black groups are better represented and Asian groups more poorly represented than in traditional undergraduate programmes. PMID:21943332

Motivations for Older Adults' Participation in Distance Education: A Study at the National Open University of Taiwan

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mulenga, Derek; Liang, Jr-Shiuan

2008-01-01

This study investigated the factor structure of motivational constructs as expressed by older adult learners and examined how these constructs correlated with selected socio-demographic characteristics at the National Open University of Taiwan (NOUT). Results were based on the responses of 371 elders to the 32-item Reasons for Participation Scale…

Ten Years of Open Practice: A Reflection on the Impact of OpenLearn

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Law, Patrina; Jelfs, Anne

2016-01-01

The Open University (OU) makes a proportion of all its taught modules available to the public via OpenLearn each year. This process involves the modification, of module excerpts, showcasing subject matter and teaching approach. This activity serves both the University's social and business missions through the delivery of free courses to the…

What is Good University Financial Management?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Taylor, Mark P.

2013-01-01

In the current and foreseeable harsh UK higher education environment, aspiring to best-practice financial management will be key to ensuring the prosperity--and indeed the survival--of any university. In this article I argue that good university financial management should provide stability to the institution, allow for investment as well as…

Maturity and Interculturality: Chinese Students' Experiences in UK Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gu, Qing

2009-01-01

Increasing global competition for students has witnessed an ever more rapid internationalisation of higher education. In the case of the UK, there has been a major influx of Chinese students to British universities since the launch of the British Government's long-term worldwide educational campaign in 1999. Drawing upon evidence from an extensive…

The hospital microbiome project: meeting report for the UK science and innovation network UK-USA workshop ‘beating the superbugs: hospital microbiome studies for tackling antimicrobial resistance’, October 14th 2013

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

The UK Science and Innovation Network UK-USA workshop ‘Beating the Superbugs: Hospital Microbiome Studies for tackling Antimicrobial Resistance’ was held on October 14th 2013 at the UK Department of Health, London. The workshop was designed to promote US-UK collaboration on hospital microbiome studies to add a new facet to our collective understanding of antimicrobial resistance. The assembled researchers debated the importance of the hospital microbial community in transmission of disease and as a reservoir for antimicrobial resistance genes, and discussed methodologies, hypotheses, and priorities. A number of complementary approaches were explored, although the importance of the built environment microbiome in disease transmission was not universally accepted. Current whole genome epidemiological methods are being pioneered in the UK and the benefits of moving to community analysis are not necessarily obvious to the pioneers; however, rapid progress in other areas of microbiology suggest to some researchers that hospital microbiome studies will be exceptionally fruitful even in the short term. Collaborative studies will recombine different strengths to tackle the international problems of antimicrobial resistance and hospital and healthcare associated infections.

The Move to Mass Higher Education in the UK: Many Questions and Some Answers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mayhew, Ken; Deer, Cecile; Dua, Mehak

2004-01-01

This article describes the course and causes of the expansion of higher education in the UK since the 1960s. The number of university students from modest social backgrounds has increased, but they comprise much the same proportion of the university population as they did 40 years ago. Though personal rates of return from higher education are…

Target-Setting, Early-Career Academic Identities and the Measurement Culture of UK Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, Jan

2017-01-01

Early-career academics are subject to a barrage of formal measurements when they secure a first academic post in a UK university. To support this process, guidance is provided by universities on what is measured, though this can lack disciplinary nuance. This article analyses the perceptions of a sample of social scientists of the process of…

Browne's Capgas Delusion: The Destruction of the Public University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Holligan, Chris; Chiang, Kuang-Hsu

2011-01-01

The recent publication of the UK government's Browne Review 2010 on university and student funding signifies a massive step towards embedding capitalist free-market consumerist values and practices into UK higher education. This paper critically examines that paradigm shift away from public sector provision from the perspective of French Theory,…

The future of UK healthcare: problems and potential solutions to a system in crisis.

PubMed

Montgomery, H E; Haines, A; Marlow, N; Pearson, G; Mythen, M G; Grocott, M P W; Swanton, C

2017-08-01

The UK's Health System is in crisis, central funding no longer keeping pace with demand. Traditional responses-spending more, seeking efficiency savings or invoking market forces-are not solutions. The health of our nation demands urgent delivery of a radical new model, negotiated openly between public, policymakers and healthcare professionals. Such a model could focus on disease prevention, modifying health behaviour and implementing change in public policy in fields traditionally considered unrelated to health such as transport, food and advertising. The true cost-effectiveness of healthcare interventions must be balanced against the opportunity cost of their implementation, bolstering the central role of NICE in such decisions. Without such action, the prognosis for our healthcare system-and for the health of the individuals it serves-may be poor. Here, we explore such a new prescription for our national health. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society for Medical Oncology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

A foot in two camps: an exploratory study of nurse leaders in universities.

PubMed

Ross, Fiona; Marks-Maran, Di; Tye, Christopher

2013-11-01

Nursing education was fully absorbed into universities in the United Kingdom in the late 1990s and thus is a relatively young academic discipline. In contrast to a lively literature on clinical nursing leadership, little attention has been given to the leadership of academic nursing as these roles encompass contract management, research and teaching. The purpose of this study was to explore the scope and meaning of leadership from the experience of nurse leaders in universities in the United Kingdom (UK). The qualitative design used open ended telephone interviews. Interview transcripts were checked with participants. Framework analysis was used for capturing and identifying themes. A convenience sample of academic nurse leaders (responsible for a School, Department or a Faculty) was identified through the UK Council of Deans of Health. All ten respondents were managing health care portfolios and running departments of various sizes and often with a mix of nursing and other health care disciplines. There was regional and country representation (England, Scotland and Wales) and half the respondents were employed at pre 1992 and half at post 1992 universities (the latter institutions that were previously polytechnics and gained university status in 1992). Three core issues emerged from the data: the leadership context; ways in which the deans articulated their leadership skills and the issue of legitimacy of nursing in higher education. Two important issues emerged for nursing deans, firstly the university as a knowledge producer and secondly the need to create strong academic and professional identities. The findings highlight role complexity as academic nurse leaders navigate the dichotomy between the different worlds of the university and health care practice. The legitimacy of nursing as a practice discipline in the university continues to be contested territory. There is an opportunity for nurse leaders to do more to develop a collective narrative about the

Currently available medical engineering degrees in the UK. Part 1: Undergraduate degrees.

PubMed

Joyce, T

2009-05-01

This paper reviews mechanical-engineering-based medical engineering degrees which are currently provided at undergraduate level in the UK. At present there are 14 undergraduate degree programmes in medical engineering, offered by the University of Bath, University of Birmingham, University of Bradford, Cardiff University, University of Hull, Imperial College London, University of Leeds, University of Nottingham, University of Oxford, Queen Mary University of London, University of Sheffield, University of Southampton, University of Surrey, and Swansea University. All these undergraduate courses are delivered on a full-time basis, both 3 year BEng and 4 year MEng degrees. Half of the 14 degree courses share a core first 2 years with a mechanical engineering stream. The other seven programmes include medical engineering modules earlier in their degrees. Within the courses, a very wide range of medical-engineering-related modules are offered, although more common modules include biomaterials, biomechanics, and anatomy and physiology.

Impact of U.K. and Australian Transnational Higher Education in Malaysia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Arunasalam, Nirmala Devi

2016-01-01

This study investigated outcomes of the provision, by one Australian and two U.K. universities, of bridging programs that allow registered Malaysian nurses to upgrade their diploma qualifications to degree level. The study was informed by current literature on Transnational Higher Education (TNHE) programs. Not sufficiently explored in the…

UK Student Alcohol Consumption: A Cluster Analysis of Drinking Behaviour Typologies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Craigs, Cheryl L.; Bewick, Bridgette M.; Gill, Jan; O'May, Fiona; Radley, Duncan

2012-01-01

Objective: To assess the extent to which university students are following UK Government advice regarding appropriate consumption of alcohol, and to investigate if students can be placed into distinct clusters based on their drinking behaviour. Design: A descriptive questionnaire study. Setting: One hundred and nineteen undergraduate students from…

Exploring Strategies of Assessment and Results in the Spanish Universidad Nacional de Educacion a Distancia and the United Kingdom Open University.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

James, Arthur

The strategies of student evaluation and the patterns of results are compared for The Universidad Nacional de Educacion a Distancia (UNED) in Spain and The Open University of The United Kingdom. Both universities operate a system of undergraduate subject credits leading to a degree, but the length of the courses of the two systems differ. UNED…

Open Access, Open Source and Digital Libraries: A Current Trend in University Libraries around the World

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Krishnamurthy, M.

2008-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to describe the open access and open source movement in the digital library world. Design/methodology/approach: A review of key developments in the open access and open source movement is provided. Findings: Open source software and open access to research findings are of great use to scholars in developing…

Driving Economic Growth: Higher Education--A Core Strategic Asset to the UK. Higher Education in Focus: Driving Economic Growth

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Universities UK, 2011

2011-01-01

This publication highlights the critical role UK universities will continue to play in reviving and sustaining economic growth across the country. Using a range of visual data and statistics, it highlights that the UK's future success depends on developing innovation and the knowledge economy in what is an increasingly competitive global…

Storageless and caching Tier-2 models in the UK context

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cadellin Skipsey, Samuel; Dewhurst, Alastair; Crooks, David; MacMahon, Ewan; Roy, Gareth; Smith, Oliver; Mohammed, Kashif; Brew, Chris; Britton, David

2017-10-01

Operational and other pressures have lead to WLCG experiments moving increasingly to a stratified model for Tier-2 resources, where “fat” Tier-2s (“T2Ds”) and “thin” Tier-2s (“T2Cs”) provide different levels of service. In the UK, this distinction is also encouraged by the terms of the current GridPP5 funding model. In anticipation of this, testing has been performed on the implications, and potential implementation, of such a distinction in our resources. In particular, this presentation presents the results of testing of storage T2Cs, where the “thin” nature is expressed by the site having either no local data storage, or only a thin caching layer; data is streamed or copied from a “nearby” T2D when needed by jobs. In OSG, this model has been adopted successfully for CMS AAA sites; but the network topology and capacity in the USA is significantly different to that in the UK (and much of Europe). We present the result of several operational tests: the in-production University College London (UCL) site, which runs ATLAS workloads using storage at the Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) site; the Oxford site, which has had scaling tests performed against T2Ds in various locations in the UK (to test network effects); and the Durham site, which has been testing the specific ATLAS caching solution of “Rucio Cache” integration with ARC’s caching layer.

Web Strategies for the Curation and Discovery of Open Educational Resources

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rolfe, Vivien

2016-01-01

For those receiving funding from the UK HEFCE-funded Open Educational Resource Programme (2009-2012), the sustainability of project outputs was one of a number of essential goals. Our approach for the hosting and distribution of health and life science open educational resources (OER) was based on the utilisation of the WordPress.org blogging…

History of Inclusive Design in the UK.

PubMed

John Clarkson, P; Coleman, Roger

2015-01-01

The UK Design Council describes Inclusive Design as neither a new genre of design, nor a separate specialism, but as a general approach to designing in which designers ensure that their products and services address the needs of the widest possible audience, irrespective of age or ability. Inclusive Design (also known [in Europe] as Design for All and as Universal Design in the USA) is in essence the inverse of earlier approaches to designing for disabled and elderly people as a sub-set of the population, and an integral part of a more recent international trend towards the integration of older and disabled people in the mainstream of society. This paper describes the development of Inclusive Design in the UK, from its early beginnings, through its subsequent adoption as a topic of academic research, leading to its recent emergence embodied as a framework and toolkit for design. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd and The Ergonomics Society. All rights reserved.

Engineering Careers in the UK: Still Not What Women Want?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hodgkinson, Liz; Hamill, Les

2006-01-01

Of all professions, engineering is ranked near the bottom in the UK in terms of the proportion of female applicants for university places, so the engineering industry is missing out on some of the best young talent available. Despite initiatives to increase the number of women entering engineering, there has been little change over the last…

Biotechnology and Open University Science.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Grobstein, Clifford

1985-01-01

Discusses whether biotechnology commercial application will significantly inhibit the free flow of information traditional in academic environments. Background factors, crux of the concern, assessment, and current options are given. Although little evidence that industry-university collaboration has impaired academic molecular genetics exists,…

Olympic and Paralympic Games: The Impact of Universities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Universities UK, 2012

2012-01-01

This report is published as part of Universities Week 2012. It includes research by Podium, the further and higher education unit for London 2012, about the level of engagement that universities have had in the 2012 Games. It demonstrates the diverse contribution that universities are making to the Games, their overall impact on the UK sports…

Chinese Postgraduate Choices When Considering a UK Business and Management Programme

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Manns, Yihan; Swift, Jonathan

2016-01-01

This research investigated Chinese students' decision making processes for enrolling on a postgraduate taught business and management programme in a UK university, based on structured interviews, followed by a survey of just over 450 respondents. The validity and reliability of the research instrument were assessed prior to issuing the survey.…

Work Stressors, Health and Sense of Coherence in UK Academic Employees

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kinman, Gail

2008-01-01

This cross-sectional study examined relationships between job-specific stressors and psychological and physical health symptoms in academic employees working in UK universities. The study also tests the main and moderating role played by sense of coherence (SOC: Antonovsky, 1987 in work stress process). SOC is described as a generalised resistance…

Managing the Tensions between Maintaining Academic Standards and the Commercial Imperative in a UK Private Sector Higher Education Institution

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pitcher, Graham Simons

2013-01-01

In a changing landscape of higher education, universities have been moving towards a market-led approach to strategic management. This paper examines the case of a UK private sector education provider that gained degree-awarding powers following changes made in 2004 by the UK Government to the accreditation criteria for recognised degree-awarding…

Funding bombshell hits UK physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Banks, Michael; Durrani, Matin

2008-01-01

Physicists and astronomers in the UK are coming to terms with a massive funding crisis that engulfed one of the country's main funding agencies last month. As a result of an £80m black hole in the budget of the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), it has decided to stop funding research into the International Linear Collider (ILC), withdraw from the Gemini telescopes in Hawaii and Chile, and cease all support for high-energy gamma-ray astronomy and ground-based solar-terrestrial physics. Research grants in particle physics and astronomy could also be cut by up to 25%, which may lead to job losses at university departments.

PLAB and UK graduates' performance on MRCP(UK) and MRCGP examinations: data linkage study.

PubMed

McManus, I C; Wakeford, Richard

2014-04-17

To assess whether international medical graduates passing the two examinations set by the Professional and Linguistic Assessments Board (PLAB1 and PLAB2) of the General Medical Council (GMC) are equivalent to UK graduates at the end of the first foundation year of medical training (F1), as the GMC requires, and if not, to assess what changes in the PLAB pass marks might produce equivalence. Data linkage of GMC PLAB performance data with data from the Royal Colleges of Physicians and the Royal College of General Practitioners on performance of PLAB graduates and UK graduates at the MRCP(UK) and MRCGP examinations. Doctors in training for internal medicine or general practice in the United Kingdom. 7829, 5135, and 4387 PLAB graduates on their first attempt at MRCP(UK) Part 1, Part 2, and PACES assessments from 2001 to 2012 compared with 18,532, 14,094, and 14,376 UK graduates taking the same assessments; 3160 PLAB1 graduates making their first attempt at the MRCGP AKT during 2007-12 compared with 14,235 UK graduates; and 1411 PLAB2 graduates making their first attempt at the MRCGP CSA during 2010-12 compared with 6935 UK graduates. Performance at MRCP(UK) Part 1, Part 2, and PACES assessments, and MRCGP AKT and CSA assessments in relation to performance on PLAB1 and PLAB2 assessments, as well as to International English Language Testing System (IELTS) scores. MRCP(UK), MRCGP, and PLAB results were analysed as marks relative to the pass mark at the first attempt. PLAB1 marks were a valid predictor of MRCP(UK) Part 1, MRCP(UK) Part 2, and MRCGP AKT (r=0.521, 0.390, and 0.490; all P<0.001). PLAB2 marks correlated with MRCP(UK) PACES and MRCGP CSA (r=0.274, 0.321; both P<0.001). PLAB graduates had significantly lower MRCP(UK) and MRCGP assessments (Glass's Δ=0.94, 0.91, 1.40, 1.01, and 1.82 for MRCP(UK) Part 1, Part 2, and PACES and MRCGP AKT and CSA), and were more likely to fail assessments and to progress more slowly than UK medical graduates. IELTS scores correlated

PLAB and UK graduates’ performance on MRCP(UK) and MRCGP examinations: data linkage study

PubMed Central

Wakeford, Richard

2014-01-01

Objectives To assess whether international medical graduates passing the two examinations set by the Professional and Linguistic Assessments Board (PLAB1 and PLAB2) of the General Medical Council (GMC) are equivalent to UK graduates at the end of the first foundation year of medical training (F1), as the GMC requires, and if not, to assess what changes in the PLAB pass marks might produce equivalence. Design Data linkage of GMC PLAB performance data with data from the Royal Colleges of Physicians and the Royal College of General Practitioners on performance of PLAB graduates and UK graduates at the MRCP(UK) and MRCGP examinations. Setting Doctors in training for internal medicine or general practice in the United Kingdom. Participants 7829, 5135, and 4387 PLAB graduates on their first attempt at MRCP(UK) Part 1, Part 2, and PACES assessments from 2001 to 2012 compared with 18 532, 14 094, and 14 376 UK graduates taking the same assessments; 3160 PLAB1 graduates making their first attempt at the MRCGP AKT during 2007-12 compared with 14 235 UK graduates; and 1411 PLAB2 graduates making their first attempt at the MRCGP CSA during 2010-12 compared with 6935 UK graduates. Main outcome measures Performance at MRCP(UK) Part 1, Part 2, and PACES assessments, and MRCGP AKT and CSA assessments in relation to performance on PLAB1 and PLAB2 assessments, as well as to International English Language Testing System (IELTS) scores. MRCP(UK), MRCGP, and PLAB results were analysed as marks relative to the pass mark at the first attempt. Results PLAB1 marks were a valid predictor of MRCP(UK) Part 1, MRCP(UK) Part 2, and MRCGP AKT (r=0.521, 0.390, and 0.490; all P<0.001). PLAB2 marks correlated with MRCP(UK) PACES and MRCGP CSA (r=0.274, 0.321; both P<0.001). PLAB graduates had significantly lower MRCP(UK) and MRCGP assessments (Glass’s Δ=0.94, 0.91, 1.40, 1.01, and 1.82 for MRCP(UK) Part 1, Part 2, and PACES and MRCGP AKT and CSA), and were more likely to fail assessments

Challenges for academic accreditation: the UK experience

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shearman, Richard; Seddon, Deborah

2010-08-01

Several factors (government policy, demographic trends, employer pressure) are leading to new forms of degree programmes in UK universities. The government is strongly encouraging engagement between universities and employers. Work-based learning is increasingly found in first and second cycle programmes, along with modules designed by employers and increasing use of distance learning. Engineering faculties are playing a leading part in these developments, and the Engineering Council, the engineering professional bodies and some universities are collaborating to develop work-based learning programmes as a pathway to professional qualification. While potentially beneficial to the engineering profession, these developments pose a challenge to traditional approaches to programme accreditation. This paper explores how this system deals with these challenges and highlights the issues that will have to be addressed to ensure that the system can cope effectively with change, especially the development of individually tailored, work-based second cycle programmes, while maintaining appropriate standards and international confidence.

Chance UK

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McGrath, Gracia

2003-01-01

Chance UK is a unique charity in the UK that specialises in mentoring programmes for primary schoolchildren with behavioural problems. It was founded in 1995 by a policeman, Chief Superintendent Paul Mathias, who believed that by stepping in early, young children with behavioural difficulties could be given the chance to develop the necessary…

Stem cell research funding policies and dynamic innovation: a survey of open access and commercialization requirements.

PubMed

Lévesque, Maroussia; Kim, Jihyun Rosel; Isasi, Rosario; Knoppers, Bartha Maria; Plomer, Aurora; Joly, Yann

2014-08-01

This article compares and contrasts the pressures of both open access data sharing and commercialization policies in the context of publicly funded embryonic stem cell research (SCR). First, normative guidelines of international SCR organizations were examined. We then examined SCR funding guidelines and the project evaluation criteria of major funding organizations in the EU, the United Kingdom (UK), Spain, Canada and the United States. Our survey of policies revealed subtle pressures to commercialize research that include: increased funding availability for commercialization opportunities, assistance for obtaining intellectual property rights (IPRs) and legislation mandating commercialization. In lieu of open access models, funders are increasingly opting for limited sharing models or "protected commons" models that make the research available to researchers within the same region or those receiving the same funding. Meanwhile, there still is need for funding agencies to clarify and standardize terms such as "non-profit organizations" and "for-profit research," as more universities are pursuing for-profit or commercial opportunities.

Elitism and Meritocracy in UK Universities: The UK Needs Investment in Its Labour Force

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Simister, John

2011-01-01

This article summarises previous academic research into university education, distinguishing between arguments for and against improving access. Several views are summarised, including structural-functionalism, which claims that powerful social groups maintain their status and income, and human capital theory, which focuses on employee…

Open Access Alternatives

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tenopir, Carol

2004-01-01

Open access publishing is a hot topic today. But open access publishing can have many different definitions, and pros and cons vary with the definitions. Open access publishing is especially attractive to companies and small colleges or universities that are likely to have many more readers than authors. A downside is that a membership fee sounds…

The Best of Two Open Worlds at the National Open University of Nigeria

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Agbu, Jane-frances Obiageli; Mulder, Fred; de Vries, Fred; Tenebe, Vincent; Caine, Abel

2016-01-01

It will be wise for educational institutions, from primary to tertiary level, globally, to reflect on their position and profile with respect to the new concepts of Open Educational Resources (OER) and Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). Responses will be diverse of course but the potential is so manifest that many institutions probably will…

Distance Learning in British Universities: Is It Possible?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lentell, Helen

2012-01-01

The wider context (political and economic) for developing sustainable distance learning in UK universities is encouraging and new learning technologies promise much improved products and services. But conventional campus-based universities struggle to build and/or expand sustainable distance learning provision. This article identifies the core…

Revenue Sharing: An Assessment of Current Policies at UK Universities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gazzard, James; Brown, Sarah A.

2012-01-01

The transfer of academic technologies to industry is an important process underpinning innovation and economic development. Various approaches have been adopted by universities to encourage academics to participate in commercial activities. Many have implemented revenue sharing policies, through which the revenues generated from university-owned…

Probing scientists' beliefs: how open-minded are modern scientists?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Coll, Richard K.; Taylor, Neil

2004-06-01

Just how open-minded are modern scientists? In this paper we examine this question for the science faculty from New Zealand and UK universities. The Exeter questionnaire used by Preece and Baxter (2000) to examine superstitious beliefs of high school students and preservice science teachers was used as a basis for a series of in-depth interviews of scientists across a variety of disciplines. The interviews sought to understand the basis on which scientists form beliefs and how they judge evidence for various propositions, including those from the Exeter questionnaire and other contentious beliefs introduced during discourse. The scientists are dismissive of traditional superstitions like bad luck associated with black cats and inauspicious numbers such as 13, seeing such beliefs as socially grounded. There is a strong socio-cultural aspect to other beliefs and personal experiences, and strongly held personal beliefs are influential, resulting in the scientists keeping an open mind about contentious beliefs like alien life and the existence of ghosts. Testimony of others including media reports are deemed unreliable unless provided by credible witnesses such as 'educated people' or 'experts', or if they coincide with the scientists' personal beliefs. These scientists see a need for potential theoretical explanations for beliefs and are generally dismissive of empirical evidence without underlying explanations.

The Influence of Emotional Intelligence on Academic Progress and Achievement in UK University Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pope, Debbie; Roper, Claire; Qualter, Pamela

2012-01-01

Previous research has found relationships between higher levels of emotional intelligence (EI) and academic success in both adolescents and adults. This study examines the relationship between overall EI and specific EI competencies in 135 undergraduate psychology students in the UK. EI was measured at the start of a psychology degree course using…

Currently available medical engineering degrees in the UK. Part 2: Postgraduate degrees.

PubMed

Joyce, T

2009-05-01

This paper considers taught medical engineering MSc degrees, based on mechanical engineering, which are provided in the UK. Currently there are 19 institutions which provide such postgraduate degree programmes. These are the University of Aberdeen, University of Bath, University of Bradford, Brunel University, University of Dundee, University of Hull, Imperial College London, Keele University, King's College London, University of Leeds, University of Liverpool, University of Nottingham, University of Oxford, Queen Mary University of London, University of Southampton, University of Strathclyde, University of Surrey, University of Ulster, and University of Warwick. While most courses are delivered on a 1 year full-time basis, other delivery modes are also available. Relatively few modules are offered as distance learning or short courses. A wide range of modules are offered by the various universities for the different taught MSc degrees. Common modules include biomaterials and biomechanics. The medical-engineering-related modules offered by a number of universities are also made available to students on allied MSc programmes and undergraduate degrees in medical engineering.

Access under Siege: Are the Gains of Open Education Keeping Pace with the Growing Barriers to University Access?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Olcott, Don, Jr.

2013-01-01

Traditional and affordable access to a university education is under siege from all sides. National realpolitiks and global economic downturns have driven open education into the mainstream to stand against educational elitism, the growing digital divide, and to support the core values that give education its fundamental credence as a human right.…

International Research Collaboration: Opportunities for the UK Higher Education Sector. Research Report

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Universities UK, 2008

2008-01-01

This report presents the findings arising from a study of international research collaboration, exploring trends, competitor countries' policies and UK universities' management of this function. The authors found no systematic overview of the nature and extent of the measures being used by competitor countries to support the development and…

Trapped in Transition: Findings from a UK Study of Student Suicide

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stanley, Nicky; Mallon, Sharon; Bell, Jo; Manthorpe, Jill

2009-01-01

This study of student suicide within UK higher education directs attention to the community context of suicide. A modified psychological autopsy approach was used to explore 20 case studies of student suicide from the period 2000-2005, drawing on the perspectives of family members, friends and university staff. The study identifies features of the…

Securing World-Class Research in UK Universities: Exploring the Impact of Block Grant Funding

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Universities UK, 2009

2009-01-01

The UK research base is world class. It is second only to the USA on leading scientific indicators and crucially, during the current economic climate, ranks first on publication productivity and citations in relation to research and development public spend. Commonly known as quality-related (QR) funding because it is allocated selectively on the…

Open pelvic fractures: the University of Tennessee Medical Center at Knoxville experience over ten years.

PubMed

Black, Emily Anne; Lawson, Christy M; Smith, Scott; Daley, Brian J

2011-01-01

Open fractures of the pelvis remain a devastating injury with a high mortality and morbidity. Such injuries require an aggressive treatment plan and the coordination of trauma and orthopaedic surgeons to achieve the best outcomes. We report our experience at the University of Tennessee Medical Center at Knoxville with open pelvic fractures over the last ten years. After IRB and institutional approval, we reviewed patients admitted with a diagnosis of open fracture of the pelvis from 1999 to 2009. Demographic and admission data were recorded in the trauma registry (TRACS) of the Level I Trauma Center, serving the 1.2 million people living in the regions of east Tennessee, western North Carolina and southeastern Kentucky. Data on fractures were obtained from review of the medical records and radiographs within the chart. There were 3053 pelvic fractures from January 1999 to December 2009. There were 231 deaths in this group (6%) and ages ranged from 18 to 89 years old and Injury Severity Scores ranged from 4 to 75, with a mean of 18.3. Seventy five percent of patients were able to be discharged home. Fifty-two fractures were open. There were 43 men and the mean age was 39 years old. Average ISS was 23 and ranged from 5 to 50. There were 10 deaths (19%) and eight patients underwent angioembolization for control of bleeding (3 deaths). Motorcycle crashes were the most frequent cause of an open fracture, with lateral compression injuries representing 71%. A defined algorithm for fracture management has been in place and employed to assure adequate resuscitation and fracture care and is presented. Open pelvic fractures are usually the result of a high energy transfer, and convey a high morbidity and mortality. A defined resuscitation and fixation strategy improves outcome from historical reports. Injuries from penetrating mechanisms are associated with less morbidity and lower mortality.

UK-trained junior doctors' intentions to work in UK medicine: questionnaire surveys, three years after graduation

PubMed Central

Surman, Geraldine; Goldacre, Michael J

2017-01-01

Objective To report on the career intentions, three years after qualification, of 12 national cohorts of UK-trained doctors who qualified between 1974 and 2012, and, specifically, to compare recent UK medical graduates’ intentions to work in medicine in the UK with earlier graduates. Design Questionnaire surveys of cohorts of UK medical graduates defined by year of graduation. Setting UK. Participants 30,272 UK medical graduates. Main outcome measures Stated level of intention to pursue a long-term career in medicine in the UK. Results The response rate was 62% (30,272/48,927). We examined responses to the question ‘Apart from temporary visits abroad, do you intend to practise medicine in the United Kingdom for the foreseeable future?' Of doctors from UK homes, 90% had specified that they would ‘definitely or probably’ practise medicine in the UK in the surveys of 1977–1986, 81% in 1996–2011 and 64% in 2015. Those who said that they would probably or definitely not practise medicine in the UK comprised 5% in 1977–1986, 8% in 1996–2011 and 15% in 2015. Most who were not definite about a future career in UK medicine indicated that they would wish to practise medicine outside the UK rather than to leave medicine. Conclusions The wish to remain in UK medical practice in the 2015 survey was unprecedentedly low in this unique series of 40 years of surveys. PMID:29116902

UK-trained junior doctors' intentions to work in UK medicine: questionnaire surveys, three years after graduation.

PubMed

Surman, Geraldine; Goldacre, Michael J; Lambert, Trevor W

2017-12-01

Objective To report on the career intentions, three years after qualification, of 12 national cohorts of UK-trained doctors who qualified between 1974 and 2012, and, specifically, to compare recent UK medical graduates' intentions to work in medicine in the UK with earlier graduates. Design Questionnaire surveys of cohorts of UK medical graduates defined by year of graduation. Setting UK. Participants 30,272 UK medical graduates. Main outcome measures Stated level of intention to pursue a long-term career in medicine in the UK. Results The response rate was 62% (30,272/48,927). We examined responses to the question ' Apart from temporary visits abroad, do you intend to practise medicine in the United Kingdom for the foreseeable future?' Of doctors from UK homes, 90% had specified that they would 'definitely or probably' practise medicine in the UK in the surveys of 1977-1986, 81% in 1996-2011 and 64% in 2015. Those who said that they would probably or definitely not practise medicine in the UK comprised 5% in 1977-1986, 8% in 1996-2011 and 15% in 2015. Most who were not definite about a future career in UK medicine indicated that they would wish to practise medicine outside the UK rather than to leave medicine. Conclusions The wish to remain in UK medical practice in the 2015 survey was unprecedentedly low in this unique series of 40 years of surveys.

An evaluation of a Books on Prescription scheme in a UK public library authority.

PubMed

Furness, Rebecca; Casselden, Biddy

2012-12-01

This article discusses an evaluation of a Books on Prescription (BOP) scheme in a UK public library authority. The research was carried out by Rebecca Furness and submitted as a dissertation for the MSc Information and Library Management to Northumbria University. The dissertation was supervised by Biddy Casselden at Northumbria University and was awarded a distinction. The dissertation identified areas for development for BOP schemes and made specific recommendations that could make the schemes more accessible, enabling significant numbers of people to lead more fulfilling lives. Because this study focuses on mental health and the role that UK public libraries have in supporting well-being, it is a good illustration of the wide-ranging nature of subjects welcomed for the Dissertations into practice feature. © 2012 The authors. Health Information and Libraries Journal © 2012 Health Libraries Group.

Why Study Abroad? Sorting of Chinese Students across British Universities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cebolla-Boado, Héctor; Hu, Yang; Soysal, Yasemin Nuhog¯lu

2018-01-01

This research contributes to the booming literature on the mobility of international students in higher education. We analyse university-level factors that affect the sorting of Chinese international students across British universities. We produced a unique data-set merging university-level data from the 2014 UK Higher Education Statistics Agency…

A University of the Air

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stanistreet, Paul

2009-01-01

The term "open university" was coined by that visionary "seedsman" of reformist ideas Michael Young in an article for a 1962 number of "Where?" magazine. He proposed an "open university" to prepare people for external degrees at London University, with three key functions: (1) to organise new and better…

International University Will Open in North Korea

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McNeill, David

2007-01-01

This article reports that construction is nearing completion on Pyongyang University of Science and Technology in North Korea, in which academics from around the world will teach the best of the country's graduate students. This will be North Korea's first international university and will let the world know that the capacity of their scientists…

To What Extent Is Capital Expenditure in UK Higher Education Meeting the Pedagogical Needs of Staff and Students?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jones, Steven; Sutcliffe, Michael J.; Bragg, Joanna; Harris, Diane

2016-01-01

Capital expenditure at United Kingdom (UK) universities is rapidly rising, with new buildings erected on the premise that national and international competitiveness must be maintained. We examine students' engagement with and conceptualisation of university estate, and explore broader questions about the extent to which building design can…

Psychology of Education in the UK: Development in the 1960s

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thomas, J. B.

2007-01-01

This paper attempts an account and evaluation of the historical development of psychology of education in the 1960s in the UK. It contributes to both the history of the academic discipline of educational studies and to the history of higher education. Progress of the subject is introduced in the general context of university developments and the…

The UK-SEA-ME Psychosocial-Cultural Cancer Research Network: setting the stage for applied qualitative research on cancer health behaviour in southeast Asia and the Middle East.

PubMed

Lim, Jennifer N W

2011-01-01

Psychosocial and cultural factors influencing cancer health behaviour have not been systematically investigated outside the western culture, and qualitative research is the best approach for this type of social research. The research methods employed to study health problems in Asia predominantly are quantitative techniques. The set up of the first psychosocial cancer research network in Asia marks the beginning of a collaboration to promote and spearhead applied qualitative healthcare research in cancer in the UK, Southeast Asia and the Middle East. This paper sets out the rationale, objectives and mission for the UK-SEA-ME Psychosocial-Cultural Cancer Research Network. The UK-SEA-ME network is made up of collaborators from the University of Leeds (UK), the University of Malaya (Malaysia), the National University of Singapore (Singapore) and the University of United Arab Emirates (UAE). The network promotes applied qualitative research to investigate the psychosocial and cultural factors influencing delayed and late presentation and diagnosis for cancer (breast cancer) in partner countries, as well as advocating the use of the mixed-methods research approach. The network also offers knowledge transfer for capacity building within network universities. The mission of the network is to improve public awareness about the importance of early management and prevention of cancer through research in Asia.

Promoting SETI in the UK

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Penny, Alan

2013-10-01

MEETING REPORT What does the UK presently do in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence and what are the plans for the future? Alan Penny reports on a meeting of UK academics active in SETI, held as sessions in the recent National Astronomy Meeting in Scotland - and the formation of the UK SETI Research Network to promote UK academic work.

Differences in the sodium content of bread products in the USA and UK: implications for policy.

PubMed

Coyne, Kasey J; Baldridge, Abigail S; Huffman, Mark D; Jenner, Katharine; Xavier, Dagan; Dunford, Elizabeth K

2018-02-01

Americans consume Na in excess of daily recommendations. Most dietary Na comes from packaged foods, and bread is a major contributor. In the UK, national Na reduction strategies contributed to lower Na levels in packaged foods and lower population Na intake. Similar initiatives are emerging in the USA and require surveillance to assess effectiveness. We aimed to examine Na levels in bread products in the USA and compare levels with similar UK products. Na data for bread products were obtained from the US Label Insight Open Data Initiative (n 4466) and the FoodSwitch UK database (n 1651). Mean, median and range of Na content, and proportion of products meeting Na targets established by the National Salt Reduction Initiative (NSRI) and the UK Department of Health (DH) were calculated overall, by bread type and by country. Mean (sd) Na content in bread was 455 (170) mg/100 g in the USA and 406 (179) mg/100 g in the UK. In both countries, savoury bread had the highest mean Na (USA=584 mg/100 g, UK=543 mg/100 g) and fruit bread the lowest mean Na (USA=345 mg/100 g, UK=277 mg/100 g). Na content of US bread products was 12 % higher than in the UK, with 21 % of US bread products and 31 % of UK bread products meeting the NSRI and DH targets, respectively. US bread products have, on average, 12 % more Na than similar products in the UK. Variation in Na content within product categories, and between countries, suggests the feasibility of manufacturing products with lower Na to lower dietary Na intake.

Written Assessment and Feedback Practices in Postgraduate Taught Courses in the UK: Staff and International Students' Perspectives

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Guillen Solano, Victor

2016-01-01

In recent years UK universities have attracted an increasing number of international students. Their socialisation into different academic practices greatly depends on their ability to write in English since writing is the main way in which students demonstrate their learning at university. This paper looks into the widely-shared view that tutor…

Open Source Vision

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Villano, Matt

2006-01-01

Increasingly, colleges and universities are turning to open source as a way to meet their technology infrastructure and application needs. Open source has changed life for visionary CIOs and their campus communities nationwide. The author discusses what these technologists see as the benefits--and the considerations.

Using choice architecture to exploit a university Distinct Urban Mine.

PubMed

Pierron, Xavier; Williams, Ian D; Shaw, Peter J; Cleaver, Victoria

2017-10-01

There are widespread concerns regarding the potential future scarcity of ferrous and non-ferrous materials. However, there are already potentially rich reserves of secondary materials via high ownership of Electrical and Electronic Equipment (EEE) in economically-developed nations. Young people are particularly high consumers of EEE, thus university students and campuses may present an opportunity to harness this potential. University Distinct Urban Mines (DUM) may be used to exemplify how potential reserves of secondary metals may be exploited, and could contribute to the transition from a linear to a circular economy. This study aimed to evaluate small household appliances (SHA) DUM from a UK university, with the objectives to identify and quantify student households' SHA ownership, WEEE recycling, stockpiling and discarding habits amongst student households, assess and evaluate the monetary potential of SHA DUM at UK level, and propose methods to exploit DUM for universities in the UK. To this purpose, a quantitative survey was undertaken to measure students' ownership and discarding behaviour with respect to SHA. The amounts of ferrous and non-ferrous materials were then estimated and converted to monetary values from secondary materials market data to appraise the SHA DUM overall value. Thirty-five per cent of SHA are discarded in the general refuse. Broken personal care appliances (PCA) tend to be discarded due to hygiene and small size factors. When in working order, SHA tend to be equally reused, recycled or stockpiled. We conclude that a total of 189 tonnes of ferrous and non-ferrous materials were available via discarding or being stockpiled at the University of Southampton. Extrapolated to UK higher education level, discarded and stockpiled SHA represent a potential worth ∼USD 11 million. To initiate DUM exploitation within Higher Education campuses, we suggest improving users' choice architecture by providing collection methods specific to broken SHA

Privatising the Public University: The Case of Law

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thornton, Margaret

2011-01-01

"Privatising the Public University: The Case of Law" is the first full-length critical study examining the impact of the dramatic reforms that have swept through universities over the last two decades. Drawing on extensive research and interviews in Australia, New Zealand, the UK and Canada, Margaret Thornton considers the impact of the…

The Use of Facebook to Build a Community for Distance Learning Students: A Case Study from the Open University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Callaghan, George; Fribbance, Ian

2016-01-01

Social media platforms such as Facebook are commonplace throughout society. However, within higher education institutions such networking environments are still in the developmental stage. This paper describes and discusses case study data from the Open University's Faculty of Social Science Facebook page. It starts by giving an overview of the…

A Study of Older Adult Students' Satisfaction with Web-Based Distance Learning at the National Open University of Taiwan

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chen, Ho-Yuan

2010-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between older learners' demographic characteristics and their satisfaction with distance learning in the Web-based environment at National Open University in Taiwan (NOUT). Increases in the older adult population have had many impacts throughout societies. The major purpose of older…

Students' Failure to Submit Research Projects on Time: A Case Study from Masvingo Regional Centre at Zimbabwe Open University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chabaya, Owence; Chiome, Chrispen; Chabaya, Raphinos A.

2009-01-01

The study sought to determine lecturers' and students' perceptions of factors contributing to students' failure to submit research projects on time in three departments of the Zimbabwe Open University. The study employed a descriptive survey design and was both quantitative and qualitative. The questionnaire used as a data-gathering instrument had…

Comparisons in the Organisation, Methods, and Results of the Universidad Nacional de Educacion a Distancia (Spain) and The Open University of The United Kingdom.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

James, Arthur

The organization, methods, and outcomes of the distance education systems at the Universidad Nacional de Educacion a Distancia (UNED) in Spain and The Open University of the United Kingdom are compared. The following topics are covered: higher education in Spain, UNED's ideology, student characteristics in both universities, organization,…

Student perceptions of a healthy university.

PubMed

Holt, M; Monk, R; Powell, S; Dooris, M

2015-06-01

As complex environments within which individuals and populations operate, universities present important contexts for understanding and addressing health issues. The healthy university is an example of the settings approach, which adopts a whole system perspective, aiming to make places within which people, learn, live, work and play supportive to health and well-being. The UK Healthy Universities Network has formulated an online toolkit, which includes a Self-Review Tool, intended to enable universities to assess what actions they need to take to develop as a healthy university. This paper presents findings from consultative research undertaken with students from universities in England, Scotland and Wales, which explored what they believe, represents a healthy university. Student surveys and focus groups were used to collect data across eleven universities in England, Scotland and Wales. A priori themes were used to develop our own model for a healthy university, and for the thematic coding phase of analysis. A healthy university would promote student health and well-being in every aspect of its business from its facilities and environment through to its curriculum. Access to reasonably priced healthy food and exercise facilities were key features of a healthy university for students in this study. The Self-Review Tool has provided a crucial start for universities undertaking the journey towards becoming a healthy university. In looking to the future both universities and the UK Healthy Universities Network will now need to look at what students want from their whole university experience, and consider how the Self-Review Tool can help universities embrace a more explicit conceptual framework. The concept of a healthy university that can tailor its facilities and supportive environments to the needs of its students will go some way to developing students who are active global citizens and who are more likely to value and prioritise health and well-being, in the

The Open University of the United Kingdom. An Evaluation of an Innovative Experience in the Democratisation of Higher Education. DERG Papers Numer 6.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rumble, Greville

This 10-section report on the activities of the Open University of the United Kingdom as an innovative institution with a concern for democratization of higher education begins with a discussion of the criteria for an innovative organization. The origins of the University and the intentions of its early planners are then discussed, followed by a…

Higher Education System and the "Open" Knowledge Transfer: A View from Perception of Senior Managers at University Knowledge Transfer Offices

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sharifi, Hossein; Liu, Weisheng; Ismail, Hossam S.

2014-01-01

Higher education institutions (HEIs) have become increasingly entrepreneurial. Such a shift is highly dependent on the managers of university knowledge transfer offices whose perceptions can be critical in this transformation. This study examines such senior managers' perceptions concerning the "open" paradigm in relation with the…

Lecturers' Attitudes to Inclusive Teaching Practice at a UK University: Will Staff "Resistance" Hinder Implementation?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, Maria

2010-01-01

Higher education institutions in the UK are required, by law, to make "anticipatory" reasonable adjustments for students with disabilities. Inclusive teaching practice, if adopted across the sector, would ensure that the needs of students with disabilities are considered and provided for, before they even arrive on campus. This paper…

Does the Students' Preferred Pedagogy Relate to Their Ethnicity: UK and Asian Experience

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Winch, Junko

2016-01-01

An increasing number of international students, whose culture of teaching and learning practices are very different from UK students, are studying at British universities. This study investigates multicultural students' preferences using two different teaching approaches in the 2009/2010 academic year, which is explained in the framework of this…

Interpreting Context to the UK's National Student (Satisfaction) Survey Data for Science Subjects

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fielding, Alan; Dunleavy, Peter J.; Langan, A. Mark

2010-01-01

Universities capture and use student feedback to improve the student experience, but how should information from national scale surveys be used at local and institutional levels? The authors explored the UK's National Student (Satisfaction) Survey (NSS) data relevant to science and engineering programmes using percentages of students who were…

Is UK Transnational Education "One of Britain's Great Growth Industries of the Future?"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Healey, Nigel

2013-01-01

Against the backdrop of unprecedented growth in the global demand for higher education, the UK government has recognised that there is a huge potential market beyond conventional "export education," if its universities can find ways of providing "transnational education" (TNE) to the millions of foreign students unable or…

First Stages of Adult Students' Relationship to Scientific Knowing and Research in the Open University's Web-Based Methodology Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Isosomppi, Leena; Maunula, Minna

2016-01-01

The adult students who participate in the web-based studies of the open university have in many ways heterogeneous starting points for studying and learning, for example, the educational backgrounds, the acquired work experience, the general academic skills and the objectives of the future can vary considerably. The adult students striving from…

Perspectives from the Aldo Leopold Wilderness Research Institute: The Wildland Research institute

Treesearch

J. M. Bowker; H. Ken Cordell; Neelam C. Poudyal

2014-01-01

The Wildland Research Institute (WRi) at the University of Leeds (UK) came into being in October 2009. Its origins go back to a United Kingdom research councilfunded seminar series called Wilderness Britain? which ran between 1998 and 2000 and was coordinated from the University of Leeds. This opened up the wider debate on wilderness and rewilding in the UK and later...

Congressional Science Fellow tackles science policy for U.K.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moses, Julie J.

After an AGU Congressional Science Fellowship in 1997-1998,I decided to pursue science policy further. I spied an ad in the Sunday Washington Post advertising for someone with a science degree, who also had knowledge of the United Kingdom, and science policy experience on Capitol Hill. In addition to my Ph.D. from the University of California at Los Angeles and the Congressional Science Fellowship, I had spent two years in the U.K. as a post-doc at Queen Mary and Westfield College in London.I applied for the job, which was at the British Embassy in Washington, D.C., and was hired. The UK Foreign Office has a tradition of hiring many of its embassy staff locally; they consider knowledge of local politics and issues very use ful for their interests. Now I cover hard science issues, including space and the Internet for Her Majesty's Government.

Burns teaching in UK medical schools: Is it enough?

PubMed

Zinchenko, Ruslan; Perry, Fiona M; Dheansa, Baljit S

2016-02-01

Burns are frequently seen and managed in non-specialist settings. The crowding of the UK medical undergraduate curriculum may have resulted in the reduction of teaching on burns. To determine the burns education experience and the level of competence among UK final year medical students in assessing and acutely managing patients with burns. An online questionnaire was circulated among UK final year medical students. There was a total of 348 respondents. The majority of the respondents (70%) have not received any specific teaching on how to manage patients with burns. Nearly two-thirds of the students (66%) have never seen a patient being managed for burns throughout their training. Over 90% of respondents stated that they would not feel confident in initially managing a burn in the emergency department. The majority of the respondents (57%) have not heard of the criteria for referring a burns patient for further specialist management. There was almost universal agreement about the importance of knowing how to manage a burn initially. There seems to be a lack of consistent undergraduate training in burns management and final year students lack the experience and knowledge to initially manage burns. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.

Procurement of information systems effectively (POISE): using the new UK guidelines to purchase an integrated clinical laboratory system.

PubMed

Feltham, R K

1995-01-01

Open tendering for medical informatics systems in the UK has traditionally been lengthy and, therefore, expensive on resources for vendor and purchaser alike. Events in the United Kingdom (UK) and European Community (EC) have led to new Government guidance being published on procuring information systems for the public sector: Procurement of Information Systems Effectively (POISE). This innovative procurement process, launched in 1993, has the support of the Computing Services Association (CSA) and the Federation of the Electronics Industry (FEI). This paper gives an overview of these new UK guidelines on healthcare information system purchasing in the context of a recent procurement project with an NHS Trust Hospital. The aim of the project was to replace three aging, separate, and different laboratory computer systems with a new, integrated turnkey system offering all department modules, an Open modern computer environment, and on-line electronic links to key departmental systems, both within and external to the Trust by the end of 1994. The new system had to complement the Trust's strategy for providing a modern clinical laboratory service to the local population and meet a tight budget.

Off-site Emergency Planning at UK Nuclear Licensed Sites.

PubMed

Leonard, Paul; Thomas, Gareth

2017-04-01

Nuclear emergency planning arrangements in the UK are continually kept under review. This work proposes to outline how experience from nuclear exercises and undertaking emergency response duties can be based on radiological knowledge of specific sites and utilised in the future. In 2014, the UK regulator, the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) revised their principles for the determination of off-site emergency planning areas around nuclear sites where predetermined countermeasures and other protection measures are applied to protect those people who may be affected by a radiation emergency. The revised principles also enhanced communication from the nuclear site operators and local authorities to the public. This updated ONR's application of the UK Radiation (Emergency Preparedness and Public Information) Regulations 2001 (REPPIR) http://www.hse.gov.uk/radiation/ionising/reppir.htm, which includes details of minimising potential doses to the public, as well as assessment and reassurance, linked to other concurrent risks such as flooding. ONR undertakes site-specific assessments of each operators' hazard identification and risk evaluation, which include consideration of whether the public might receive a significant radiation dose in the year following the emergency (excluding countermeasures in the first 24 hours). In defining the areas for off-site emergency planning, practical and strategic factors are then considered, which include other local non-nuclear emergency planning arrangements and experience, and whether local geographic and demographic aspects could aid public credibility and confidence. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

International Experience, Universities Support and Graduate Employability--Perceptions of Chinese International Students Studying in UK Universities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Huang, Rong; Turner, Rebecca

2018-01-01

Recent policy developments in English Higher Education have resulted in employability placed in the spotlight, whereby the success of universities will be measured based on graduate employment. This represents the latest focus placed on employability in the sector, as universities are increasingly expected to provide employment-ready graduates to…

Middle Managers in UK Higher Education Conceptualising Experiences in Support of Reflective Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Birds, Rachel

2014-01-01

This paper examines the role of reflexivity in supporting middle managers in understanding and facilitating large-scale change management projects in their organisations. Utilising an example from a UK university, it is argued that the development of a conceptual model to fit local circumstances enables deeper understanding and better informed…

UK technical activities associated with the return to Earth of the MIR space station

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Crowther, Richard; Tremayne-Smith, Richard

2002-11-01

The British National Space Centre (BNSC) acts as the focus in the United Kingdom (UK) for space-related activities. With the anticipated return to Earth of the MIR space station, BNSC established a group of technical experts to consider the associated implications for the UK, and to address both national and international activities relating to the planned de-orbit. In particular, the risk to the UK of an uncontrolled re-entry was considered in contingency planning and the means for the provision of accurate information to the public and media were established to ensure balanced view of the potential hazards that MIR posed to persons and property on the ground. The MIR de-orbit was exemplary, both in terms of the technical activities of the Rosaviakosmos and the safe disposal of MIR in the Pacific, and in relation to the open and effective communication between agencies and the positive reporting by the media.

OPEN PELVIC FRACTURES: THE UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE MEDICAL CENTER AT KNOXVILLE EXPERIENCE OVER TEN YEARS

PubMed Central

Black, Emily Anne; Lawson, Christy M; Smith, Scott; Daley, Brian J

2011-01-01

Introduction Open fractures of the pelvis remain a devastating injury with a high mortality and morbidity. Such injuries require an aggressive treatment plan and the coordination of trauma and orthopaedic surgeons to achieve the best outcomes. We report our experience at the University of Tennessee Medical Center at Knoxville with open pelvic fractures over the last ten years. Methods After IRB and institutional approval, we reviewed patients admitted with a diagnosis of open fracture of the pelvis from 1999 to 2009. Demographic and admission data were recorded in the trauma registry (TRACS) of the Level I Trauma Center, serving the 1.2 million people living in the regions of east Tennessee, western North Carolina and southeastern Kentucky. Data on fractures were obtained from review of the medical records and radiographs within the chart Results There were 3053 pelvic fractures from January 1999 to December 2009. There were 231 deaths in this group (6%) and ages ranged from 18 to 89 years old and Injury Severity Scores ranged from 4 to 75, with a mean of 18.3. Seventy five percent of patients were able to be discharged home. Fifty-two fractures were open. There were 43 men and the mean age was 39 years old. Average ISS was 23 and ranged from 5 to 50. There were 10 deaths (19%) and eight patients underwent an-gioembolization for control of bleeding (3 deaths). Motorcycle crashes were the most frequent cause of an open fracture, with lateral compression injuries representing 71%. A defined algorithm for fracture management has been in place and employed to assure adequate resuscitation and fracture care and is presented. Discussion Open pelvic fractures are usually the result of a high energy transfer, and convey a high morbidity and mortality. A defined resuscitation and fixation strategy improves outcome from historical reports. Injuries from penetrating mechanisms are associated with less morbidity and lower mortality. PMID:22096441

Identity, Empathy and "Otherness": Asian Women, Education and Dowries in the UK

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bhopal, Kalwant

2009-01-01

This article will examine Asian women's views on the practice of dowries in the UK. The research is based on 20 in-depth interviews with Asian women studying for a Social Sciences degree in a "new" (post-1992) university in the southeast of England. All of the interviews were tape-recorded and the data transcribed. The data was analysed…

Physical employment standards for U.K. fire and rescue service personnel.

PubMed

Blacker, S D; Rayson, M P; Wilkinson, D M; Carter, J M; Nevill, A M; Richmond, V L

2016-01-01

Evidence-based physical employment standards are vital for recruiting, training and maintaining the operational effectiveness of personnel in physically demanding occupations. (i) Develop criterion tests for in-service physical assessment, which simulate the role-related physical demands of UK fire and rescue service (UK FRS) personnel. (ii) Develop practical physical selection tests for FRS applicants. (iii) Evaluate the validity of the selection tests to predict criterion test performance. Stage 1: we conducted a physical demands analysis involving seven workshops and an expert panel to document the key physical tasks required of UK FRS personnel and to develop 'criterion' and 'selection' tests. Stage 2: we measured the performance of 137 trainee and 50 trained UK FRS personnel on selection, criterion and 'field' measures of aerobic power, strength and body size. Statistical models were developed to predict criterion test performance. Stage 3: matter experts derived minimum performance standards. We developed single person simulations of the key physical tasks required of UK FRS personnel as criterion and selection tests (rural fire, domestic fire, ladder lift, ladder extension, ladder climb, pump assembly, enclosed space search). Selection tests were marginally stronger predictors of criterion test performance (r = 0.88-0.94, 95% Limits of Agreement [LoA] 7.6-14.0%) than field test scores (r = 0.84-0.94, 95% LoA 8.0-19.8%) and offered greater face and content validity and more practical implementation. This study outlines the development of role-related, gender-free physical employment tests for the UK FRS, which conform to equal opportunities law. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Occupational Medicine. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

A content analysis of the UK press response to the diagnosis of Ebola in a British healthcare worker.

PubMed

Hobbs, Constance; Myles, Puja; Pritchard, Catherine

2017-12-01

The Ebola epidemic led to considerable media attention, which may influence public risk perception. Therefore, this study analysed the UK press response following diagnosis of a British healthcare worker (HCW) with Ebola. Using the Nexis database, the frequency of Ebola-related articles in UK national newspaper articles was mapped. This was followed by a content analysis of Ebola-related articles in the four newspapers with highest UK net readership from November 2014 to February 2015. During the 16-week study period, 1349 articles were found. The day with the highest number of Ebola-related articles was 31 December 2014, the day after the diagnosis of Ebola in a UK HCW. Seventy-seven articles were included in the content analysis. Content analysis demonstrated a shift from West African to UK-focused articles, increased discussion of border control, UK policy decisions and criticism, and an increased number of articles with a reassuring/threatening message. UK press coverage of Ebola increased following a HCW's diagnosis, particularly regarding discussion of screening measures. This is likely to have increased risk perception of Ebola in the UK population and may have contributed to subsequent strengthening of UK screening policy beyond World Health Organisation requirements. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Faculty of Public Health. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com

The Open University System of Brazil: A Study of Learner Support Facilities in the Northern, North-Eastern and Southern Regions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Da Cruz Duran, Maria Renata; Da Costa, Celso José; Amiel, Tel

2014-01-01

Since June 2011, research on the Open University System of Brazil's (UAB's) official evaluation processes relating to learner support facilities has been carried out by the Teachers' Training, New Information, Communication and Technologies research group, which is linked to the Laboratory of New Technologies for Teaching at Fluminense Federal…

Assessment in Education: A Case for Quality and Standards within the Context of Open and Distance Education--A Case Study of One Zimbabwean University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Samkange, Wellington

2012-01-01

A study was carried out to assess the assessment procedures used at one Open and Distance Learning (ODL) institution in Zimbabwe. The study focused on the views and perceptions of current and former students of the university. The study also analyzed some documents on assessment procedures at the university. The study used the qualitative…

ISAMBARD: an open-source computational environment for biomolecular analysis, modelling and design.

PubMed

Wood, Christopher W; Heal, Jack W; Thomson, Andrew R; Bartlett, Gail J; Ibarra, Amaurys Á; Brady, R Leo; Sessions, Richard B; Woolfson, Derek N

2017-10-01

The rational design of biomolecules is becoming a reality. However, further computational tools are needed to facilitate and accelerate this, and to make it accessible to more users. Here we introduce ISAMBARD, a tool for structural analysis, model building and rational design of biomolecules. ISAMBARD is open-source, modular, computationally scalable and intuitive to use. These features allow non-experts to explore biomolecular design in silico. ISAMBARD addresses a standing issue in protein design, namely, how to introduce backbone variability in a controlled manner. This is achieved through the generalization of tools for parametric modelling, describing the overall shape of proteins geometrically, and without input from experimentally determined structures. This will allow backbone conformations for entire folds and assemblies not observed in nature to be generated de novo, that is, to access the 'dark matter of protein-fold space'. We anticipate that ISAMBARD will find broad applications in biomolecular design, biotechnology and synthetic biology. A current stable build can be downloaded from the python package index (https://pypi.python.org/pypi/isambard/) with development builds available on GitHub (https://github.com/woolfson-group/) along with documentation, tutorial material and all the scripts used to generate the data described in this paper. d.n.woolfson@bristol.ac.uk or chris.wood@bristol.ac.uk. Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. © The Author(s) 2017. Published by Oxford University Press.

Coherence between Text Comments and the Quantitative Ratings in the UK's National Student Survey

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Langan, A. Mark; Scott, Nick; Partington, Shobana; Oczujda, Agnieszka

2017-01-01

Institutions are understandably interested in the profile of their own reputations based upon publicly available data about student experiences. The UK's National Student Survey (NSS) metrics are integrated into several "Good University" calculations, whereas teaching teams most often use the survey's text comments to change practices,…

Promoting Environmental Citizenship and Corporate Social Responsibility through a School/Industry/University Partnership

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gebbels, Susan; Evans, Stewart M.; Delany, Jane E.

2011-01-01

A partnership was formed between King Edward VI School Morpeth (UK) and the pharmaceutical company Merck, Sharp and Dohme within the programme of "Joint Responsibility" operated by the Dove Marine Laboratory (Newcastle University, UK). Pupils surveyed an ecologically important coastal area in northeast England and made 15 recommendations…

The low-frequency array (LOFAR): opening a new window on the universe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kassim, N. E.; Lazio, T. J. W.; Ray, P. S.; Crane, P. C.; Hicks, B. C.; Stewart, K. P.; Cohen, A. S.; Lane, W. M.

2004-12-01

We present an overview of the low-frequency array (LOFAR) that will open a window on one of the last and most poorly explored regions of the electromagnetic spectrum. LOFAR will be a large (baselines up to 400 km), low-frequency (ν˜10-240MHz) aperture synthesis array with large collecting area ( ˜106m2 at 15MHz) and high resolution ( ˜1.5″ at 100 MHz), and will provide sub-mJy sensitivity across much of its operating range. LOFAR will be a powerful instrument for solar system and planetary science applications as reviewed by papers in this monogram. Key astrophysical science drivers include acceleration, turbulence, and propagation in the galactic interstellar medium, exploring the high red-shift universe and transient phenomena, as well as searching for the red-shifted signature of neutral hydrogen from the cosmologically important epoch of re-ionization.

"Should I Stay or Should I Go?": Dilemmas and Decisions among UK Undergraduates

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bradley, Harriet

2017-01-01

There is increasing concern about high rates of dropout from universities, especially among students from disadvantaged backgrounds. In the UK this is related to recent changes in higher education policy, especially the imposition of a higher fees regime and the uncapping of student numbers. While recent research has explored the demography of…

Enacs Survey of Southern Galaxies Indicates Open Universe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

1996-02-01

New Light on Rich Clusters of Galaxies and their Formation History In the context of a comprehensive Key-Programme , carried out with telescopes at the ESO La Silla Observatory, a team of European astronomers [1]. has recently obtained radial velocities for more than 5600 galaxies in about 100 rich clusters of galaxies. With this programme the amount of information about the motions of galaxies (the kinematical data) in such clusters has almost been doubled. This has allowed the team to study the distribution of the cluster masses, and also the dynamical state of clusters in new and interesting ways. An important result of this programme is that the derived masses of the investigated clusters of galaxies indicate that the mean density of the Universe is insufficient to halt the current expansion; we may therefore be living in an open Universe that will expand forever. Clusters of galaxies as tracers of large-scale structure About 40 years ago, American astronomer George Abell, working at the Palomar Observatory in California, was the first to perform a systematic study of rich clusters of galaxies , that is clusters with particularly many member galaxies located within a relatively restricted region in the sky. He identified several thousands of such clusters, and he numbered and described them; they are now known to astronomers as `Abell clusters'. More than twenty years earlier, Swiss-American astronomer Fritz Zwicky, using the famous 100-inch Mount Wilson telescope above Los Angeles, concluded that the total mass of a rich cluster of galaxies is probably much larger than the combined mass of the individual galaxies we can observe in it. This phenomenon is now known as the `Missing Dark Matter' , and many attempts have since been made to understand its true nature. Although the existence of this Dark Matter is generally accepted, it has been very difficult to prove its existence in a direct way. Rich clusters have several components: in addition to several

Rewards for Inventors: A Review of Current Practice in UK Universities.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Handscombe, R. D.

1996-01-01

Since the British government began allowing universities to exploit the products of their research, universities have developed cash reward systems for inventors. For many researchers, job satisfaction and peer recognition appear more important than monetary rewards. The money is often reinvested in further research. (SK)

On Building a Web-Based University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Constantinescu, Dana; Stefansson, Gunnar

2010-01-01

This paper describes some of the principles for building a freely available web-based university with open content. The "tutor-web" is an international project for web-assisted education, including such free and open access. This project was initiated by the University of Iceland in partnership with many universities around the world,…

Auditing and Evaluating University-Community Engagement: Lessons from a UK Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hart, Angie; Northmore, Simon

2011-01-01

The growing importance of community and public engagement activities in universities has led to an increasing emphasis on auditing and evaluating university-community partnerships. However, the development of effective audit and evaluation tools is still at a formative stage. This article presents a case study of the University of Brighton's…

Quality Assurance in UK Higher Education: Issues of Trust, Control, Professional Autonomy and Accountability

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hoecht, Andreas

2006-01-01

This article explores the issues of trust, control, professional autonomy and accountability in higher education quality assurance in the UK. The main part of this article is conceptual, but it includes results from semi-structured interviews with academic staff that were conducted at two "new university" business schools. Both…

Perceptions of the International Baccalaureate (IB) in Canadian Universities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fitzgerald, Saira

2017-01-01

This article presents the results of the first Canada-wide survey on how university admissions personnel view the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program (IBDP) in relation to other curricula. The purpose of this study was twofold: (i) to move beyond anecdote and discover how Canada compares with universities in the UK and Australia/NZ, and…

Aligning Corporate and Financial Plans in Teaching Intensive Universities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sharpe, Rhona

2018-01-01

With recent changes in how UK higher education is funded, universities are operating in a context in which finances are uncertain. It is more important than ever that university leaders are able to manage the finances of their organisations in ways which both provide long-term security and allow for investment in strategically important…

Using Learning Sets to Support UK Delivery of Off-Shore Learning in Africa

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Blackburn, Michelle

2014-01-01

This account of practice focuses on the delivery of Action Learning Sets in Swaziland and Malawi as part of a UK university's remote Master's degree teaching programme. It draws upon the experience of an Academic delivering the programme and the efforts made to refine the approach to action learning given time, understanding and resource…

Effectiveness of UK and International A-Level Assessment in Predicting Performance in Engineering

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Birch, David M.; Rienties, Bart

2014-01-01

In many universities, admissions decisions are made based upon the advanced-level (A-Level) results. The purpose of this study was to assess the value of A-level and international equivalents as a predictor of early achievement in higher education. About 135 UK and 92 international undergraduate engineering students from 35 countries were assessed…

E-cigarette regulation and policy: UK vapers' perspectives.

PubMed

Farrimond, Hannah

2016-06-01

The rapid increase in use of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) has created an international policy dilemma concerning how to use these products. This study assesses the types of beliefs that e-cigarette users in the United Kingdom may hold concerning regulation. Qualitative thematic analysis of written answers to open-ended questions. United Kingdom, questionnaire conducted by post, 44% recruited from online forums and 56% non-online. Fifty-five UK vapers, 55% male, mean age 46 years, 84% sole users of e-cigarettes, 95% vaping daily. Open-ended questions on regulatory and policy options. 'Protecting youth' was seen as a fundamental regulatory requirement which should be achieved through childproofing, age limits, no advertising aimed at children and health warnings about addictiveness of nicotine, but not the restriction of flavours. There was little support for regulating e-cigarettes as medicines or limiting the strength of nicotine liquids. In terms of public use, participants argued against a blanket ban on public vaping given perceptions of a lack of scientific evidence of harm. However, they supported the principle of autonomy, that individuals and organizations have the right to restrict vaping. Some participants suggested banning vaping in places such as schools, hospitals or around food, in line with current smoking norms. Vapers' regulatory positions were accompanied by political concerns about the use (and misuse) of scientific evidence. With regard to regulation of e-cigarettes, issues that are salient to UK vapers may include the need for youth protection, regulation as medicines, strength of e-liquids, bans on public vaping and concerns about the misuse of scientific evidence. © 2016 Society for the Study of Addiction.

The Impact of Peer Mentoring on Levels of Student Wellbeing, Integration and Retention: A Controlled Comparative Evaluation of Residential Students in UK Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Collings, R.; Swanson, V.; Watkins, R.

2014-01-01

Peer mentoring is becoming increasingly popular in UK higher education, however, there remains little good quality, theoretically driven and evaluative research. The current study aims to bridge the gap between theory, practice and evaluation by providing a controlled evaluation of a peer mentoring scheme within UK universities. 109 first year…

Distance and E-Learning, Social Justice, and Development: The Relevance of Capability Approaches to the Mission of Open Universities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tait, Alan

2013-01-01

This article reviews the discourse of mission in large distance teaching and open universities, in order to analyse the theories of development and social justice that are claimed or may be inherent in them. It is suggested that in a number of cases the claims are unsupported or naive. The article goes on to set out the nature of Amartya…

Funding in English Universities and Its Relationship to the Research Excellence Framework

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kelly, Anthony

2016-01-01

The purpose of the Research Excellence Framework (REF) is to judge the quality of research in the UK and on that basis to apportion to universities, in a transparent manner, differential shares in the UK's £1.6 billion pot of research funding. However, the funding process is anything but transparent! While the REF process was known years in…

Negative "Marking"? University Research Administrators and the Contestation of Moral Exclusion

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Allen-Collinson, Jacquelyn

2009-01-01

With the exception of academics, occupational groups within universities remain relatively under-researched. Based upon qualitative interviews with 27 research administrators in 19 UK universities, this article reports on a small-scale qualitative project to investigate the workday worlds of these "boundary-crossing" and…

An Approach to the Internationalisation of the Curriculum: Sino-British Joint Efforts for Three Online Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yawan, Li; Ying, Li

2011-01-01

With a view to facilitating good practice and enhancing further exchanges and collaboration with the Open University UK, the Open University of China initiated a joint programme of training to offer online tutors and academic management staff three courses: Student Support, Tutoring On-line, and Course Design. The programme brought in not only a…

New undergraduate curricula in the UK and Australia.

PubMed

Lumsden, M A; Symonds, I M

2010-12-01

There are many challenges facing undergraduate education in the smaller specialities such as obstetrics and gynaecology (O&G). These are similar throughout the world, although the emphasis may vary according to geography and the approach of those involved in medical education in general. The number of medical students has increased because of the greater number of doctors required, the gender balance and also because it provides revenue for the universities. This means that strategies must be developed to include more teaching units in both primary and secondary care as well as those at a distance from the main teaching provider. Australia and the UK both have this problem but, obviously, the distances involved in Australia are much greater. One of the drivers for the change in undergraduate medical education in the UK was factual overload and the need to teach basic competencies to the students. National curricula that take this into account are being developed and that in the UK has been taken up by a majority of the medical schools. The opportunities offered by O&G to provide basic skills and competencies difficult to find elsewhere in the curriculum are unparalleled. These include issues such as communication in situations where great sensitivity is required and also the impact of cultural beliefs and ethnicity on clinical practice. However, factual knowledge of medical science is also essential and ways of achieving a balance are discussed. Crown Copyright © 2010. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

General practitioners' psychosocial resources, distress, and sickness absence: a study comparing the UK and Finland.

PubMed

Heponiemi, Tarja; Elovainio, Marko; Presseau, Justin; Eccles, Martin P

2014-06-01

Many countries, including the UK and Finland, face difficulties in recruiting GPs and one reason for these difficulties may be due to negative psychosocial work environments. To compare psychosocial resources (job control and participative safety), distress and sickness absences between GPs from the UK and those from Finland. We also examined differences in how psychosocial resources are associated with distress and sickness absence and how distress is associated with sickness absence for both countries. Two independent cross-sectional surveys conducted in general practice in the UK and Finland. Analyses of covariance were used for continuous outcome variables and logistic regression for dichotomized variable (sickness absence) adjusted for gender, qualification year and response format. UK GPs reported more opportunities to control their work and had higher levels of participative safety but were more distressed than Finnish GPs. Finnish GPs were 2.3 (95% confidence interval = 1.8-3.1) times more likely to report sickness absence spells than UK GPs. Among Finnish GPs, job control opportunities and high participative safety were associated with lower levels of distress, but not among UK GPs. Among UK GPs, higher distress was associated with 2.1 (95% confidence interval = 1.3-3.6) times higher likelihood of sickness absence spells, but among Finnish GPs there were no such association. In Finland, primary health care organizations should try to improve participative safety and increase control opportunities of physicians to decrease GP distress, whereas in the UK, other work or private life factors may be more important. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Occupational health needs of universities: a review with an emphasis on the United Kingdom

PubMed Central

Venables, K M; Allender, S

2006-01-01

This study describes the needs of universities in relation to planning the provision of occupational health services, by detailing their occupational hazards and risks and other relevant factors. The paper presents the results of (1) an enquiry into publicly available data relevant to occupational health in the university sector in the United Kingdom, (2) a literature review on occupational health provision in universities, and (3) selected results from a survey of university occupational health services in the UK. Although the enquiry and survey, but not the literature review, were restricted to the UK, the authors consider that the results are relevant to other countries because of the broad similarities of the university sector between countries. These three approaches showed that the university sector is large, with a notably wide range of occupational hazards, and other significant factors which must be considered in planning occupational health provision for individual universities or for the sector as a whole. PMID:16497856