The Americanization of European Higher Education and Research

Over the past two decades there has been a substantial increase in the mobility ofstudents in Europe, while also research has become much more internationallyoriented. In this paper we document changes in the structure of research and highereducation in Europe and investigate potential explanations for the strong increase inits international orientation. While higher education started to grow substantiallyaround 1960, only a few decades later, research and higher education transformedgradually to the American standard. Decreased communication costs are likely causesfor this trend. Th is transformation is most clearly revealed in the change of languageused in research from the national language, Latin, German and French to English.Smaller language areas made this transformation earlier while there are also cleartiming diff erences between research fi elds. Sciences and medicine tend to switch toEnglish fi rst, followed by economics and social sciences, while for law and arts onlythe fi rst signs of such a transformation are currently observed. Th is suggests thatreturns to scale and the transferability of research results are important infl uences inthe decision to adopt the international standard.education, training and the labour market;

Graduate Student Recital in Viola: Jiang

Unaccompanied Cello Suite No. 1 in G major, BWV 1007 / Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750); Concerto for Viola and Orchestra / William Turner Walton (1902-1983); Clarinet (or Viola) Sonatas in E flat major, Op. 120, No. 2 / Johannes Brahms (1833-1897

The Americanization of European Higher Education and Research

Over the past two decades there has been a substantial increase in the mobility of students in Europe, while also research has become much more internationally oriented. In this paper we document changes in the structure of research and higher education in Europe and investigate potential explanations for the strong increase in its international orientation. While higher education started to grow substantially around 1960, only a few decades later, research and higher education transformed gradually to the American standard. Decreased communication costs are likely causes for this trend. This transformation is most clearly revealed in the change of language used in research from the national language, Latin, German and French to English. Smaller language areas made this transformation earlier while there are also clear timing differences between research fields. Sciences and medicine tend to switch to English first, followed by economics and social sciences, while for law and arts only the first signs of such a transformation are currently observed. This suggests that returns to scale and the transferability of research results are important influences in the decision to adopt the international standard.higher education, research, Americanization

Catholic responses to evolution, 1859-2009: local factors and mid-scale patterns

This article discusses Catholic responses to evolution between 1859, the year of publication of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species, and 2009, the year in which the scientific world celebrated its 150th anniversary. Firstly, I will discuss how the Vatican initially responded to evolution in the period between 1859 and 1907, the year in which Pope Pius X issued the encyclical Pascendi dominici gregis. Secondly, I will explore the responses of Catholic authorities and intellectuals and identify the local factors that influenced their responses. Also, I will demonstrate that, gradually, Catholics have shifted towards a more lenient position concerning evolution. Thirdly, I will demonstrate that, in the end, the Vatican has complied with this pattern. In general, this article shows that not only Protestants, but Catholics too have struggled to come to terms with evolution and evolutionary theory and that local factors had an impact on these negotiations

Cut-and-join structure and integrability for spin Hurwitz numbers

Spin Hurwitz numbers are related to characters of the Sergeev group, which are the expansion coefficients of the Q Schur functions, depending on odd times and on a subset of all Young diagrams. These characters involve two dual subsets: the odd partitions (OP) and the strict partitions (SP). The Q Schur functions Q_R with R\in SP are common eigenfunctions of cut-and-join operators W_\Delta with \Delta\in OP. The eigenvalues of these operators are the generalized Sergeev characters, their algebra is isomorphic to the algebra of Q Schur functions. Similarly to the case of the ordinary Hurwitz numbers, the generating function of spin Hurwitz numbers is a \tau-function of an integrable hierarchy, that is, of the BKP type. At last, we discuss relations of the Sergeev characters with matrix models.Comment: 22 page

Books on power transformers in English - Part 1

This article presents a comprehensive historical review of the literature on power transformers, spanning from 1885, when the transformers were patented, up until the end of the 19th century. Tracing the evolution of knowledge surrounding transformers during this pivotal period, the article delves into the works of notable authors and key advancements in understanding and utilizing transformers, as well as the respective electrical engineering technologies in the early days

The effect of lip-slur practice on increasing pitch range in brasswind instrument students

Lip-slur exercises comprise part of the practice routines of many professional and serious amateur brasswind players. There are several reasons why so many players practise lip-slurs. One of those reasons is the belief that lip-slurs contribute to the development of the brasswind high register. This study argues that while there is a vast amount of anecdotal evidence from many authors widely deemed to be influential in the form of method books or writings that lip-slurs can contribute to the development of the brasswind high register, there has been little research to support this widely held belief. This study used a matched subjects control group pre-test/post-test design to test a researcher-designed lip-slur teaching program aimed at subjects in their second to fifth years of brasswind study. The subjects were in school years eight, nine and ten. The pre-test and post-test was a researcher-designed high register test utilising a chromatic scale. In order to account for family variables which might influence the experiment, a questionnaire was developed and various statistical procedures used to calculate the effect of family background. The results of this study indicated that lip-slurs play an important role in the acquisition of the high register by brasswind students. The degree of importance is dependent on various factors. From this study, it appears that a major factor is the ceiling effect. Students who scored low to medium pre-test scores gained greater initial benefit from the inclusion of lip-slurs in the teaching program than those who had high pre-test scores. The students on whom the ceiling effect acted most were those who achieved high pre-test scores. This study concluded that low achievers can gain rapid short term advantage from lip-slur practice, while for high achievers, the inclusion of lip-slurs in the daily routine could lead slowly to long term gain