Evolving Diversity II: Participation of students with an immigrant background in European Higher Education

EQUNET is a 3-year project researching the state of equity in Higher Education in Europe. The project aims to create an evidence-based policy advocacy network, so as to promote its conclusions as a way to promote better-informed policy making on equity issues in Europe. This is the second of three reports, and is dedicated to improving the picture of equity in access to Higher Education in Europe for persons of immigrant origin. The report provides a theoretical framework for discussion of the topic, a statistical cross-country analysis of access-figures, as well as detailed country-studies for Germany, Norway and the United Kingdom. It is the result of a year of research conducted by a multi-disciplinary team of researchers originating from across Europe. (DIPF/Orig.

Evaluation of physical activity programmes for the elderly - exploring the lessons from other sectors and examining the general characteristics of the programmes

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In Portugal, there are several physical activity (PA) programmes for elderly people developed by the local government. The importance of these programmes has been increasing since the evidence has shown that this type of health promotion interventions may reduce the deleterious effects of the ageing process. However, no study has already identified the general characteristics of these programmes nor if they use any scheme to assess the quality of the service provided. A widely-used scheme is the EFQM Excellence Model, which will be in the core of our present work. Thus, the main aims of this preliminary study were 1) to identify the general characteristics of the PA programmes developed by the Portuguese Local Public Administration 2) to determine the extent of implementation of quality initiatives in these programmes.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Data were collected by an on-line questionnaire sent to all Continental Municipalities (n = 278). Categorical data were expressed as absolute counts and percentages. Continuous data were expressed as the mean and SD. An open-ended question was analysed using qualitative content analysis with QSR NVivo software. Associations between categorical variables were tested by the use of contingency tables and the calculation of chi-square tests. Significance level was set at p ≤ 0.05.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Results showed: i) a total of 125 PA programmes were identified in the 18 districts of the Portugal mainland; ii) the main goal of the majority (95.2%) was the participants' health promotion; iii) different characteristics of the programmes were found according to different regions of the country; iv) certain characteristics of the programmes were associated to the existence of other features; v) only one PA programme developed quality initiatives.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>In conclusion, although there are many PA programmes for elderly people spread throughout the country, aiming at improving the health of participants, the overwhelming majority does not adopt quality control initiatives. Considering that the quality of a service increases customer satisfaction, the continuous quality improvement of the PA programmes for elderly people should therefore be implemented since they can be useful and critical for elderly satisfaction and adherence.</p

Untersuchung zur Verwendung von elektro-optischen Messverfahren fuer Ueberwachungsmassnahmen im Endlager. Bd. 1 Zusammenfassung und Auswertung. Abschlussbericht

A comparative analysis has shown that optical fiber sensors offer a considerable advantage, allowing to perform spatially continuous sensing along an optical fiber sometimes measuring kilometers in length. Radiation effects from ionizing radiation levels to be expected in a radwaste repository are neglectable. Purely optical sensoring networks are resistant against electromagnetic radiation and corrosion. They offer particular advantages for the development of efficient network modules. (DG)Eine vergleichende Untersuchung hat ergeben, dass das Prinzip der raumkontinuierlichen Messung entlang einer zum Teil mehrere Kilometer langen Glasfaser einen wesentlichen Vorteil faseroptischer Sensoren darstellt. Eine Beeinflussung der Messsysteme durch radioaktive Strahlung ist bei der in einem Endlager zu erwartenden Belastung fuer das System zu vernachlaessigen. Rein optische Netzwerke sind immun gegen elektromagnetische Strahlung und Korrosionseinfluesse. Sie eignen sich besonders zur Entwicklung leistungsfaehiger Netzwerkmodule. (DG)Available from TIB Hannover: F96B1443+a / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekSIGLEBundesministerium fuer Bildung, Wissenschaft, Forschung und Technologie, Bonn (Germany)DEGerman

Study of electro-optical sensing systems for long term monitoring in underground nuclear waste disposal sites. Final report. Vol. 2 Technical descriptions

The fibre optic techniques are compared with conventional sensing methods to emphasise the inferentadvantages for sensing purposes. The respective physical properties to be monitored in nuclear waste disposal sites, e.g. temperature, hydrostatik pressure, humidity, stain, displacement, water flow, pH level, chemical parameter, and radiation, are studied. Combining multiple sensors into a network or a distributed system is discussed. The influence of radiation on optical fibres and optoelectronics is briefly illustrated. (DG)Available from TIB Hannover: F96B1444+a / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekSIGLEBundesministerium fuer Bildung, Wissenschaft, Forschung und Technologie, Bonn (Germany)DEGerman