The end of free college in England: implications for quality, enrolments and equity

Despite increasing financial pressures on higher education systems throughout the world, many governments remain resolutely opposed to the introduction of tuition fees, and some countries and states where tuition fees have been long established are now reconsidering free higher education. This paper examines the consequences of charging tuition fees on university quality, enrolments, and equity. To do so, we study the English higher education system which has, in just two decades, moved from a free college system to one in which tuition fees are among the highest in the world. Our findings suggest that England’s shift has resulted in increased funding per head, rising enrolments, and a narrowing of the participation gap between advantaged and disadvantaged students. In contrast to other systems with high tuition fees, the English system is distinct in that its income-contingent loan system keeps university free at the point of entry, and provides students with comparatively generous assistance for living expenses. We conclude that tuition fees, at least in the English case supported their goals of increasing quality, quantity, and equity in higher educatio

If I Don’t Speak to My Child in My Own Language, Then Who Will? Kanak Women Writing Culture for Children

This essay is the first to emerge from an ongoing international project which looks at storytelling for children by Indigenous women in the interests of promoting Indigenous languages and cultures. Impressed and humbled by the energy and commitment of the women writers, we ask, along with New Caledonia based French academic, Patrice Favaro, ‘What can I bring to people who want to write tales drawn from the oral tradition out of their own culture about which I know nothing?’ (11). So we, as a group of non-Indigenous women academics, want to acknowledge our lack of knowledge of Kanak traditions along with the multi-disciplinary collaborative approach we bring to this work. We bring insights drawn from sociology, Indigenous studies, literature and education to bear on our analysis of the ground-breaking work of Kanak women writers in the hope that the commitment to further Indigenous interests will be even more widely shared and understood

Academic freedom in English universities: an exploration of the views of Vice-Chancellors

‘Academic freedom’ in the Twenty-First Century is a contested concept and there exist many interpretations, or versions, of academic freedom, a number of which have been identified through a review of the literature. Some scholars now claim that academic freedom no longer exists in academia, or that it has become a second order value that competes with other priorities more appropriate to the now competitive business of higher education. In this context, the philosophical and legal responsibilities that Vice-Chancellors have in protecting academic freedom can no longer be taken as unproblematic, and their views may not be clear to themselves or to the staff and students in their institutions. This thesis explores the views Vice-Chancellors have on the concept of academic freedom, how they manage academic freedom and the extent to which they believe academic freedom is practised in their university. The Vice-Chancellors interviewed, of a regional and representative sample of English universities, included those from leading pre-1992 universities and new post-1992 universities as well as one private university. Vice-Chancellors were found to have paid little, or no, attention to academic freedom. They implied that academic freedom was a matter for individual subject departments, but they were resolute that they were the arbiters whenever academic freedom became an issue. Some thought that the concept of academic freedom had been misused by individual academics who raised issues motivated by political and ideological beliefs, and those who conflated it with the civil liberty of free speech. In summarising the Vice-Chancellors’ ‘version’ of academic freedom, a key finding was that they had neglected academic freedom. Consequently, one important proposal was that Vice-Chancellors in English universities should review the nature of academic freedom and consider the implications at governance and managerial levels, at departmental level and in practice. As one Vice-Chancellor admitted: “…we’ve never said to, or proven to, the outside world that academic freedom is important”.N/

Process Evaluation Of The HealtheSteps™ Lifestyle Prescription Program

Background: Physical inactivity, sedentary behaviour, and poor diet are contributing to the rise in chronic disease rates throughout the world. HealtheSteps™ is a lifestyle prescription program focused on reducing risk factors for chronic disease through in-person coaching sessions, goal setting and tracking, and technology supports. Purpose:A process evaluation was conducted alongside a pragmatic randomized controlled trial to: a) explore the acceptability of HealtheSteps™ program from coach and participant perspectives; and b) identify where the program can be improved. Methods:Participants at risk or diagnosed with a chronic disease were recruited from five primary care/health services organizations into HealtheSteps™. Participants met with a trained coach bi-monthly for six months and set goals for physical activity (step counts), exercise (moderate to vigorous activity), and healthy eating. Coaches were interviewed at 6 months and participants at 12 months (6 months post-program). All coach interviews (n=12) were analyzed along with a purposeful sample of participant interviews (n=13). Results:Coaches found HealtheSteps™ was easy to deliver and recommendations for exercise and healthy eating were helpful. Including discussions on participant readiness to change, along with group sessions and more in-depth healthy eating resources were suggested by coaches to improve the program. Participants described the multiple avenues of accountability provided in the program as helpful. However, more feedback and interaction during and post-program from coaches was suggested by participants. Conclusions:HealtheSteps™ is an acceptable program from the perspectives of both coaches and participants with suggested improvements not requiring significant changes to the core program design

The Telehealth Skills, Training, and Implementation Project: An evaluation protocol

External stabilization is reported to improve reliability of hand held dynamometry, yet this has not been tested in burns. We aimed to assess the reliability of dynamometry using an external system of stabilization in people with moderate burn injury and explore construct validity of strength assessment using dynamometry. Participants were assessed on muscle and grip strength three times on each side. Assessment occurred three times per week for up to four weeks. Within session reliability was assessed using intraclass correlations calculated for within session data grouped prior to surgery, immediately after surgery and in the sub-acute phase of injury. Minimum detectable differences were also calculated. In the same timeframe categories, construct validity was explored using regression analysis incorporating burn severity and demographic characteristics. Thirty-eight participants with total burn surface area 5 – 40% were recruited. Reliability was determined to be clinically applicable for the assessment method (intraclass correlation coefficient \u3e0.75) at all phases after injury. Muscle strength was associated with sex and burn location during injury and wound healing. Burn size in the immediate period after surgery and age in the sub-acute phase of injury were also associated with muscle strength assessment results. Hand held dynamometry is a reliable assessment tool for evaluating within session muscle strength in the acute and sub-acute phase of injury in burns up to 40% total burn surface area. External stabilization may assist to eliminate reliability issues related to patient and assessor strength

The effect of HIV infection on time off work in a large cohort of gold miners with known dates of seroconversion

Objectives To estimate the effect of HIV infection on time off work. To provide baseline estimates for economic and actuarial models, and for evaluations of ART and other workplace interventions.Methods A retrospective cohort study of gold miners with known dates of seroconversion to HIV, and an HIV-negative comparison group, used routinely collected data to estimate the proportion of time off work by calendar period (1992-2002, prior to the introduction of ART), age, time since seroconversion and period before death. The authors calculated ORs for overall time off work and RR ratios (RRR, using multinomial logistic regression) for reasons off work relative to being at work.Results 1703 HIV-positive and 4859 HIV-negative men were followed for 34 424 person-years. HIV-positive miners spent a higher proportion of time off work than negative miners (20.7% vs 16.1%) due to greater medical and unauthorised absence. Compared with HIV-negative miners, overall time off work increased in the first 2 years after seroconversion (adjusted OR 1.40 (95% CI 1.36 to 1.45)) and then remained broadly stable for a number years, reaching 38.8% in the final year before death (adjusted OR 3.27, 95% CI 2.95 to 3.63). Absence for medical reasons showed the strongest link to HIV infection, increasing from an adjusted RRR of 2.66 (95% CI 2.45 to 2.90) for the first 2 years since seroconversion to 13.6 (95% CI 11.8 to 15.6) in the year prior to death.Conclusions Time off work provides a quantifiable measure of the effect of HIV on overall morbidity. HIV/AIDS affects both labour supply (increased time off work) and demand for health services (increased medical absence). The effects occur soon after seroconversion and stabilise before reaching very high levels in the period prior to death. Occupational health services are an important setting to identify HIV-infected men early

Reflections on equality, diversity and gender at the end of a media studies headship

This article reflects, from a feminist perspective, on a five-year period as Head of a School of Media. It considers the position of media studies within the new academic capitalism, and the re-masculinisation of the university that this has produced. It considers strategies employed by the field to stake its own claim to that masculinisation, in particular the embrace of ‘the digital’. Finally it describes the challenges this posed for the author, and tactics employed in dealing with them