Science communication 2.0: The situation of Spain through its public universities and the most widely-circulated online newspapers

The level of scientific culture among young Spaniards is one of the lowest in Europe. The media, as spokes- persons to the public, and public universities, as the institutions responsible for higher education, are two important parties with the responsibility for changing this situation. This study analyses how both use the Internet and Web 2.0 to promote science. In the case of universities, the results demonstrate the effort they are making to connect science to these tools. 72.9% have a scientific news feed and almost a third have a profile on Facebook and Twitter. However, the role of Spanish science is still irrelevant in online newspapers. Only 35.4% of published information refers to research in Spain

Social Mobility in the UK's Higher Education Sector: A Critical Review

Social mobility is at the forefront of the British Government’s plans to improve the lives of the most deprived groups in society. Since the election of the New Labour government in May 1997, consecutive governments, have championed the concept of social mobility. The fundamental aim of social mobility is to tackle social barriers for disadvantaged groups in education and employment. However, within the social sciences there has been a lack of critical discussion regarding the theorisation of social mobility within the context of higher education (HE). In recent times higher education research has instead had a greater focus on pedagogy. The aim of this review is to critically explore past and current debates on social mobility, and the importance the concept has in the higher education sector. In this paper special reference will be made to the new UK government higher education policy on the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF)