Faculty Members’ Perceptions of Internationalization of Curriculum: Globalization and Localization, a Comparative Study

This study explores FM members’ (FM) perceptions of the internationalization of curriculum (IoC) at the undergraduate level through the collection of data from two countries: Pakistan and the UK. The similarities and differences in internationalization strategies were explored. Historical and existing educational ties between the two contexts and an equally emerging focus on internationalization at home provided a major cornerstone for this study. Quantitative data were collected from two universities using a cross-sectional and comparative research design by employing a reliable and valid scale with three subscales: curriculum embedded in labor market information, curriculum embedded in employability skills, and curriculum embedded in global citizenship. A comparison between the perceptions of these two universities, by taking perceptions of FM across their disciplines, and experienced and less experienced FM was made. The findings indicate a global influence on the local context for internationalization at home and the importance of experienced FM members. Various disciplines in these universities are congruent with respect to these three subscales, except for one, the curriculum embedded in global citizenship for engineering and design. The findings reveal the global influences on the local contexts in the internationalizing curriculum and the relevance of experienced FM in terms of curriculum and labour market experiences rather than years of service. The findings examine the importance of internationalization at home in both contexts. Since the study was quantitative in nature, an in-depth understanding of FM experiences could not be obtained. Globalization and intercultural ties have led to internationalization at home, as intercultural ties and connections seem to contribute to IoC. Context- and discipline-related differences provide implications for IoC, considering socio-cultural and institutional factors. This study provides a new perspective to help understand the influence of globalization on internationalizing higher education

The International Centre for Guidance Studies

This article promotes the work of the International Centre for Guidance Studies (iCeGS)and celebrates their 25th anniversary

Field Measurements at River and Tidal Current Sites for Hydrokinetic Energy Development: Best Practices Manual

In this report, existing data collection techniques and protocols for characterizing open channel flows are reviewed and refined to further address the needs of the MHK industry. The report provides an overview of the hydrodynamics of river and tidal channels, and the working principles of modern acoustic instrumentation, including best practices in remote sensing methods that can be applied to hydrokinetic energy site characterization. Emphasis is placed upon acoustic Doppler velocimeter (ADV) and acoustic-Doppler current profiler (ADCP) instruments, as these represent the most practical and economical tools for use in the MHK industry. Incorporating the best practices as found in the literature, including the parameters to be measured, the instruments to be deployed, the instrument deployment strategy, and data post-processing techniques. The data collected from this procedure aims to inform the hydro-mechanical design of MHK systems with respect to energy generation and structural loading, as well as provide reference hydrodynamics for environmental impact studies. The standard metrics and protocols defined herein can be utilized to guide field experiments with MHK systems

SCiP Alliance Thriving Lives Toolkit: Implementation and Impact Evaluation

Primary and secondary schools responded positively to the Thriving Lives Toolkit, finding it to be a valuable resource which promoted auditing, action planning and development. All schools made progress on the principles, even when they had only been using it for a short time frame. Senior leadership support was important for facilitating this. The progress made by schools started with appointing a named contact and typically involved making use of local and national support groups and evidence based resources to increase staff awareness and implement a range of interventions. Most often these were focused on making transition more effective but schools also spent time on improving wellbeing and attainment. Schools perceived several outcomes as a consequence of this activity. School staff were more confident in supporting Service children and this had become a key activity in schools. Service children were perceived to have improved wellbeing and to be more engaged in school. Schools had improved relationships with Service families. The findings suggest that the self-assessment process enabled schools to improve their provision - engaging with the Toolkit has facilitated activity, progress and positive outcomes for Service children

Investing in careers: What is career guidance worth?

Career describes our pathway through life, learning and work. It is how we make a difference in the world and how we balance the competing demands on our time. When individuals make good choices about their education and training, access decent work, balance their various responsibilities and develop and progress throughout life, we have well-functioning societies. We have done extensive costing work to estimate how much the government is currently spending on career guidance and to compare that to the level of spend in 2009. We estimate the figures as follows: • We currently spend £68 per person, per year on the delivery of career guidance to young people. The equivalent figure in 2009 (adjusted for inflation) was £159. • We currently spend £26 per person, per year on the delivery of career guidance to adults. The equivalent figure in 2009 (adjusted for inflation) was £35. The level of investment is one of the major issues that career guidance in England faces. However, it is not the only one. Funding is currently highly fragmented and dependent on a series of local decisions in schools, colleges, universities and local authorities. There is a desperate need to manage funding more strategically to ensure greater consistency. The career guidance workforce has also been depleted and the system has been de-professionalised. There is a need to take actions to improve quality and strengthen the professionalism of the system. The Career Guidance Guarantee represents is a thought through and costed plan to achieve the improvements that are needed. To implement it in full we would need to spend an additional £315m on youth careers services and an additional £235m on adult careers services. This equates to an average additional spend of £47 per person on career guidance for young people and an additional £6 per head on working age adults. This represents a very modest new investment, which when combined with the other reforms in the Career Guidance Guarantee would lead to a much more effective system. Career guidance is a powerful intervention that can make a substantial difference to the lives of those who are able to access it. Currently too few people in England are able to access career guidance or are even aware that services are available and those that do get it often find that it is too poorly resourced. Government needs to take a more strategic approach, professionalise the system and ensure its quality and begin a programme of new investment. The Career Guidance Guarantee represents a clear and costed blueprint as to how this can be achieved

Experimental Test Plan DOE Tidal and River Reference Turbines

Our aim is to provide details of the experimental test plan for scaled model studies in St. Anthony Falls Laboratory (SAFL) Main Channel at the University of Minnesota, including a review of study objectives, descriptions of the turbine models, the experimental set-up, instrumentation details, instrument measurement uncertainty, anticipated experimental test cases, post-processing methods, and data archiving for model developers

Evaluation of the Impact of Transthoracic Endoscopic Sympathectomy on Patients with Palmar Hyperhydrosis

AbstractObjectives. We assessed the impact of transthoracic endoscopic sympathectomy (TES) on the quality of life of patients with palmar hyperhydrosis.Design. A retrospective questionnaire based study.Methods. Patients undergoing TES at our institution between 1997 and 2002 received a SF-36 quality of life postal questionnaire. The pre- and post-operative symptoms were assessed. Statistical analysis was by means of the Student's t test.Results. Ninety-four TES were carried out in 62 patients. Forty-one cases were female. The age range was 17–64 years. The mean follow-up period was 38.46 months. Mean hospital stay was 3 days. Compensatory hyperhydrosis was reported in 29 cases and only considered severe in four cases (9.7%). Forty-one patients replied to the questionnaire (66%). The overall quality of life (as assessed by the SF-36 form) was unanimously improved (p<0.0009) and demonstrated significant improvements in social functioning (p<0.0002), physical role limitations (p<0.0007), emotional well-being (p<0.0007) and overall energy levels (p<0.05).Conclusion. TES resulted in significant improvements inpatient's overall quality of life, social and emotional functioning. The procedure is associated with minimal morbidity and only a short inpatient stay is required. Patients should be cautioned on the possibility of compensatory hyperhydrosis which may occur in a small number of cases

Reference Inflow Characterization for River Resource Reference Model (RM2)

Sandia National Laboratory (SNL) is leading an effort to develop reference models for marine and hydrokinetic technologies and wave and current energy resources. This effort will allow the refinement of technology design tools, accurate estimates of a baseline levelized cost of energy (LCoE), and the identification of the main cost drivers that need to be addressed to achieve a competitive LCoE. As part of this effort, Oak Ridge National Laboratory was charged with examining and reporting reference river inflow characteristics for reference model 2 (RM2). Published turbulent flow data from large rivers, a water supply canal and laboratory flumes, are reviewed to determine the range of velocities, turbulence intensities and turbulent stresses acting on hydrokinetic technologies, and also to evaluate the validity of classical models that describe the depth variation of the time-mean velocity and turbulent normal Reynolds stresses. The classical models are found to generally perform well in describing river inflow characteristics. A potential challenge in river inflow characterization, however, is the high variability of depth and flow over the design life of a hydrokinetic device. This variation can have significant effects on the inflow mean velocity and turbulence intensity experienced by stationary and bottom mounted hydrokinetic energy conversion devices, which requires further investigation, but are expected to have minimal effects on surface mounted devices like the vertical axis turbine device designed for RM2. A simple methodology for obtaining an approximate inflow characterization for surface deployed devices is developed using the relation umax=(7/6)V where V is the bulk velocity and umax is assumed to be the near-surface velocity. The application of this expression is recommended for deriving the local inflow velocity acting on the energy extraction planes of the RM2 vertical axis rotors, where V=Q/A can be calculated given a USGS gage flow time-series and stage vs. cross-section area rating relationship