Counting What Is Measured or Measuring What Counts? League Tables and Their Impact On Higher Education Institutions in England

This report investigates league tables and their impact on higher education institutions (HEIs) in England. It presents findings from two strands of research: – an analysis of five league tables selected for the study, their methodologies and the underlying data employed, and – an investigation of how higher education institutions respond to league tables generally and the extent to which they influence institutional decision-making and actions. The purpose of the research is to stimulate informed debate about the approaches and limitations of the various league tables, and greater understanding among the users and stakeholders of the implications of making decisions based on these sources of information

KOMPRESI VIDEO MENGGUNAKAN SINGULAR VALUE DECOMPOSITION DAN TRANSFORMASI WAVELET

ABSTRAKSI: Kebutuhan akan file-file multimedia, seperti video, dalam jumlah yang besar, membutuhkan ruang penyimpanan yang besar. Oleh karena itu diperlukan sebuah metode kompresi yang sesuai agar menghasilkan rasio kompresi yang cukup besar namun tidak mengurangi kualitas video tersebut.Pada tugas akhir ini dikembangkan suatu metode kombinasi SVD dan Transformation Wavelet. Transformasi wavelet merupakan teknik mendekomposisi citra/frame digital menjadi empat subband yaitu subband diagonal (HH), subband horisontal (HL), subband vertikal (LH), dan subband aproksimasi (LL) sesuai dengan level dekomposisinya. Sedangkan SVD adalah proses dekomposisi sebuah matriks menjadi 3 komponen matriks, yaitu matriks vektor singular kiri, matriks nilai singular, dan matriks vektor singular kanan. Penggabungan kedua metode ini menghasilkan sistem kompresi yang bersifat lossy compression. Untuk mengetahui performansi hasil proses kompresi dilakukan melalui perhitungan PSNR dan rasio kompresi.Berdasarkan seluruh hasil pengujian, sistem kompresi menggunakan arithmetic coding berbasis SVD dan Transformation Wavelet memiliki performansi yang baik untuk video tanpa noise maupun video dengan noise. Dengan PSNR ratarata yaitu 455.2791 dB &1314.675 dB dan tingkat kompresi rata-rata yaitu 93.64764 % & 93,6095 % .Kata Kunci : Kompresi Video, Singular Value Decomposition, Transformasi Wavelet,ABSTRACT: The necessity of multimedia’s files in large numbers, such as video, needs large memories too. Therefore, a suitable compression method is needed to make a high compression ratio but not to decrease the quality significantlyIn this final project, the author also develop a simulation of video compression using hybrid SVD and Wavelet Transformation method. Wavelet transformation is a technique to decomposite an frame/image into four subbands i.e. diagonal subband, horizontal subband, vertical subband, and approximation subband based on its decomposition level. Meanwhile, SVD (Singular Value Decomposition) is a process to decomposite a matrix into three matrix components i.e. singular values, left singular vector, and right singular vector. The hybrid of these methods is a lossy compression. The performance of this system is known by count PSNR (Peak Signal to Noise Ratio) and compression ratio.Based on the simulation results, compression using arithmetic coding based on SVD and Wavelet Transformation for real Video and Video with noise has a good performance. The average PSNR are 455.2791 dB &1314.675 dB and the average compression level are 93.64764 % & 93,6095 %Keyword: video compression, lossy compression, Wavelet Transformation

International Students’ Perceptions and Experiences of British Drinking Cultures.

While the increased scale and importance of international students to the UK Higher Education sector is now well established, little is known about the ways in which students from non-UK countries experience and interact with the heavy drinking culture that predominates on and near many British universities. Drawing on qualitative interviews, this article analyses the perceptions, attitudes and experiences of British drinking cultures held by international students studying on postgraduate courses at a UK university. Students report prior awareness of alcohol consumption being important to British culture and recount both positive and negative experiences of witnessing and, for many, participating in drinking alcohol. Students make ready comparisons with the drinking habits and attitudes of their own culture. Further still, many made a distinction between the public house, or ‘pub’, as a welcoming and friendly social space and bars and nightclubs where a far greater risk of exposure to violence and harassment was perceived. The article provides theoretical insights to support future and more wide-ranging research into mobile drinking cultures and also suggests practical implications to inform stakeholders with interests in the welfare of international students in the UK in relation to the provision of effective and proactive policies which address the impact of British drinking cultures on international student integration and wellbeing

Expression of the SST receptor 2 in uveal melanoma is not a prognostic marker

Introduction: Uveal melanoma (UM) cells and neurohormone-producing cells both originate from the neural crest. Somatostatin receptors subtype 2 (SSTR2) are over-expressed in several tumors, often from neuroendocrine origin, and synthetic antagonists like octreotide and octreotate are being used as diagnostic or therapeutic agents. We investigated the SSTR2 expression in UM, and determined whether this expression was related to prognosis of the disease. Materials and methods: UM cell lines and fresh primary UM samples were tested for SSTR2 expression by autoradiography (AR) using 125I-Tyr3-octreotate. Furthermore, UM cell lines were analyzed for SSTR2 mRNA expression with quantitative real-time RT-PCR. Results: Using AR, cell-surface SSTR2 expression was demonstrated in two UM metastatic cell lines, but no expression was detected in three cell lines derived from primary UM. However, all primary and metastatic UM cell lines showed mRNA expression levels for SSTR2 using quantitative real-time RT-PCR. Only three of 14 primary UM demonstrated moderate SSTR2 expression, and this expression was not significantly associated with tumor-free survival or any tested prognostic factor. Conclusions: Based on the rare and low expression of SSTR2 found in primary UM specimens and in UM cell lines, we conclude that SSTR2 is not widely expressed in UM. Furthermore, SSTR2 expression was not associated with tumor-free survival and prognostic factors. Therefore SSTR2 is not suited as prognostic marker or therapeutic target in UM

Managing international branch campuses: what do we know? [forthcoming]

peer-reviewedOver the last decade, the growth of the international branch campus (IBC) has been one of the most striking developments in the internationalisation of higher education. There are now over 200 IBCs across the world, mostly in the Middle East and East and South‐east Asia. Despite the growing numbers of IBCs and the considerable financial and reputational risk they pose to their home universities, relatively little is known about the challenges of managing these foreign outposts. This paper reviews the growing, but still fragmented, literature in this increasingly important sector of higher education. It finds that managers of IBCs are faced with a range of challenges, which primarily stem from dealing with key stakeholder groups: students, staff, home and host country quality regulators, the home university and the host government, as well as the IBC's local joint venture partners. It concludes that further work is required to better understand the factors which influence and constrain IBC managers in balancing the competing interests of stakeholders.ACCEPTEDpeer-reviewe

Mda-9/Syntenin Is Expressed in Uveal Melanoma and Correlates with Metastatic Progression

Uveal melanoma is an aggressive cancer that metastasizes to the liver in about half of the patients, with a high lethality rate. Identification of patients at high risk of metastases may provide indication for a frequent follow-up for early detection of metastases and treatment. The analysis of the gene expression profiles of primary human uveal melanomas showed high expression of SDCBP gene (encoding for syndecan-binding protein-1 or mda-9/syntenin), which appeared higher in patients with recurrence, whereas expression of syndecans was lower and unrelated to progression. Moreover, we found that high expression of SDCBP gene was related to metastatic progression in two additional independent datasets of uveal melanoma patients. More importantly, immunohistochemistry showed that high expression of mda-9/syntenin protein in primary tumors was significantly related to metastatic recurrence in our cohort of patients. Mda-9/syntenin expression was confirmed by RT-PCR, immunofluorescence and immunohistochemistry in cultured uveal melanoma cells or primary tumors. Interestingly, mda-9/syntenin showed both cytoplasmic and nuclear localization in cell lines and in a fraction of patients, suggesting its possible involvement in nuclear functions. A pseudo-metastatic model of uveal melanoma to the liver was developed in NOD/SCID/IL2Rγ null mice and the study of mda-9/syntenin expression in primary and metastatic lesions revealed higher mda-9/syntenin in metastases. The inhibition of SDCBP expression by siRNA impaired the ability of uveal melanoma cells to migrate in a wound–healing assay. Moreover, silencing of SDCBP in mda-9/syntenin-high uveal melanoma cells inhibited the hepatocyte growth factor (HGF)-triggered invasion of matrigel membranes and inhibited the activation of FAK, AKT and Src. Conversely syntenin overexpression in mda-9/syntenin-low uveal melanoma cells mediated opposite effects. These results suggest that mda-9/syntenin is involved in uveal melanoma progression and that it warrants further investigation as a candidate molecular marker of metastases and a potential therapeutic target

Chinese investors investment strategies in the Australian residential property market

Active participation by foreign investors in Australian residential property market is common subsequent to the Global Financial Crisis 2008. Many residential properties in the Australian capital cities were purchased by overseas buyers. An estimated 18% of new dwellings in Sydney and 14% in Melbourne were purchased by foreigners in 2014. Simultaneously, house prices rose by 6.0% in 2014 and 5.0% in 2015 in the Australian capital cities. The focus of this research is to uncover the emerging determinants for the Australian residential property market. Cross border semi-structured interviews were conducted in Shanghai (China), the first such undertaken in Australia. Some unique investment strategies of the private investors from China emphasised on non-capitalist factors, such as early education and residential tourism, were identified along with some insights on the Chinese government policies that have incentivised the cross border investments from China. It is believed that understanding these investment strategies will assist policy makers to effectively manage the overheated Australian residential property market without compromising the steady flow of Foreign Real Estate Investmen

National Regulatory Approaches to Transnational Higher Education

Transnational higher education is not a new phenomenon, but the pace of its global expansion is a new development. (Transnational is used here to designate higher education provided by one country in another and excludes provision where just the students travel abroad.) As foreign delivery becomes increasingly widespread, countries are facing a growing need to regulate this type of provision. Although many countries have yet to establish a clear regulatory framework for the import and export of transnational higher education, ambitions to regulate and offer quality assurance for this type of provision are an emerging international trend