Student perceptions of barriers to networking with employers

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the usefulness of the concept of the ‘implied graduate’ to explain the difficulties, which students report when engaging with local employers. Design/methodology/approach - The ‘implied graduate’ is an analytical concept that aims to bring together assumptions about what a graduate should be like. In this paper the concept has been used to analyse interview data collected from students after they took part in an employability project at a small Higher Education (HE) campus in a Further Education (FE) college. Findings - The students in this study reported significant issues with continuing to engage and maintain contact with the employers they met during the project. For many, this was the first time they had met graduate level employers and so felt inexperienced in how to approach networking with them. It seems that some of the offers for future contact made by the employers were aimed at an ‘implied graduate’ and, as such, the students struggled to fulfil those expectations. Originality/value - This paper sheds light on the difficulties that HE in FE students face in engaging with graduate employers. These issues are likely to contribute to the well-established, but unexplained, differences in employment outcomes for students from diverse backgrounds. Keywords: Non-traditional Students, Employability, Graduates, Networking, HE in FE, Article Classification: Research pape

Applying intercultural awareness to curriculum development in Art, Design and Architecture

Through selecting and synthesising the existing literature surrounding international students, the recurrent foci have been explored and a new simple model of the international student sojourn has been generated. This model is driven by a holistic concern for the support and development of staff and students, and has been used to open a dialogue between staff and students in order to raise intercultural awareness within the disciplines of art, design and architecture. It is suggested that the collaborative fostering of intercultural awareness is the necessary first step towards developing an internationalised curriculum (Nilsson, 2003; Harrison & Peacock, 2010). This poster session will demonstrate how the model has been used to structure a workshop in the school of art, design and architecture, in which staff and students have engaged in dialogue and formulated a good practice agenda for internationalising the curriculum. The disciplines of Art, Design and Architecture present their own specific challenges for internationalisation due to the culture-bound nature of aesthetics. It is important to find out how current international students and staff cope with these challenges, and to share good practice across their disciplines. It has been discovered that in the UK certain traditions prevail, such as the emphasis on the individual creative process as well as drawing by hand before using technology, which are at odds with process of design training in other parts of the world. It is hoped that by creating increased intercultural awareness, we will be able to design curricula that will enable us to capitalise on the diverse range of experiences that international students bring to the UK. The model and workshop structure can be adapted for use by participants within their own disciplines, and the poster session will encourage delegates to explore this

Quackademia? Mass-media delegitimation of homeopathy education

In response to concerns about the standards of training for non-medically qualified homeopathic practitioners, between 1999 and 2009 a number of UK universities taught Bachelor of Science (BSc) degrees in homeopathy. All the courses were subsequently closed following media coverage of a vigorous campaign from scientists against the degree courses. A boundary-work analysis of 65 articles published in the UK print media reveals the use of metaphors from a number of different fields as rhetorical strategies to malign homeopathy education. As well as the commonly used contrasts of profit versus academic integrity, rationality versus faith and logic versus magic, media reports associated homeopathy with new universities and Mickey Mouse degrees, both of which had been denigrated in the press previously. In the press coverage, much attention was also drawn to the fact that the method of repeatedly diluting homeopathic medicines defies both logic and common sense, and the plausibility argument became a decisive blow in the debate over the legitimacy of teaching homeopathy as a science degree. It seems that the boundary work sought to protect the authority of both science and medicine by expelling homeopathy from higher education. These findings contrast with previous studies that suggest that orthodox medicine has occasionally expanded to incorporate desirable aspects of complementary and alternative therapies. Scientists carry out boundary work not just to demarcate the boundaries of science and directly defend their own interests, but also to protect the authority of other allied professions

Molecular Evidence for Dietary Adaptation in Humans

Starch digestion begins in the mouth where it is hydrolysed into smaller polysaccharides by the enzyme salivary amylase. Three salivary amylase genes (AMY1A,B & C) and a psuedogene (AMYP1) have been described and are located in tandem on the short arm of chromosome 1. Polymorphic variation has been demonstrated in Caucasian populations in the form of the number of repeats of the AMY1 genes, as follows: (1A-1B-P1)n-1C. This variation results in differing levels salivary amylase enzyme production and, as a result, differences in the efficiency of starch digestion. It is suggested that an increase in salivary gene copy number may be an adaptation to high starch diets as a result of the adoption of agriculture. A reliable high-throughput PCR based method has been designed that utilises ABI GeneScan technology, to quantify AMY1 gene copy number and to type 6 microsatellite markers closely linked to the AMY gene cluster. Data have been collected for 14 human populations, with different histories of cereal agriculture and levels of starch in the diet. Data have also been collected on AMY1 gene copy number in 5 common chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). The AMY1 allele frequency difference (measured using FST) between the two most extreme populations, the Mongolians and Saami, was not an outlier on a distribution of 11,024 SNPs from the human genome. As the AMY1 locus does not appear to differ from the rest of the genome in terms of allele frequency difference between populations, genetic drift could not be ruled out as an explanation for the observed AMY1 allele frequency differences. The chimpanzee data suggest that the most frequent allele (AMY1*H1) in humans may not be the ancestral allele, as all chimpanzee chromosomes tested carried the AMY1*H0 allele. Furthermore, a powerful method for the analysis of intra-allelic variability at the AMY locus suggests that weak positive selection has occurred on the AMY*H1 allele. As a result, genetic drift could not be ruled out as an explanation for the observed AMY1 allele frequency difference among populations. Alanine:glyoxylate aminotransferase (AGT) is an intermediary metabolic enzyme that is targeted to different organelles in different species. Previous studies have shown that there is a clear relationship between the organellar distribution of AGT and diet. Non-human primates show the herbivorous peroxisomal distribution of AGT. In humans a point mutation and insertion deletion polymorphism have been associated with peroxisome-to-mitochondria AGT mis-targeting. Data have been collected using a PCR/RFLP based method, in 11 human populations. In a comparison with FST values from 11,024 SNP loci, 94.5% of SNPs had a lower FST than a comparison of AGT allele frequencies for Saami and Chinese. This unusually high allele frequency difference between Chinese and Saami is consistent with the signature of positive selection driven by the unusually high meat content in the Saami diet

Internationalizing the Art School: What part does the studio have to play?

Art, Design and Architecture (ADA) education has a number of distinctive features, including the use of the studio as a locus for an interactive approach to teaching and learning. This article explores the concept of ‘internationalization’ and uses it as a basis to explore the pedagogies found in ADA from an intercultural perspective. The study involved staff and international students participating in focus groups and workshop events to share their experiences of teaching and learning in ADA. We found that ADA pedagogies provide a number of specific opportunities and challenges for internationalization. Positive aspects include the social nature of the studio facilitating the development of independent learning and critical skills. However, issues raised were the lack of value placed on the development of IT/technical skills and language proficiency. We suggest that there is much that ADA pedagogies have to offer the debate on internationalization

Leaving home: the challenges of Black-African international students prior to studying overseas

Much of the literature on international students centres on their experiences once they arrive in their host countries. This study explores the preparations of Black-African students for leaving their home countries to study abroad. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with 50 Black-African students studying at one British university. The students spoke of the complex and frustrating process of obtaining visas and applying to university abroad and the tensions they felt in leaving their communities. These pressures were extensive and impacted on their subsequent ability to adjust to life in their host institution. It seems that a greater understanding of the backgrounds of international students will enable us to develop more culturally inclusive universities

What’s in a name? A boundary work analysis of the controversy over university homeopathy education

Between 1999 and 2009, a number of UK universities taught Bachelor of Science (BSc) degrees in homeopathy, in response to the growing popularity of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) and concerns about standards of training for non-medically qualified practitioners. However, a number of prominent scientists launched a vigorous campaign in the media against the degrees, resulting in their closure. This paper presents a thematic analysis of the boundary work carried out by campaigners, from 65 articles published in UK print media between 1998 and 2015. The data show that a number of rhetorical strategies were used to denigrate homeopathy degrees and designate them as non-science, such as associating them with profit, religion and magic. In contrast to previous debates about CAM, one important strategy in the boundary work was a focus on the scientific implausibility of the extreme dilutions used to make homeopathic medicines. This spotlight on scientific legitimacy proved to be a decisive strategy in rendering homeopathy as non-science and therefore not eligible for inclusion in BSc programmes. The subsequent expulsion of homeopathy from the academy has had profound implications for the position of CAM in British society, as both accreditation of CAM therapies and statutory regulation are now bound not only to clinical legitimacy but also to scientific credibility. This case demonstrates that boundary work can be carried out not only to protect science from outside influence, but it may also be used to intercede in the affairs of other allied professions, in this case medicine

Auditory brainstem responses in the Eastern Screech Owl: An estimate of auditory thresholds

The auditory brainstem response (ABR), a measure of neural synchrony, was used to estimate auditory sensitivity in the eastern screech owl (Megascops asio). The typical screech owl ABR waveform showed two to three prominent peaks occurring within 5 ms of stimulus onset. As sound pressure levels increased, the ABR peak amplitude increased and latency decreased. With an increasing stimulus presentation rate, ABR peak amplitude decreased and latency increased. Generally, changes in the ABR waveform to stimulus intensity and repetition rate are consistent with the pattern found in several avian families. The ABR audiogram shows that screech owls hear best between 1.5 and 6.4 kHz with the most acute sensitivity between 4–5.7 kHz. The shape of the average screech owl ABR audiogram is similar to the shape of the behaviorally measured audiogram of the barn owl, except at the highest frequencies. Our data also show differences in overall auditory sensitivity between the color morphs of screech owls

Analysing the one-to-one tutorial: A conversation analysis approach

Tutor: So, essay writing… Student: Yeah. How do you do that? This workshop sheds light on what happens behind the closed door of the academic skills tutorial. Using Conversation Analysis we identify defining characteristics of tutorial dialogues; in particular we investigate how talk is used to establish goals, reflect power relations, confirm roles/identities, achieve neutrality and offer correction/repair. Arising from discussions within the Learning Development community around the lack of CPD opportunities and resources for new entrants to the profession, this project provides empirical research in this area and will be of value for the professional development of learning developers. After a brief introduction to the project, participants will have the opportunity to analyse dialogue extracts from authentic academic skills one-to-one tutorials in terms of the organisation of the tutorial conversation, the establishing of relationships and identities and how learning occurs. There will also be opportunity to reflect on aspects of academic tutorial conversation and consider how the dialogue extracts may be exploited for further use in the CPD of LD practitioners. This interactive workshop will provide insights into features of productive (or otherwise) individual tutorials and as a result be a useful training resource for learning development professionals. This in turn will impact on the student experience by contributing to the development of a reflective community of practitioners and evidence-informed practice