17 research outputs found
Organization, Program and Structure: An Analysis of the Chinese Innovation Policy Framework
The paper first identifies the stakeholders involved in the design and implementation of China’s innovation policy and compares them with different government systems in selected Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. In order to disclose the relative strength and weaknesses inside China’s innovation policy framework, we proceed to utilize policy practices in the OECD countries as a guideline to examine China's innovation policy in five categories: reform in the public S&T institutions, financial policy, business innovation support structure, human resource policy and legislative actions. Subsequently, several weak components of the Chinese innovation policy framework are identified and two of them are selected for further analysis: education and human resource policy, and protection of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR). Finally, the paper provides some priorities and possible actions for future innovation policy developments in China.
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Identifying innovation in higher education elearning strategies
There are many case studies of individual Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) devising distinctive eLearning strategies, reported by the HEI itself, journalists, or research observatories. An extraordinarily wide range of university-level eLearning programmes are rapidly becoming available from large numbers of HEIs across Europe, and there are strong attempts being made to identify and disseminate case studies of innovative eLearning practices (e.g. MENON, 2006). However, the vital research goal of obtaining more systematic evidence across countries in relation to HEIs' innovations in eLearning strategies represents a particular challenge for collectors of case studies, especially given the diverse processes in different countries for measuring pedagogical value and cost-effectiveness.
By contrast, there are typically several reports a year of large-scale attempts to survey HEIs in relation to eLearning, sponsored, for example, by EU programmes or industry groups. Yet the factors that determine educational effectiveness are not, so far, well understood; and consequently it can be difficult to develop reliable quantitative survey items that simultaneously enable valid and insightful comparisons between essentially qualitative eLearning strategies. Moreover, such quantitative evidence is not collected systematically by the typical HEI; when collected, such evidence is commercially sensitive; and it is not easy for researchers to obtain independently of the HEI.
So, claims are made, for example, that European universities plan to 'expand their use of eLearning' (BBC News, 2005), but it is not at all clear what measures of expansion are appropriate, and what kinds of strategies are associated with such expansion.
The two-year research study described here attempted a mixed-method approach to the problem of identifying examples of innovation in relation to the eLearning strategies developed by HEIs. Where possible the study estimated the impact of the implemented eLearning programmes, but the emphasis was on illuminating a range of innovative eLearning strategy cases, rather than necessarily determining best practice.
Two key research questions asked by the study are:
1. How can innovation in Higher Education eLearning strategies be identified?
2. What factors are critical to the success of these strategies?
This research did not set out to obtain, directly, insight into why eLearning has not been more widely adopted by HEIs, why various eLearning projects have failed, why some eLearning projects have achieved less success than anticipated, or why some eLearning projects have achieved success more slowly than anticipated. However, by researching innovation, the challenges faced by the innovators, and how strategies needed to change over time, it is anticipated that the findings from this study might indirectly illuminate these crucial questions.
It is not possible within the space available here to do more than outline the methodology and highlight a few key findings: fuller reports are available on the project website www.spi.pt/innounilearning
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The fostering of innovative eLearning strategies in European higher education
Although there are strong attempts being made by various European observatories and European Commission programmes to identify and disseminate innovative eLearning practices (MENON, 2006), the factors that determine educational effectiveness are, as yet, not well understood. In particular, while an extraordinarily wide range of university-level eLearning programmes are rapidly becoming available from large numbers of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) across Europe, the sharing of good practice requires detailed accounts of successful innovative eLearning strategies. There are many relevant checklists and sets of principles described in EU websites (e.g. elearningeurope.info, 2006) and in the academic literature (e.g. Conole et al, 2004), but it is often only through thoroughly appreciating what others have done that such abstract guidance come alive. However, it can still be difficult for HEIs to learn from others. While there are many media reports of innovation, these typically have to omit the level of detail that would enable optimal understanding by those HEIs wishing to apply such innovations in their own contexts. Meanwhile, case studies presented at conferences and in the academic literature can provide the necessary level of detail, but it can be difficult to collate such case studies into a form that facilitates consistent descriptions across the diversity of European HEIs.
By identifying the various eLearning programmes applied by HEIs in a number of EU member states and conducting a detailed assessment of a sample of eLearning strategies found to be effective supporters of higher education requirements, the EC-funded InnoUniLearning project is disseminating a range of eLearning strategy case studies. Where possible this project is estimating the potential impact of the implemented eLearning programmes, but more importantly it will identify and detail the strategies applied by leading institutions and well-known success stories, as well as those institutions that have applied new and innovative eLearning programmes. It is hoped that the dissemination of these case studies will be of assistance to HEIs across Europe in implementing eLearning strategies that meet their own particular curricular and cohort requirements. The study is concentrating on illuminating a range of successful eLearning strategy cases, rather than necessarily determining best practice, which could be argued an impossible task at the moment because of a lack of learner feedback. Nevertheless, most, if not all, organisations that have implemented eLearning have gone through a period of adjustment in order to obtain an eLearning programme that is cost-efficient and effective; so capturing something of the challenges overcome by the HEIs leading this field should assist the wider EU higher education community.
This paper describes background and the methodological approach of the two-year study and some preliminary results, which will be elaborated in the conference presentation
Submillimetre line spectrum of the Seyfert galaxy NGC1068 from the Herschel-SPIRE Fourier Transform Spectrometer
The first complete submillimetre spectrum (190-670um) of the Seyfert 2 galaxy
NGC1068 has been observed with the SPIRE Fourier Transform Spectrometer onboard
the {\it Herschel} Space Observatory. The sequence of CO lines (Jup=4-13),
lines from water, the fundamental rotational transition of HF, two o-H_2O+
lines and one line each from CH+ and OH+ have been detected, together with the
two [CI] lines and the [NII]205um line. The observations in both single
pointing mode with sparse image sampling and in mapping mode with full image
sampling allow us to disentangle two molecular emission components, one due to
the compact circum-nuclear disk (CND) and one from the extended region
encompassing the star forming ring (SF-ring). Radiative transfer models show
that the two CO components are characterized by density of n(H_2)=10^4.5 and
10^2.9 cm^-3 and temperature of T=100K and 127K, respectively. The comparison
of the CO line intensities with photodissociation region (PDR) and X-ray
dominated region (XDR) models, together with other observational constraints,
such as the observed CO surface brightness and the radiation field, indicate
that the best explanation for the CO excitation of the CND is an XDR with
density of n(H_2) 10^4 cm^-3 and X-ray flux of 9 erg s^-1 cm^-2, consistent
with illumination by the active galactic nucleus, while the CO lines in the
SF-ring are better modeled by a PDR. The detected water transitions, together
with those observed with the \her \sim PACS Spectrometer, can be modeled by an
LVG model with low temperature (T_kin \sim 40K) and high density (n(H_2) in the
range 10^6.7-10^7.9 cm^-3).Comment: Accepted for publication on the Astrophysical Journal, 30 August 201
Herschel-PACS Observations of Far-IR CO Line Emission in NGC 1068: Highly Excited Molecular Gas in the Circumnuclear Disk
We report the detection of far-IR CO rotational emission from the
prototypical Seyfert 2 galaxy NGC 1068. Using Herschel-PACS, we have detected
11 transitions in the J_upper=14-30 (E_upper/k_B = 580-2565 K) range, all of
which are consistent with arising from within the central 10" (700 pc). The
detected transitions are modeled as arising from 2 different components: a
moderate excitation (ME) component close to the galaxy systemic velocity, and a
high excitation (HE) component that is blueshifted by ~80 km s^{-1}. We employ
a large velocity gradient (LVG) model and derive n_H2~10^{5.6} cm^{-3},
T_kin~170 K, and M_H2~10^{6.7} M_sun for the ME component, and n_H2~10^{6.4}
cm^{-3}, T_kin~570 K, and M_H2~10^{5.6} M_sun for the HE component, although
for both components the uncertainties in the density and mass are plus/minus
(0.6-0.9) dex. We compare the CO line profiles with those of other molecular
tracers observed at higher spatial and spectral resolution, and find that the
ME transitions are consistent with these lines arising in the ~200 pc diameter
ring of material traced by H_2 1-0 S(1) observations. The blueshift of the HE
lines may also be consistent with the bluest regions of this H_2 ring, but a
better kinematic match is found with a clump of infalling gas ~40 pc north of
the AGN. We discuss the prospects of placing the HE component near the AGN, and
conclude that while the moderate thermal pressure precludes an association with
the ~1 pc radius H_2O maser disk, the HE component could potentially be located
only a few parsecs more distant from the AGN, and might then provide the
N_H~10^{25} cm^{-2} column obscuring the nuclear hard X-rays. Finally, we also
report sensitive upper limits extending up to J_upper=50, which place
constraints on a previous model prediction for the CO emission from the X-ray
obscuring torus. [Abridged]Comment: 20 pages, 10 figures. Accepted for publication in Ap
Observations of Arp 220 using Herschel-SPIRE: An Unprecedented View of the Molecular Gas in an Extreme Star Formation Environment
We present Herschel SPIRE-FTS observations of Arp~220, a nearby ULIRG. The
FTS continuously covers 190 -- 670 microns, providing a good measurement of the
continuum and detection of several molecular and atomic species. We detect
luminous CO (J = 4-3 to 13-12) and water ladders with comparable total
luminosity; very high-J HCN absorption; OH+, H2O+, and HF in absorption; and CI
and NII. Modeling of the continuum yields warm dust, with T = 66 K, and an
unusually large optical depth of ~5 at 100 microns. Non-LTE modeling of the CO
shows two temperature components: cold molecular gas at T ~ 50 K and warm
molecular gas at T ~1350 K. The mass of the warm gas is 10% of the cold gas,
but dominates the luminosity of the CO ladder. The temperature of the warm gas
is in excellent agreement with H2 rotational lines. At 1350 K, H2 dominates the
cooling (~20 L_sun/M_sun) in the ISM compared to CO (~0.4 L_sun/M_sun). We
found that only a non-ionizing source such as the mechanical energy from
supernovae and stellar winds can excite the warm gas and satisfy the energy
budget of ~20 L_sun/M_sun. We detect a massive molecular outflow in Arp 220
from the analysis of strong P-Cygni line profiles observed in OH+, H2O+, and
H2O. The outflow has a mass > 10^{7} M_sun and is bound to the nuclei with
velocity < 250 km/s. The large column densities observed for these molecular
ions strongly favor the existence of an X-ray luminous AGN (10^{44} ergs/s) in
Arp 220.Comment: Accepted in ApJ on September 1, 201
Local Lyman Break Galaxy Analogs: The Impact of Massive Star-forming Clumps on the Interstellar Medium and the Global Structure of Young, Forming Galaxies
We present HST UV/optical imaging, Spitzer mid-IR photometry, and optical
spectroscopy of a sample of 30 low-redshift (z=0.1-0.3) galaxies chosen from
SDSS/GALEX to be accurate local analogs of the high-z Lyman Break Galaxies. The
Lyman Break Analogs (LBAs) are similar in mass, metallicity, dust, SFR, size
and gas velocity dispersion, thus enabling a detailed investigation of
processes that are important at high-z. The optical emission line properties of
LBAs are also similar to those of LBGs, indicating comparable conditions in
their ISM. In the UV, LBAs are characterized by complexes of massive
star-forming "clumps", while in the optical they most often show evidence for
(post-)mergers/interactions. In 6 cases, we find an extremely massive (>10^9
Msun) compact (R~100 pc) dominant central object (DCO). The DCOs are
preferentially found in LBAs with the highest mid-IR luminosities and
correspondingly high SFRs (15-100 Msun/yr). We show that the massive SF clumps
(including the DCOs) have masses much larger than the nuclear super star
clusters seen in normal late type galaxies. However, the DCOs have masses,
sizes, and densities similar to the excess-light/central-cusps seen in typical
elliptical galaxies with masses similar to the LBA galaxies. We suggest that
the DCOs form in present-day examples of the dissipative mergers at high
redshift that are believed to have produced the central-cusps in local
ellipticals. More generally, the properties of the LBAs are consistent with the
idea that instabilities in a gas-rich disk lead to very massive star-forming
clumps that eventually coalesce to form a spheroid. We speculate that the DCOs
are too young at present to be growing a supermassive black hole because they
are still in a supernova-dominated outflow phase.Comment: The Astrophysical Journal, In Press (22 pages, 16 figures). For the
full version with high-resolution colour figures, see:
http://www.mpa-garching.mpg.de/~overzier/Overzier_LBApaper09.pd
Smart guide for European strategic cluster partnerships
This Smart Guide provides guidance to European Strategic Cluster Partnerships (ESCP) on how to develop a successful partnership strategy and on possible actions to achieve joint projects and investments
ISO observations of M8, the Lagoon Nebula
In this paper, IRAS, ISO, and molecular line observations of the M8 and M8E sources in the Lagoon Nebula are reported