Wpływ oceny jakości na szkolnictwo wyższe w Holandii

In 1988 the Association of Universities in Netherlands (VSNU) started a quality assessment system of education, that consists of self-assessment and external assessment of study programs operating nation-wide. In 1990 a similar system was introduced in the non-university sector of higher education. The visiting committees judgements are intended, first, to enhance the quality of the study program. Improvement of the quality of education cannot be expected immediately. However, after some years, it should become visible what are the effects of the quality assessment system on the quality activities of higher education institutions. This question is addressed in this paper. Attention is paid to quality management activities, the utilization of evaluation results and the satisfaction on the study program level with quality assessment system, which was introduced.W 1988 r. Związek Uniwersytetów Holenderskich (VSNU) zapoczątkował wprowadzanie systemu oceny jakości kształcenia, który obejmuje samoocenę placówki oraz ocenę dokonywaną przez zewnętrzną komisję, wizytującą każdy kierunek studiów. System ten działa w skali całego kraju, w roku 1990 został nim objęty sektor nieuniwersytecki szkolnictwa wyższego. Oceny dokonywane przez zespoły wizytujące mają na celu przede wszystkim polepszenie jakości kształcenia na poszczególnych kierunkach studiów. Nie można oczekiwać, aby w efekcie zastosowania systemu szybko nastąpiła poprawa jakości kształcenia, ale po kilku latach powinno już być widoczne, jaki jest jego wpływ na działania instytucji szkolnictwa wyższego w dziedzinie jakości. Właśnie tą kwestią zajmują się autorzy. Przedmiotem ich szczególnego zainteresowania są takie zagadnienia, jak działania związane z kierowaniem jakością (quality management activities), wykorzystywanie wyników przeprowadzanej oceny, a także stopień satysfakcji poszczególnych kierunków studiów z wprowadzonego systemu oceny jakości

Post-head-emergence frost in wheat and barley: defining the problem, assessing the damage, and identifying resistance

Radiant frost is a significant production constraint to wheat (Triticum aestivum) and barley (Hordeum vulgare), particularly in regions where spring-habit cereals are grown through winter, maturing in spring. However, damage to winter-habit cereals in reproductive stages is also reported. Crops are particularly susceptible to frost once awns or spikes emerge from the protection of the flag leaf sheath. Post-head-emergence frost (PHEF) is a problem distinct from other cold-mediated production constraints. To date, useful increased PHEF resistance in cereals has not been identified. Given the renewed interest in reproductive frost damage in cereals, it is timely to review the problem. Here we update the extent and impacts of PHEF and document current management options to combat this challenge. We clarify terminology useful for discussing PHEF in relation to chilling and other freezing stresses. We discuss problems characterizing radiant frost, the environmental conditions leading to PHEF damage, and the effects of frost at different growth stages. PHEF resistant cultivars would be highly desirable, to both reduce the incidence of direct frost damage and to allow the timing of crop maturity to be managed to maximize yield potential. A framework of potential adaptation mechanisms is outlined. Clarification of these critical issues will sharpen research focus, improving opportunities to identify genetic sources for improved PHEF resistance

‘How, for God’s sake, can I be a good Muslim?' Gambian Youth in Search of a Moral Lifestyle

By analysing the case study of a young Muslim man's conversion within and between different expressions of Islam in the Gambia, this article challenges common understandings of conversion that see it as a transition from one form of religious belief or identity to another, as well as theories of Islam's place in Africa that distinguish between ‘local’ traditions and ‘world’ religions. The ethnographic case study illustrates that, for Gambian youth, conversion is not a unilinear path but entails the continuous making of moral negotiations and a preparedness to reflect on the ambiguity of selfhood – an inevitable result of the making of these negotiations

Effects of Quality Assessment in Dutch Higher Education

W 1988 r. Związek Uniwersytetów Holenderskich (VSNU) zapoczątkował wprowadzanie systemu oceny jakości kształcenia, który obejmuje samoocenę placówki oraz ocenę dokonywaną przez zewnętrzną komisję, wizytującą każdy kierunek studiów. System ten działa w skali całego kraju, w roku 1990 został nim objęty sektor nieuniwersytecki szkolnictwa wyższego. Oceny dokonywane przez zespoły wizytujące mają na celu przede wszystkim polepszenie jakości kształcenia na poszczególnych kierunkach studiów. Nie można oczekiwać, aby w efekcie zastosowania systemu szybko nastąpiła poprawa jakości kształcenia, ale po kilku latach powinno już być widoczne, jaki jest jego wpływ na działania instytucji szkolnictwa wyższego w dziedzinie jakości. Właśnie tą kwestią zajmują się autorzy. Przedmiotem ich szczególnego zainteresowania są takie zagadnienia, jak działania związane z kierowaniem jakością (quality management activities), wykorzystywanie wyników przeprowadzanej oceny, a także stopień satysfakcji poszczególnych kierunków studiów z wprowadzonego systemu oceny jakości.In 1988 the Association of Universities in Netherlands (VSNU) started a quality assessment system of education, that consists of self-assessment and external assessment of study programs operating nation-wide. In 1990 a similar system was introduced in the non-university sector of higher education. The visiting committees judgements are intended, first, to enhance the quality of the study program. Improvement of the quality of education cannot be expected immediately. However, after some years, it should become visible what are the effects of the quality assessment system on the quality activities of higher education institutions. This question is addressed in this paper. Attention is paid to quality management activities, the utilization of evaluation results and the satisfaction on the study program level with quality assessment system, which was introduced

Characteristics of the Extended Burst Tails from SGR 1806-20 During the 2004 Active Episode

In 2004, SGR 1806-20 underwent an episode of extreme activities, exhibiting thousands of recurrent bursts and finally the 27 December giant flare, which was the most energetic extra-solar event ever detected near Earth. During this active episode, we routinely monitored the source with Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer and occasionally with Chandra. We identified two relatively strong event that were followed by extended (few hundreds-thousands seconds long) tail emission. Here, we present detailed spectral investigations of these two strong SGR 1806-20 events with extended tail observed about 6 and 1.5 months prior to the 27 December 2004 giant flare. We find that both extended burst tail spectra exhibit thermal behavior. Similar thermal spectral trend was also seen in two SGR 1900+14 bursts with extended tails, therefore, it may be a general characteristic of extended SGR events

Feasibility and Safety of Tailored Lymphadenectomy Using Sentinel Node-Navigated Surgery in Patients with High-Risk T1 Esophageal Adenocarcinoma

Background: Selective lymphadenectomy using sentinel node-navigated surgery (SNNS) might offer a less invasive alternative to esophagectomy in patients with high-risk T1 esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC). The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility and safety of a new treatment strategy, consisting of radical endoscopic resection of the tumor followed by SNNS. Methods: In this multicenter pilot study, ten patients with a radically resected high-risk pT1cN0 EAC underwent SNNS. A hybrid tracer of technetium-99m nanocolloid and indocyanine green was injected endoscopically around the resection scar the day before surgery, followed by preoperative imaging. During surgery, sentinel nodes (SNs) were identified using a thoracolaparoscopic gammaprobe and fluorescence-based detection, and subsequently resected. Endpoints were surgical morbidity and number of detected and resected (tumor-positive) SNs. Results: Localization and dissection of SNs was feasible in all ten patients (median 3 SNs per patient, range 1–6). The concordance between preoperative imaging and intraoperative detection was high. In one patient (10%), dissection was considered incomplete after two SNs were not identified intraoperatively. Additional peritumoral SNs were resected in four patients (40%) after fluorescence-based detection. In two patients (20%), a (micro)metastasis was found in one of the resected SNs. One patient experienced neuropathic thoracic pain related to surgery, while none of the patients developed functional gastroesophageal disorders. Conclusions: SNNS appears to be a feasible and safe instrument to tailor lymphadenectomy in patients with high-risk T1 EAC. Future research with long-term follow-up is warranted to determine whether this esophageal preserving strategy is justified for high-risk T1 EAC

Extended tails from SGR 1806-20 bursts

In 2004, SGR 1806-20 underwent a period of intense and long-lasting burst activity that included the giant flare of 2004 December 27—the most intense extra-solar transient event ever detected at Earth. During this active episode, we routinely monitored the source with Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer and occasionally with Chandra. During the course of these observations, we identified two relatively bright bursts observed with Konus-Wind in hard X-rays that were followed by extended X-ray tails or afterglows lasting hundreds to thousands of seconds. Here, we present detailed spectral and temporal analysis of these events observed about 6 and 1.5 months prior to the 2004 December 27 giant flare. We find that both X-ray tails are consistent with a cooling blackbody of constant radius. These spectral results are qualitatively similar to those of the burst afterglows recorded from SGR 1900+14 and recently from SGR 1550–5418. However, the latter two sources exhibit significant increase in their pulsed X-ray intensity following the burst, while we did not detect any significant changes in the rms pulsed amplitude during the SGR 1806-20 events. Moreover, we find that the fraction of energy partitioned to the burst (prompt energy release) and the tail (afterglow) differs by an order of magnitude between SGR 1900+14 and SGR 1806-20. We suggest that such differences can be attributed to differences in the crustal heating mechanism of these neutron stars combined with the geometry of the emitting areas