Employability for the workers - what does this mean?

Purpose – UK government strategies for higher education (HE) continue to emphasise the promotion and enhancement of students' employability skills and subsequent graduate opportunities. The purpose of this paper is to explore what this means for those HE learners already in work. Design/methodology/approach – The paper presents the findings of a national study on the impact of Foundation degrees (Fds) on students and the workplace, in the light of government's plans for the continuing expansion of HE, and discussions about employability. Findings – The study found that the majority of Fd students cited increased confidence as the main gain from their studies; such confidence was expressed in terms of how students' enhanced knowledge and understandings informed their workplace activities and tasks but these expressions did not necessarily fit neatly into narrow skills' definitions. Also the findings hint at some students facing difficulties in using their enhanced “skills” in the workplace. Research limitations/implications – Although based on a relatively small number of Fd programmes, the student voices represent a powerful message of the value of linking studies to their workplace practices and of the multi-dimensional nature of “confidence” based on personal experiences and trajectories. Practical implications – While the term “employability skills” is regularly used in the discourse of graduates' trajectories in to the labour market, more nuanced understandings are needed in relation to HE learners already in the workplace. Originality/value – Given government's expectation that the next phase of expansion of UK HE will embrace an increase in part-time study and work-based learning, the article represents a timely exploration of work-based students' perceptions of the development of employability skills and how they are able to deploy these in the workplace

The Paradoxical Beauty of the Cross: Theological Aesthetics and the Doctrine of the Atonement in Athanasius’ Contra Gentes-De Incarnatio

In his two-part treatise Contra Gentes-De Incarnatio, Athanasius offers an interesting apologetic for the Christian doctrine of the atonement by employing various aesthetic themes and forms of expression drawn from the classical notion of beauty found particularly in the Platonic and neo-Platonic traditions. Although Athanasius never mentions the term “beauty” in Contra Gentes-De Incarnatio, the concept certainly looms in the background. Writing against the Platonic, Epicurean, and Stoic systems of his day, Athanasius centers his apologetic on the philosophical tension evident in the doctrine of divine transcendence/immanence. This paper argues that Athanasius implicitly characterizes the tension of divine transcendence/ immanence as paradoxical in nature and, as such, is not solved but resolved in Christian doctrine of the incarnation and the culminating event of the crucifixion. For Athanasius, the aesthetic force of the crucifixion is its manifold paradox in which Christ, the God-man, conquers by being conquered, restores man\u27s spiritual form by becoming formless, and establishes universal peace by surrendering to violence. Thus, in the Christian tradition, the divine transcendence/immanence paradox is localized and expanded in the incarnation and crucifixion event invoking an overflow of aesthetic inspiration in the heart of the believer. Therefore, the purpose of this essay is twofold. First, it will identify certain themes in the classical definition of beauty and will examine how these themes are interwoven throughout Athanasius’ apologetic . Second, it will attempt to prove that the aesthetic superiority of the cross, as implicitly argued in Contra Gentes-De Incarnatio, is rooted in the paradoxical nature of the crucifixion event. Thus, for Athanasius, beauty shines forth through paradox

Organic Centre Wales Factsheet 1: Information on organic conversion for farmers in Wales

This factsheet is aimed at producers that are interested in finding out more about converting to organic farming. It sets out the steps that be taken, such as contacting the Organic Centre Wales helpline and registering for Organic Conversion Information Service that will help you to explore the technical implications of conversion. The factsheet contains further information on organic conversion for farmers in Wales

Some reasons for non-conversion of horticultural producers in Wales

A questionnaire survey of about 2500 farmers who had contacted OCIS in Wales since 1996 was used to find out why more horticultural producers were not converting to organic production. Of 272 respondents, 43 had a horticultural enterprise on their farm and 26 identified horticulture as one of their main enterprises. Twelve of these converted, but the main reasons given by the remainder for not converting were the cost of certification and the low level of OFS payments. The OFS provides only limited support for horticulture enterprises as payments are based on area, and many holdings are small and may even be ineligible for payment. No concerns were expressed about the market

Learner autonomy : the first language/ second language : some reflections on the nature and role of metalinguistic knowledge

Learner autonomy is classically defined as "the ability to take charge of one's learning" (Holec 1981:3). Such an ability presupposes a positive attitude towards the process, content and goals of learning, and is sustained and strengthened by a developing capacity for "detachment, critical reflection, decision-making, and independent action" (little 1991:4). The freedom that characterizes the autonomous learner is not absolute, but conditional and constrained. Learning, whether developmental/ experiential or formal, is always embedded in an interactive, social process (self- instruction entails an internalization of this process, so that our capacity for learning on our own develops out of our experience of learning in interaction with others; cf. Uttle 1991:5). This explains the paradox that learner autonomy can be fully understood as a theoretical construct and effectively pursued as a pedagogical goal only when we take full account of the social context in which learning takes place. The argument in favour of fostering learner autonomy has been conducted in both social and psychological terms. In adult education, for example, there has been a tendency to stress "the need to develop the individual's freedom by developing those abilities which will enable him to act more responsibly in running the affairs of the society in which he lives" (Holec 1981:1.). The link between educational purpose and political ideal could scarcely be plainer. Other explorations of the theory and practice of learner autonomy, by contrast, have focussed on the psychological dimension of learning, emphasizing that we can only ever learn on the basis of what we already know, and that no two individuals have exactly the same store of knowledge.peer-reviewe

Meeting the information challenge: exploring partnerships with Africa

Africa suffers from the disadvantages of marginality within the global technical system and a legacy of externally driven infrastructure. Developments in information and communication technologies now offer the chance to redress these but the technologies require skills and capacities which are scarce. The technologies themselves can be used to leverage existing resources so that the necessary skills can be developed. However this process needs to take account of African priorities and requirements if the current inequitable situation is not to be reproduced in a new global infrastructure. The key to this is a balance between external partnership and internal collaboration. The African diaspora offers a means of moderating such relationships

Assessment and remediation of reading difficulties : an evaluation of the SPELD approach : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology at Massey University

This thesis examines assessment and remediation of reading difficulties. A review of recent research on the skilled reading process, reading acquisition, and sources of difficulty provided the basis for listing criteria for assessing reading progress. Using this basis, the approach to assessment taken by the Specific Learning Disabilities Association of New Zealand (SPELD) was then evaluated. Five cases from the Manawatu region were then followed, to illustrate how the approach functions in designing individual remedial programmes. After a discussion of the assessment battery and the cases in terms of reading research, suggestions were made to improve the battery, so that SPELD and schools might work together for the maximum benefit of the students concerned

Thriving as an international student: personal responses and the trajectories they create

During a study investigating their experiences on a British university campus, relatively successful long stay international students critically reflect on their experiences of cross-cultural interactions and how these have shaped not just their current behaviour but also their longer term attitudes and aims, or in Wenger's term their trajectories. A tentative taxonomy of trajectories is described and its pedagogical relevance discussed in terms of ways that this understanding can inform staff interventions to enhance intercultural learning, not only of international students but of home students and staff also, and lead to further critical reflection by all participants on their own cultural influences