This paper examines the development of risk awareness among undergraduate students studying mechanical engineering at a South African university. A questionnaire developed at the University of Liverpool was modified and used on students from the first, second and third year cohorts to assess their awareness in the areas of professional…

In 2009, the author spearheaded the Thunder Bay Public Library's (TBPL) service audit on kiosks. A task force comprising staff from the children's, reference, and adult services departments was formed to work on the audit. Task force members worked together and studied how patrons and staff use kiosks, conducted a literature review, surveyed other…

Declining state support for higher education is not unique to Southern New England nor is it a recent phenomenon. Public universities in the United States relied on state and local funding for about half of their revenue in 1980-1981. By 1999-2000 that proportion had dropped to about one-third. With the recession decimating state coffers, the…

Since 2004, Rhodes State College has been at the forefront of developing an institution-wide model of institutional effectiveness--Strategic and Institutional Effectiveness Planning System (SIEPS). A focus on both measuring mission effectiveness and strategic achievement led to development of a unique electronic application that tracks the direct…

With the new government, the implications for learning policy are not yet clear. On the positive side, the new Minister for Further Education, Lifelong Learning and Skills, John Hayes attended both NIACE's policy conference and the Campaign for Learning's Learning at Work Day debate and expressed his support for adult learning and the work that is…

This paper considers Thomas Hobbes's educational thought both in its historical context and in the context of his political philosophy as a whole. It begins with Hobbes's diagnosis of the English Civil War as the product of the miseducation of the commonwealth and shows that education was a central and consistent concern of his political theory…

If schools are to improve, they must abandon the business-oriented rhetoric of the accountability movement and concentrate on what we know will improve student achievement: improving the quality of instruction in all classrooms. To accomplish this, educators first must define high-quality teaching and measure how closely teachers in the classrooms…

The authors of this article believe that the current structure of lesson plans impede differentiation, individualization, and innovation and offer little in assessing the quality of teaching and learning. Concrete steps will be offered for planning to better respond to student diversity in meeting lesson objectives. (Contains 1 figure.)

This article analyses the introduction and, later on, reconstruction of compulsory school technology in Sweden 1975-1995. It focuses on two curricular reforms and different attempts to increase the legitimacy of technology as a school subject. The article builds upon theories from science studies and the term boundary-work is used to analyse the…

In this article, the author considers a topic that is not talked about much: the working conditions of business communication teachers. In 1990, a special issue of "Business Communication Quarterly" focused on stress in this field, and it identified unstable academic appointments and the lack of departmental support as two main causes.…

The world is in a state of flux occasioned by profound natural forces, social, economic, and political changes and rapid scientific and technological advancement. The nations of the world, of which Nigeria is a part, are also becoming more interconnected and interdependent. To avoid possible "future shock" nations must respond quickly,…

While various recent studies have sounded the alarm about young people's civic and political participation, schools are often cited as an important means of counteracting this trend. Not only do schools prepare students for the "real" world but they also provide them with essential resources required for political participation. However,…

Voluntary food certification systems have emerged as a prominent mechanism of food governance in recent years. However, critics have exposed certifications' inability to secure independence, quality, consumer trust, and costs. Recent criticism is even more pointed in that some theorists have critiqued "alternative" systems such as Fair…

The global economic crisis of the past 2 years has brought harsh circumstances to most libraries, calling into question many of the ways that librarians allocate resources. Lean budgets force libraries to devise strategies that make the very most of the resources available. Many libraries face the reality of doing more with less, often much less.…

Recent news in the national media about two students' deaths as a result of harassment in school has highlighted a renewed desire for educators to address the culture of bullying and harassment in public schools, especially when the victims are targeted for their real or perceived differences. South Carolina's legislature responded to this need in…