Elearning: 40 years of evolution?

Cun-ent rhetoric around the use of 'eLearning' in Higher Education relates particularly to Internet-based flexible eLearning programs that focus on sustaining particular communities of practice. In this paper we argue that this contempormy view of what eLearning comprises arises from a lack of historical perspective on what the focus of educational eLearning programs has been over the past 40 years. Contemporary descriptions of eLearning as a 'new mode of learning' are fallacious and ignore its 40-year evolution from 1: 1 localised didactic models (both constmctivist and behaviourist) to many-to-many distributed social-constmctivist learning models. In addition, the historic divide between Education and Training has led to both the concurrent development of different notions, foci, and labels for technology-enhanced learning in different contexts and situations, and different conceptual origins arising in acquisitive and participatory learning metaphors. We argue that a more inclusive and historically aware conceptual framework is needed to be able to accurately describe what the full repertoire 'eLearning' really embraces

Projecting the U.S. gender wage gap 2000-40

This paper projects the gender wage gap for 25–64 year old Americans for the period 2000–40. The analysis uses data from the Panel Survey of Income Dynamics (PSID) for 1995 and 1996 together with the U.S. Census Bureau demographic projections. The method combines the population projections with assumptions regarding the evolution of educational attainment in order to first project the future distribution of skills and, based on these projections, the future size of the gender wage gap. The main set of projections suggests that changing skill characteristics—specifically educational attainment—will continue to close the gender wage gap. However, even in 2040, a substantial pay gap of at least 75 percent of the size of that in 1995 will remain.

The Australian class structure and Australian politics 1931 - 40

This paper presents the results of an analysis of the class structure of interwar Australia based largely on the 1933 Commonwealth census. It reviews previous analyses by academics but although contemporary journalists and political strategists. It develops an estimate of the class composition of the electorate as distinct from the general population and attempts to define the class position of voters outside of the paid workforce. It considers the question of to what extent Labor needed non-working-class votes to secure an electoral majority and how the differing social composition of the Australian states impacted on electoral outcomes and Labor strategies. It employs the method of bounds to develop some preliminary conclusions about the electoral behaviour of different social groups and concludes with some observations on the divided nature of the Australian working class and the competing strategies that parties developed in their search for an electoral majority.

The aid effectiveness literature : the sad results of 40 years of research

The aid effectiveness literature (AEL) consists of empirical macroeconomic estimates of the effects of development aid. By the end of 2004, it comprised 97 econometric studies of three families of related effects. Each family has been analyzed in a separate meta-analysis. The AEL is an ideal subject for meta-analysis as it uses only a few formally similar models to estimate the same underlying effects. It is also an area with strong beliefs, often generated by altruism. When this whole literature is examined, a clear pattern emerges. After 40 years of development aid, the preponderance of the evidence indicates that aid has not been effective. We show that the distribution of results is significantly asymmetric reflecting the reluctance of the research community to publish negative results. The Dutch disease effect on exchange rates provides a plausible explanation for the observed aid ineffectiveness.

In the green zone : 40 years with Colonel Qaddafi

Colonel Muammar Qaddafi has been the leader of Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya since September 1969. After 40 years in control of his nation, Qaddafi is actually the world’s longest serving non‐monarchial head of state. This year’s anniversary makes it timely to review his four decades of rule. From being the leader of a successful military coup to being America’s bête noire of the 1980s and then the head of a much‐vilified rogue state under twenty‐seven years of UN sanctions, the mercurial Qaddafi has lately steered his nation to something of a rapprochement with the West, been elected to the chairmanship of the African Union and simultaneously had a very public falling out with some of his Arab leaders. This paper examines the highs and lows of Qaddafi’s leadership and where his small but prominent North African state may be heading.

Spatial and temporal disparities in aurally aided visual search

Research over the last decade has shown that auditorily cuing the location of visual targets reduces the time taken to locate and identify targets for both free-field and virtually presented sounds. The first study conducted for this thesis confirmed these findings over an extensive region of free-field space. However, the number of sound locations that are measured and stored in the data library of most 3-D audio spatial systems is limited, so that there is often a discrepancy in position between the cued and physical location of the target. Sampling limitations in the systems also produce temporal delays in which the stored data can be conveyed to operators. To investigate the effects of spatial and temporal disparities in audio cuing of visual search, and to provide evidence to alleviate concerns that psychological research lags behind the capabilities to design and implement synthetic interfaces, experiments were conducted to examine (a) the magnitude of spatial separation, and (b) the duration of temporal delay that intervened between auditory spatial cues and visual targets to alter response times to locate targets and discriminate their shape, relative to when the stimuli were spatially aligned, and temporally synchronised, respectively. Participants listened to free-field sound localisation cues that were presented with a single, highly visible target that could appear anywhere across 360° of azimuthal space on the vertical mid-line (spatial separation), or extended to 45° above and below the vertical mid-line (temporal delay). A vertical or horizontal spatial separation of 40° between the stimuli significantly increased response times, while separations of 30° or less did not reach significance. Response times were slowed at most target locations when auditory cues occurred 770 msecs prior to the appearance of targets, but not with similar durations of temporal delay (i.e., 440 msecs or less). When sounds followed the appearance of targets, the stimulus onset asynchrony that affected response times was dependent on target location, and ranged from 440 msecs at higher elevations and rearward of participants, to 1,100 msecs on the vertical mid-line. If targets appeared in the frontal field of view, no delay of acoustical stimulation affected performance. Finally, when conditions of spatial separation and temporal delay were combined, visual search times were degraded with a shorter stimulus onset asynchrony than when only the temporal relationship between the stimuli was varied, but responses to spatial separation were unaffected. The implications of the results for the development of synthetic audio spatial systems to aid visual search tasks was discussed.

Associations between smoking status, lifestyle and lipoprotein subclasses

Background: Although the relationship between cigarette smoking and cardiovascular disease (CVD) is well-established, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Smokers have a more atherogenic lipid profile but this may be mediated by lifestyle-related factors. Because detailed analysis of lipoprotein subclasses using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) may improve characterisation of lipid abnormalities, we applied the technique to investigate the relationships between smoking status, other lifestyle-related risk factors and lipoproteins in a contemporary cohort.

Methods: A total of 612 participants (360 women) aged 40-69 years at baseline (1990-1994) enrolled in the community-based Melbourne Collaborative Cohort Study had plasma lipoproteins measured using NMR. Data were analysed separately for men and women.

Results: After adjusting for other lifestyle-related risk factors, mean total low-density lipoprotein (LDL) particle concentration was higher for female smokers than non-smokers. Both medium and small LDL particle concentrations contributed to this difference. Both total high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and large HDL particle concentrations were lower for female smokers than non-smokers. The proportion at increased risk (according to NMR-determined particle size and number) was higher for female smokers than non-smokers. For men, there were few differences in lipoprotein measures related to smoking.

Conclusions: Female smokers have a more atherogenic lipoprotein profile than non-smokers, and this difference is independent of lifestyle-related risk factors. Lipoprotein profiles did not differ greatly between male smokers and non-smokers. These data reinforce the importance for women of not smoking.

A psychometric evaluation of the Learning Styles Questionnaire : 40-item version

Sixty-six English-speaking postgraduate distance-education medical students completed the Learning Styles Questionnaire (LSQ: 40-item version). This was completed while attending a residential workshop at the beginning of the semester, and 44 of these students completed the same LSQ questionnaire 5 months later at the completion of the semester. The psychometric properties of the LSQ were assessed using Cronbach’s alpha (internal consistency), test-retest, correlational analyses and factor analysis. The results indicated that the LSQ (40-item version) has poor reliability and validity, and therefore requires further development and psychometric evaluation.

Frequency of excisions and yields of malignant skin tumors in a population-based screening intervention of 360 288 whole-body examinations

Objective To explore the frequency of excisions and yields of histopathologically confirmed skin cancer.

Design A population-based skin cancer screening intervention (the SCREEN project) in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein (July 1, 2003, to June 30, 2004).

Setting Physician offices. Participants could choose between nondermatologist physicians and dermatologists for their initial whole-body skin examination. All screening physicians received a mandatory 8-hour training course.

Participants Inhabitants of Schleswig-Holstein 20 years or older with statutory health insurance (N = 360 288).

Main Outcome Measures Frequency of excisions and yields of malignant skin tumors (malignant melanomas [MMs], basal cell carcinomas [BCCs], and squamous cell carcinomas [SCCs]), stratified by sex and age.

Results Overall, 15 983 excisions were performed (1 of 23 screenees). A total of 3103 malignant skin tumors were diagnosed in 2911 persons: 585 MMs, 1961 BCCs, 392 SCCs, and 165 other malignant skin tumors. Overall, 116 persons (3103 of 360 288) had to be screened to find 1 malignant tumor, with 1 of 620 for MM, 1 of 184 for BCC, and 1 of 920 for SCC. Twenty excisions were performed to find 1 melanoma in men 65 years and older, but more than 50 excisions were required to find 1 melanoma in men aged between 20 and 49 years.

Conclusions The results of SCREEN suggest a high yield of malignant skin tumors in a large-scale population-based screening project. We found that a high number of excisions was performed in the youngest screenees with an associated low yield, suggesting a need in screener training to emphasize a more conservative attitude toward excisions in young screenees.

Link between vertical and horizontal movement patterns of cod in the North Sea

We used a geolocation method based on tidal amplitude and water depth to assess the horizontal movements of 14 cod Gadus morhua equipped with time-depth recorders (TDR) in the North Sea and English Channel. Tracks ranged from 40 to 468 d and showed horizontal movements of up to 455 km and periods of continuous localised residence of up to 360 d. Cod spent time both in midwater (43% of total time) and near the seabed (57% of total time). A variety of common vertical movement patterns were seen within periods of both residence and directed horizontal movement. Hence particular patterns of vertical movement could not unequivocally define periods of migration or localised residence. After long horizontal movements, cod tended to adopt resident behaviour for several months and then return to broadly the same location where they were tagged, indicating a geospatial instinct. The results suggest that residence and homing behaviour are important features of Atlantic cod behaviour.