Suchergebnisse

As higher education institutions increasingly teach online and offer greater levels of choice to students (over which modules to study, in which order to study, and how long to extend study before qualification) new challenges are introduced. One of these challenges is how to maintain an understanding of the student experience. This understanding is necessary to provide feedback to both students and faculty, and institutionally for the continued enhancement of quality. This paper is the first attempt at providing a narrative describing one approach to this challenge and the experience within a large distance learning University. It demonstrates a new approach to data is key to enabling the analysis of student study pathways. For many years, this University has offered great flexibility of study and as wide a study choice as it is possible to offer with conventional modules. By design, the Institution holds high levels of data for all student study. However, whilst it is possible to create bespoke queries, we found that this has been insufficient to readily enable analysis of the student experience. By moving from a traditional relational database structure to a multi-model database, many of the difficulties are resolved. In this paper, we report on this approach and describe next steps, including the potential to apply machine learning algorithms and test other data theories like that of Markov Chains.

This paper presents a method by which the opportunity cost of sales of local authority housing might be assessed, taking account of the financial effects of sales on taxpayers and ratepayers and in particular the effects on waiting list applicants. A method is suggested by which the pattern of vacancy losses over time resulting from a one-period sales programme, and the cost of a compensatory replacement programme may be estimated. The paper also presents some examples to illustrate the working of the method.

The article examines the impact of the emergence of China and India as important players in the global economy on 21 sub-Saharan African countries. Trade between the Asian Drivers and Africa has grown significantly since 1990 and in the last few years they have also become sources of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the region. Four types of impacts are considered: exports from Africa to the Asian Drivers, African imports from China and India, competition in third markets and impacts on FDI. It is shown that for some African countries, these impacts are by no means negligible and are likely to become more important in the foreseeable future. The ways in which Africa has been affected differs from country to country, with some such as Angola, Nigeria and Sudan being important exporters, others such as Ghana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda mainly importers from Asia, and Lesotho facing competition from China in export markets. (IDS Bull/GIGA)

SUMMARY The article starts from the proposition that present divisions in the subject of economics, its practice and teaching, are due to the existence of fundamental irreconcilable differences, which can be characterised as alternative theories of value. Three such theories are briefly outlined; the subjective preference theory which starts from the proposition of individual utility maximisation and logically derives monetarist policy; cost of production theory which sees the complex technical interrelationships of industrial society as demanding active, detailed state intervention to regulate and coordinate; and abstract labour theory, with the tensions of class struggle finding their reflection in political activity and threatening the position of the commodity relationship as the basis of social existence under capitalism. The authors suggest that teaching economics principles would be better organised if these different theories of value were taught sequentially as internally consistent rival schools of thought.RESUME L'enseignement des principes économiques dans le cadre des études sur le développementL'article part de la proposition que les divisions actuelles dans l'étude de l'économie, sa pratique et son enseignement sont dues à l'existence de différences fondamentales irréconciliables qui peuvent être caractérisées comme des théories de valeur rivales. Trois de ces théories sont brièvement décrites; la théorie de la préférence subjective qui part de la proposition de la maximisation de l'utilité individuelle et aboutit logiquement à une politique monétaire; la théorie du coût de production qui considère que les interrelations techniques complexes de la société industrielle exigent une intervention de l'état active et détaillée pour assurer une direction et une coordination; et la théorie abstraite du travail, selon laquelle les tensions de la lutte de classe se reflètent dans l'activité politique et menacent la position du rapport des marchandises comme base de l'existence sociale sous un régime capitaliste. Les auteurs suggèrent que l'enseignement des principes économiques serait mieux organisé si ces différentes théories de valeur étaient enseignées en séquence comme étant des écoles de pensée rivales et intérieurement conséquentes.RESUMEN Enseñanza de los principios económicos como parte de los estudios de desarrolloEl artículo comienza declarando que las divisiones actuales del tema de economía, su práctica y enseñanza, se deben a la existencia de diferencias fundamentales irreconciliables que se pueden caracterizar como teorías alternativas del valor. Se reseñan brevemente tres de dichas teorías: la teoría de preferencia subjetiva que comienza basándose en la maxi‐mización de la utilidad individual y lógicamente deriva en la política monetarista; la teoría sobre costo de producción que contempla las complejas relaciones técnicas de la sociedad industrial como una exigencia activa y detallada en favor de la intervención estatal para la reglamentación y coordinación; y la teoría abstracta del trabajo, con las tensiones creadas por la lucha de clases que se reflejan en la actividad política y amenazan la posición de la relación entre productos básicos como la base de la existencia social bajo el capitalismo. Los autores sugieren que la enseñanza de los principios económicos podría organizarse mejor si se enseñasen estas diversas teorías del valor de manera consecutiva como escuelas rivales de ideas con consistencia interna.