Media Practice in the Humanities Classroom

While there is good reason to be suspicious of the enthusiastic rush to integrate technology into the classroom, we in the humanities should embrace the opportunity it presents for media literacy and critical cultural inquiry

Short-term and long-term benefits as determinants of the training behaviour of companies

"This paper adopts an economic perspective for an investigation of the correlation between cost-benefit aspects and company decisions regarding training. A differentiation is drawn between the basic decision about whether a company should provide its own training and the stipulation of the number of trainees. The basis of the data used is information on the cost-benefit aspects of training from a survey conducted by the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training in 2001, the information being supplied by companies which provide training and companies which do not provide training. It becomes apparent that cost-benefit aspects are highly significant in both phases of the company training decision. Possible starting points for vocational education and training policy primarily emerge from encouraging additional companies to provide training rather than from increasing the number of training places at companies already providing training, however. In overall terms, longer-term benefits appear to be accorded more importance than short-term cost aspects." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en)) Additional Information Kurzfassung (deutsch) Executive summary (English)Ausbildungsverhalten - Determinanten, Betrieb, Ausbildungsbetrieb, Kosten-Nutzen-Analyse, Ausbildungskosten, betriebliche Berufsausbildung - Nutzen, betriebliche Berufsausbildung, Bildungsökonomie, Bildungsinvestitionen, Bildungsertrag, Personalpolitik

Supporting higher education key to resettling Syrian refugees

Last month the Australian Government announced that it will open the door to 12,000 refugees fleeing Iraq and Syria, focusing its resettlement efforts on women and children. 7000 people will be settled in New South Wales alone, with a great number of these likely to join the existing Syrian community in Southwest Sydney. This will pose a huge challenge for schools and social services. Around half of displaced Syrian children have been unable to continue their education. Young men express shame and depression at their inability to study in camps. Education is a vital aspect of humanitarian resettlement in that it offers opportunities to develop cultural understanding, psychosocial wellbeing and employability skills. To allow them to rebuild lives successfully in Australia, equal access to education must be guaranteed

Dynamical in-orbit behavior of the Radio Astronomy Explorer satellite

Onboard sensors and associated ground based processing systems are used to maintain a well stabilized attitude for the RAE 1 in its near circular earth orbit despite the satellite's four extremely long and flexible antenna booms. Boom tip deflection pictures and central hub orientation measurements show that large boom vibrations and major attitude stability problems anticipated prior to launch have not materialized

Parkin function in Parkinson's disease

Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disease, and is characterized by involuntary shaking, muscle rigidity, and the progressive loss of dopaminergic neurons. In ∼5 to 10% of PD cases there is a genetic association, with almost 20 genes attributed to date. One example is early-onset autosomal recessive PD (ARPD), for which the majority of cases are linked to mutations in the Parkin gene (PRKN; also known as PARK2). PRKN encodes the E3 ubiquitin ligase Parkin, which plays important roles in mitochondrial quality control and turnover. Parkin, although localized to the mitochondria under certain conditions, is primarily cytosolic (1). A second ARPD-associated gene, PINK1 (PTEN-induced putative kinase 1), encodes a mitochondrially tethered kinase that regulates Parkin activity through phosphorylation events. Mutations in PINK1, although rare, are associated with a phenotype similar to that of ARPD patients with PRKN mutations. Numerous mutations throughout PRKN are linked to ARPD, making the functional examination of Parkin crucial to understanding ARPD pathogenesis. A wealth of structural studies have transformed our knowledge of Parkin regulation and catalytic mechanisms. However, the current picture is incomplete, leading to several possible models of Parkin catalysis, which has implications for understanding how the ARPD-associated mutations affect the protein and thus PD pathogenesis