In this article. Dr Dick Evans considers the thorny question of who gains most from off shoring and considers the implications for the UK skill base. Recent reports have shown that Europe’s share of global off shoring in 2004 exceeded that of America for the first time. Off shoring, as it is increasingly being called, involves a complex set of economic and investment relationships between capital rich/high wage/international brand owning countries (host) and low capital/low wage countries with under deployed workforces (recipient). This has led to a number of commentators speculating on what the implications could be for the EU
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Functional Mathematics – a Possible Solution?
Dick Evans is concerned that functional maths will go the way of so many other initiatives in mathematics A new term has appeared on the educational landscape namely functional mathematics. But has it been used before? Will it require a set of unique and radical solutions? I ask these important questions having witnessed a series of worthy reforms in the past which have inevitably regressed into narrow incremental tinkering with existing approaches and subjected to political dogma and interference. One immediate problem is how functional mathematics is defined. For example, is it the mathematics that all people need to participate
New Services and Products
The quality of what the college offers by way of its services and products is the primary core business on which it is judged. Learner satisfaction and success can guarantee a more secure future as can return business from individuals, employers and other sponsors. The changing nature of employment and the ever accelerating knowledge/skill base coupled with the significant impact of the Information and Communications Technologies on the learning products and processes present particular challenges to the college in order for it to develop and deliver a high quality relevant and appropriate range of services and products to its learners/customers/stakeholders.
Mathematics – Why the Problem?
Dick Evans bemoans the negative attitudes towards mathematics that persist in British culture A great quote – ‘Nature talks to us in mathematics’ – Richard Feynman There have been a number of developments following the publication of my article in the September edition of Numeracy Briefing. Some people responded agreeing with many of the issues highlighted in the piece whilst others disagreed with the arguments. Recent announcements about the closure of the physics department at Reading University and the close call for the closure of Chemistry at Sussex have re-ignited the debate about the ongoing crisis in the state of
The Importance of Statistical Literacy
Dick Evans reports on efforts to improve statistical literacy amongst the population. It is now an unquestioned and accepted fact of life that we live in a world dominated by science and technology and that this inevitably requires a workforce and members of society in general to be more scientifically literate and numerate. Employees are required to possess higher levels of the basic skills of literacy, numeracy and a greater capability in the use of IT. This is coupled with the wider skills for employability namely: team working, problem solving and managing their own learning and development. People leaving education
Attracting the Best
Getting enough young people to study maths after the age of 16, and then increasing the number of maths students who take up engineering and manufacturing at higher levels is a strategic issue for the UK, as Dick Evans reports Engineering is vital to economic health, especially in industries such as energy, ecology, defence and security. Many more engineering graduates will be required in future, including increased numbers of incorporated engineers and engineering technicians. How can the best students be recruited to engineering programmes? There are longstanding concerns about the number of young people studying maths post-16 and those studying degree programmes
Functional Mathematics – A Context?
Richard Evans is concerned that functional maths is being distorted by a plethora of other developments Any discussion of functional mathematics must now be informed by the recent White Paper “Raising Skills, Improving Life Chances”, The Leitch Report and the reforms associated with the development of specialised diplomas and the Framework for Achievement (FfA). Specialised Diplomas. The development of the specialised diplomas highlights the current chaotic state in government thinking with a ridiculously early deadline being set for the introduction of the first five pilot programmes next year. Critical elements of the proposed framework are still unclear and/or are still
Mathematics – What’s the Problem?
Richard Evans continues his exploration of the reasons behind negative attitudes to maths in the UK Since writing the last article (Numeracy Briefing Issue 9) on the possible factors that could contribute to the reluctance by many people to study mathematics and other mathematically-related subjects, I have reflected more on the potential interplay of the factors identified in that article. Perhaps it is too simplistic just to view the negative perception towards the subject in terms of a series of causes and effects. If the problem is about the formation of negative attitudes towards the subject then this must be
Gender and Mathematics.
Dick Evans explores the impact of gender difference on mathematical performance. Whilst writing the articles on ‘Mathematics – Why the problem’! (Numeracy Briefing issues 9 and 10) I became aware that the interacting factors that created the negative view of the subject could reflect the widely-held perception that females perform less well than the males. This view has generated a popular stereotype that the women and girls are not good at the maths. Research. A considerable amount of research has been carried out in this area from analysis of basic international statistics on numbers of females and males studying mathematics
The Knowledge Society
The professional organisations of today were founded tn the growth of societies dedicated to the advancement of knowledge in previous centuries, as our resident historian Dick Evans explains The foundation and development of learned and professional organisations representing science and technical disciplines is a fascinating story in its own right, but a study of their history also identifies many similarities with the evolution of technical and scientific education. During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, both science and technology were in rapid transition and these disciplines had to fight hard to gain recognition and a place in the education system Before