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Although the diversity of higher education (HE) systems is a widely debated topic in literature, this has been rarely examined considering multiple levels of analysis. This article adopts both a multilevel and longitudinal perspective to study which dimensions of horizontal diversity diversified the English HE system most. Diversity, and how this has changed over time, is investigated at the level of the HE system (macro-level) at the level of homogeneous groups of universities, i.e. mission groups (meso-level), and at the level of individual universities (micro-level). The comprehensive multivariate quantitative analysis performed across the three levels of analysis shows the polarization between research and teaching orientation emerges as the dimension on which the HE system and universities horizontally diversify most together with the internationalization of the student body. The analysis furtherly suggests that mission groups well represent the diversity of the English HE system and universities' membership in one of these groups emerged as an element that restrains distinctive institutional positioning patterns of universities. Younger universities and those not affiliated to any mission groups are indeed those that present changes in their strategic positioning paths over time, and thus affect more the diversity of the HE system. However, while the horizontal diversity of the HE system has slightly increased over time, this paper also suggests that competition has concurrently contributed to reinforcing the hierarchical stratification of English universities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasingly, preservice teachers are required to demonstrate their ability to effectively cater for the needs of a diverse range of learners, including those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). Higher education institutions (HEI) delivering teacher education programmes are responsible for promoting the development of inclusive practices. This multi‐method study assessed the effectiveness of a special school experience for preservice teachers at one HEI in England. A total population sample of 48 preservice teachers completed self‐efficacy questionnaires at three time points during their training; and 13 took part in qualitative semi‐structured interviews towards the end of the study. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) findings from the questionnaire data showed that the experience had a significant positive impact on preservice teachers' self‐efficacy, improving knowledge, understanding and confidence to teach inclusively. A thematic analysis of the qualitative findings revealed that the experience challenged preservice teacher expectations about learners with SEND, developing understanding about learner needs and effective differentiation. This article concludes with recommendations for effective inclusion training for preservice teachers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whilst theories of business internationalization assert that foreignness poses challenges to multinational companies' subsidiaries operating abroad, historical study of Hilton International's expansion in the 1960s suggests otherwise. In its early internationalization Hilton International transferred abroad its institutional ownership advantages including corporate philosophy and culture, its practices, policies, processes and work systems and product design. Despite claims of social embeddedness, the London Hilton was perceived to be a typically American hotel. Analysis of Hilton's expansion strategy suggests that the company used its foreignness as a differentiating factor. This article contributes towards the limited business history research in the area of internationalization and knowledge transference. Historical analysis of Hilton's internationalization contradicts the institutionalism's assumption that multinationals must adapt to local institutional settings. This article enhances the notion that playing the 'foreignness' game can lead to a comparative global advantage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although previous research into specialisation has been dominated by the debate over the existence of specialisation versus versatility, it is suggested that research needs to move beyond the restrictions of this dispute. The current study explores the criminal careers of 200 offenders based on their criminal records, obtained from a police database in the North West of England, aiming to understand the patterns and nature of specialisation by determining the presence of differentiation within their general offending behaviours and examining whether the framework of Expressive and Instrumental offending styles can account for any specialised tendencies that emerge. Fifty-eight offences were subjected to Smallest Space Analysis. Results revealed that a model of criminal differentiation could be identified and that any specialisation is represented in terms of Expressive and Instrumental offending styles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Higher education in the UK is a success story and what we do matters to society. Income is earned by delivering value – and that's clearer now in this new arena of student fees and research impact. Clarity about what we're really good at – academic programmes, learning approach and/or research theme – and communicating that powerfully is what it takes to be distinctive. Smart specialisation is a phrase we're coming to learn – perhaps we can do more to be smart as universities? We need to portray the richness of the UK sector, not vertically hierarchical but horizontally stratified around excellence with a focus on return on investment. In the global higher education landscape, winners will focus on core strengths, develop their distinctiveness, and be innovative and bold in going forward. Higher education policy adopts a largely ‘one size fits all’ approach – is this still relevant against a backdrop of an increasingly diverse sector? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the findings of an investigation of student teachers' changing perceptions of educational practice following a teaching placement in France, Germany, Spain and Italy. Up to 900 primary languages, student teachers annually have spent a 4-week teaching placement in a partner country as an integral part of their initial teacher education programme. The aims of the bilateral experience were to improve students' subject knowledge as well as to offer opportunities to enhance their professional understanding through comparing practice in two distinct cultural settings. This study draws from both qualitative and quantitative data gathered from 122 postgraduate certificate in education student teachers who were following the primary language route at Canterbury Christ Church University and Liverpool Hope University. The findings show that through reflection and analysis of the differences and commonalties in the diverse cultural contexts, students develop a greater understanding of their professional role and a deeper insight into their own values and beliefs about pedagogy. Their acceptance of taken-for-granted norms is challenged during the bilateral placement, as they encounter new approaches to differentiated learning, teaching and learning strategies and teacher/pupil relationships, thus enhancing their levels of critical engagement with educational practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the impact of student self-financing systems on inequalities of access to higher education (HE) through comparative analysis of two national systems, those of England and Australia. The analysis of the historical development of HE in each nation identifies a set of comparative global themes: the expansion of HE in response to the needs of the national economy; globalisation and the changing labour market; social pressures for equity in access to HE; and the growing role of the central state in HE. The article presents a discussion of system differentiation based around the following characteristics: tuition fee and bursary regimes; institutional autonomy; institutional diversity; the strength of equity arguments; and the role of the state in widening participation. The article concludes with a discussion of the often complex interactions between these characteristics and aims to add to our understanding of the impact of student self-financing regimes on trajectories of system differentiation and on access and participation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There has been a focus internationally in recent years on policies and strategies to divert the long-term care of frail older people away from residential and nursing home care and enhance provision of community-based care by improving care coordination through increased differentiation within care management arrangements and service integration between health and social care. The aim of this article is to explore variations over time in care coordination arrangements within old-age services using data from national postal surveys of English local authorities. Indicators of differentiation and integration developed from earlier research were used to compare changes over time. There appeared to be some evidence of change relating to integration at both organizational and practice levels, but little change was detected in respect of differentiation within care management arrangements. The impact of the findings in the context of four enduring themes related to international case/care management literature--eligibility, integrated health and social care, shared information, and targeting--are discussed, and the relevance of these in relation to possible future trends is explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recent Company of Biologists workshop 'Growth, Division and Differentiation: Understanding Developmental Control', which was held in September 2011 at Wiston House, West Sussex, UK, brought together researchers aiming to understand cell proliferation and differentiation in various metazoans, ranging from flies to mice. Here, we review the common themes that emerged from the meeting, highlighting novel insights into the interplay between regulators of cell proliferation and differentiation during development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scholarship on gay bars/'villages' has overshadowed study of 'homospaces' (gay fields of existence) less available/inaccessible to a wider public - websites, saunas and social/support groups. Based on interviews with 27 men aged 39-61 living in Manchester, this article addresses what middle-aged gay men's accounts of these particular homospaces say about their experiences of age/ageing and how relations of ageism work within them. Specifically, I focus on how study participants use 'ageing capital' in these fields to differentiate themselves from their younger counterparts in three ways. First, ageing capital is implicated in capitulation to gay ageism and a reverse ageism - visible in accounts of differentiation from the 'superficial,' reckless ways of sexualized space that participants associated with younger gay men. Second, it was visible in accounts of resistance to/questioning of gay ageism - strategies that could make sexualized homospaces more habitable. Third, ageing capital was implicated in negotiation with ageing/gay ageism - visible in ambivalent stances hovering between compliance and resistance - towards ageing and ageism, which could reinforce constraints on uses/display of the body. The first and third accounts indicate the multidirectional character of gay ageism, limits on the deployment on ageing capital and show how middle-aged men can undermine their generational claims to represent a more authentic form of gay male embodiment. En route, I also complicate stereotypical thinking that gay social/support groups represent more inclusive, empowering space whilst overtly sexualized spaces of the 'gay scene' represent the opposite., (© London School of Economics and Political Science 2014.)