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In 2007, Kwara State in Nigeria embarked on a process of college of education reform. This article explores the strategic and managerial issues associated with that process. It sets out the policy imperative for reform within the context of an urgent need to improve the quality of education in Nigeria and traces progress over a four year period, drawing upon experience at both the Ministry of Education and college level. The article analyses the impact of what was a "top-down" initiative, focusing in particular on the policy formulation process; the experience of developing an institutional plan; and the factors that made reform such a management challenge. The article concludes by highlighting lessons that might be learned from the Kwara experience.

This article examines one aspect of the growing complexity of relationships between post-compulsory educational institutions in the United Kingdom: a growth in collaborative arrangements between higher education institutions and providers of sixth-form education. The research presented focuses on the characteristics of those schemes either in operation or being proposed at the time of the research, involving sixth forms in schools and colleges and higher education institutions. The article also considers how such schemes might be further developed if such collaborative activity is to become an established feature of the education system in England and Wales. Significant variations in the types of programme, reflecting the diversity of the higher education and sixth-form institutions involved, are reported, and a range of as yet unresolved issues relating to trans-sector collaboration are discussed. The article concludes with a consideration of the future prospects of such schemes. (Contains 1 figure, 1 table, and 1 note.)

The development of skills for employment is an important international policy area, but one that has been relatively ignored in sub-Saharan Africa. This paper reports on findings from a research project in Malawi, supported by the Department for International Development (DFID), that explored the links that exist between employers and the higher education and vocational education and training sectors. These findings are placed within the context of international trends in higher education/employer links and the need in sub-Saharan Africa to relate policy implications to the imperative of contributing to the elimination of poverty and achieving international development targets. The paper discusses implications of the findings, particularly for the Malawi government, leading higher education institutions and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and examines the implications for higher education in creating a dialogue and strengthening links between stakeholders.

One of the themes running through a number of recent papers in perspectives has been a questioning of the current state of perceived boundaries within post-compulsory education in the UK. Temple (2001: 81), for instance, questioned the appropriateness of continuing with the historic conceptual difference between the "knowing what" of higher education and the "knowing how" of further education, suggesting that "the essential uniformity of the British HE system has not been conducive to bold institutional diversification." This theme of diversification, and the need for its encouragement, also found expression in Brown (2000) who stated the case for creating a more favourable environment for diversity, raising questions about the current funding and quality assurance systems that tend to treat all institutions as though they are basically similar. Newby (1999: 108) saw "coming to terms with this diversity (as) one of the major challenges for UK higher education in the twenty-first century." Arguably, however, little attention has been given to the changing relationship between HE and sixth form institutions. The purpose of this article is to comment on some of the findings from a recent study undertaken by the University of Manchester's Post-16 Studies Unit, which investigated the feasibility of university modules being taught in the sixth forms of English and Welsh schools/colleges.

Post-compulsory education in the UK is growing in complexity. A little explored feature of this complexity is the development of collaborative arrangements between higher education institutions and providers of sixth form education under which students can study university modules whilst pursuing their sixth form studies. This article reports the findings of a recent project designed to explore the feasibility of such arrangements. A range of existing provision is identified focusing on both academic high achievers and students from socio-economic groups that are currently under-represented in higher education. The article reviews such arrangements in the context of government policy, the changing nature of sixth form and higher education, and the boundaries that have been drawn between what have traditionally been viewed as separate elements of the English and Welsh education systems. It considers the impact of such provision on the two main groups of students studied and highlights some of the issues arising out of these partnerships between higher education and sixth form institutions.

Changes in higher education policy in Mongolia involved an abruptness that both facilitated reform and challenged institutional managers. This article reports on the nature of these changes and their impact on the School of Economic Studies (SES) at the National University. It focuses on the negotiation between the SES, the National University and government, necessary to ensure that policy change was reflected at an operational level. The influence of policy on the content and process of reform at the SES is considered together with consequential institutional and individual behaviour patterns. Curriculum reform at an academic level could proceed within the SES unconstrained by detailed government influence, while managerial reform, essential to support the academic process, was dependent upon, and influenced by, governmental action. (Contains 1 figure and 1 note.)

The human brain is a heterogeneous network of connected functional regions; however, most brain network studies assume that all brain connections can be described in a framework of binary connections. The brain is a complex structure of white matter tracts connected by a wide range of tract sizes, which suggests a broad range of connection strengths. Therefore, the assumption that the connections are binary yields an incomplete picture of the brain. Various thresholding methods have been used to remove spurious connections and reduce the graph density in binary networks. But these thresholds are arbitrary and make problematic the comparison of networks created at different thresholds. The heterogeneity of connection strengths can be represented in graph theory by applying weights to the network edges. Using our recently introduced edge weight parameter, we estimated the topological brain network organization using a complimentary weighted connectivity framework to the traditional framework of a binary network. To examine the reproducibility of brain networks in a controlled condition, we studied the topological network organization of a single healthy individual by acquiring 10 repeated diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance image datasets, over a one-month period on the same scanner, and analyzing these networks with deterministic tractography. We applied a threshold to both the binary and weighted networks and determined that the extra degree of freedom that comes with the framework of weighting network connectivity provides a robust result as any threshold level. The proposed weighted connectivity framework provides a stable result and is able to demonstrate the small world property of brain networks in situations where the binary framework is inadequate and unable to demonstrate this network property.

Examines experiences of an English language teaching project at the Inner Mongolia Teacher University (China). Considers the effect of higher education reform processes on teacher education at Inner Mongolia. Presents these reforms in context of international trends in higher education over the past decade and more specific reforms happening in China. (CAJ)

Describes how overseas collaborative activity has been particularly popular with many United Kingdom higher education institutions over the past decade, with the Quality Assurance Agency creating an audit agenda to measure the quality of such partnerships. Asserts that existing collaborative audit approaches lack cultural sensitivity and are open to manipulation; suggests use of a broader range of performance indicators. (EV)

Traces the process of policy formulation in Lithuania as the country moved towards a new law on higher education. Outlines recent developments in Estonian higher education and its critical issues. Discusses findings that may be of relevance to others working in the area of legislative reform in countries moving to a market economy. (EV)

Using case study findings from two United Kingdom universities, explores the contention that the introduction of a devolved, formula-based system of resource allocation reduces the influence of strong forces within the institution. Found that micro-political activity and sub-unit power remain significant influences within such systems. Offers managerial implications. (EV)

Reports on a pilot project which examined the feasibility of introducing a quality assurance system, originally developed in the United Kingdom, in Turkish universities. Although a convergence between systems was observed, there emerged significant cultural, structural, political, and technical issues that affected the transfer fo the UK system to the Turkish system. (Author/DB)

Argues that the approach taken by the British Quality Assurance Agency and the manner in which in interfaces with institutions of higher education may change the prevailing institutional culture. Suggests that the direction of such changes may not be welcomed by the institutions, nor supportive of other government higher education goals. (Author/DB)

Explores the consequences of adopting formula-based systems of resource allocation and questions assumptions underpinning development of such systems. Findings, based on a case study of a British university that adopted a decentralized system in the late 1980s, revealed changes in micropolitical activities and organizational culture. (33 references) (MLH)

Discussion of fiscal management in the reformed higher education systems of Eastern/Central Europe begins with analysis of reform attempts in two British universities and relates them to Eastern and Central European issues. It is argued that institutions must adopt a holistic approach to managing change and for addressing various staff, structure, and systems issues to achieve effective fiscal management. (Author/MSE)

Background: Household contacts who provide care to an Ebola virus disease (EVD) case have a 3-fold higher risk of EVD compared with contacts who do not provide care.Methods: We enrolled persons with confirmed EVD from December 2014 to April 2015 in Freetown, Sierra Leone, and their household contacts. Index cases and contacts were interviewed, and contacts were followed for 21 days to identify secondary cases. Epidemiological data were analysed to describe household care and to identify risk factors for developing EVD.Results: Of 838 contacts in 147 households, 156 (17%) self-reported providing care to the index case; 56 households had no care provider, 52 a single care provider and 39 multiple care providers. The median care provider age was 29 years, 68% were female and 32% were the index case's spouse. Care providers were more likely to report physical contact, contact with body fluids or sharing clothing, bed linens or utensils with an index case, compared with non-care providers (P <0.01). EVD risk among non-care providers was greater when the number of care providers in the household increased (odds ratio: 1.61; 95% confidence interval: 1.1, 2.4). In multivariable analysis, factors associated with care provider EVD risk included no piped water access and absence of index case fever, and protective factors included age <20 years and avoiding the index case.Conclusions: Limiting the number of care providers in a household could reduce the risk of EVD transmission to both care providers and non-care providers. Strategies to protect care providers from EVD exposure are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]