Search

This article reports that the European educators and students are complaining that the recent shift toward administering the Test of English as a Foreign Language exclusively in an online format is hurting thousands of foreign students who want to take the important examination. The test is a gateway to study in the United States and other English-speaking countries because universities use the test, known as the Toefl, to evaluate the English-language proficiency of foreign applicants. In October, however, the Educational Testing Service, the nonprofit organization that owns and administers the test, began phasing out the paper test, offering an Internet-based version instead in Canada, France, Germany, and Italy. Lonnie R. Johnson, executive director of the Austrian-American Educational Commission, which manages the Fulbright Program in Austria, said that administering the test in France and Germany has been especially problematic. Arnaud Roujou de Boubé, executive director of the FrancoAmerican Commission for Educational Exchange, remarked that the decision to introduce the new version of the test in the fall, the most busy test-taking time of the year.

The article discusses anti-American sentiment around the world. Though many nations have shown open animosity towards America during the George W. Bush presidential administration, some countries, like India, have a more sympathetic view. The dislike for America by European countries stems from the view that Europeans are mostly modern and secular, while many Americans are drenched in religiosity and traditionalism, according to Dutch historian Rob Kroes, whose paper "European Anti-Americanism: What's New?" is analyzed.

Addresses issues surrounding the death of Gennady M. Danilenko, a Russian law professor at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan, in June 2001. Information on Danilenko; Allegations of being a drug addict and smuggler; Events that led to his death.

The article reports on the response of U.S. graduate schools to the three-year undergraduate degrees being established in Europe under the Bologna Process, aimed at creating a standardized European Higher Education Area. The results of a survey by the Institute of International Education into the proportion of U.S. graduate programs that accept the degrees as equivalent to four-year degrees from the United States are discussed.

The article discusses European and European Union (E.U.) studies as an academic field. Particular focus is given to the discipline's popularity for college and graduate students in European higher education and its potential to prepare students for political careers within the E.U. as well as provide them with a broad, liberal-arts based education. Topics explored include E.U. public policy, the training and education of civil servants, and the Bologna Process. The article also offers information regarding the emergence of Romani studies, or the study of Romani peoples, as a scholarly field.

The article focuses on the preponderance of pigs in the history books of schools in America. Sixteenth-century buccaneers are reported to be named after the boucans or grills, on which they smoked the meat of stolen pigs. Swine, brought to America from Europe by early settlers, were the cause of fights over personal property between British colonists and their American Indian neighbors. Upton Sinclair's muckraking novel The Jungle, about the Chicago stockyards,resulted in the creation of the Food and Drug Administration. In the early 19th century, Cincinnati was the world's pork-processing capital and gained as a commercial center. Further, pigs were are alleged to be prominent at a prominent moment in Cincinnati's economic history. Indeed, it was there that assembly-line production models were pioneered as meatpackers made the butchering process more efficient by dividing it into discrete tasks-an approach that attracted the attention of the young Henry Ford. Furthermore, students take a midterm exam and write research papers on the history of pigs. They are divided into competing teams for special projects like designing a hypothetical exhibit on pigs for Cincinnati's history museum.

The article discusses Portugal's efforts to promote economic growth by investing in scientific research and development at its higher-education institutions. The article mentions the University of Coimbra's relationship with several U.S. universities, such as Carnegie Mellon University and the Harvard Medical School, to engage in research and academic exchange programs. Government spending has increased in these fields due to a commitment by the country to become a knowledge economy through innovation in science and technology. Relationships between Portuguese and U.S. universities have brought jobs to the country, attracted high-achieving students, and attracted business investments, but leaders fear funding from the federal government may decrease.

Focuses on the academic employment market in Europe focused on young talent, higher-education analysts as of March 8, 2002. Working conditions in British academies; Estimated number of French institutes' scientists who will retire in the next twenty years; Salary range for professors in Poland; Recruitment trends in Ireland.

The article presents news briefs on issues related to higher education. John Rist, chairman of the department of classics at Aberdeen University in Scotland, has resigned due to budget cuts to the university. A collection of rare papers from fascist dictator Benito Mussolini has been returned by Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut to the government of Italy. Archeology professor Yigal Shiloh of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem has been awarded by Sweden's Göteborg University for his research.

The article explores ways in which European universities are being impacted by government austerity measures, or efforts to reduce public spending, due to the global financial crisis that began in 2008. Particular emphasis is given to increased tuition costs, reductions in services offered to students, and the elimination of job opportunities for college professors that have resulted from such higher education budget cuts. It also examines youth unemployment in Spain, comments on the increased government regulations of higher education in Portugal, and describes the financial instability of academic libraries in Spain.

The article discusses foreign study by U.S. students in Asia, noting that most students who choose foreign study go to Europe, except for those of Asian heritage who may be familiar with an Asian culture and language. It notes that faculty members are a key factor in students' decisions, often guiding students towards institutions where they have research relationships. It also notes that many Asian universities, particularly those in China, are focused inward on building their departments and serving the native population. Thus simple factors such as posting syllabi online are not priorities. Therefore, it states, increasing foreign study in Asia requires efforts by both U.S. and Asian schools.

The article reports that European educators predict chaos if Educational Testing Service expands Internet-based English test to 100 countries. The Internet-based test was introduced in France, Germany and Italy in October and administering the test in France and Germany has been especially problematic. With the planned expansion of the Internet-based test to 100 more countries, what has been a regional problem in Europe will quickly become a global one.

Focuses on continuing-education in Europe. Trend among working people to go back to classrooms; National strategy for survival in the highly competitive global economy; Comments by Gerard Demazeay, at the University of Bordeaux I; Continuing education provided by private training schools; The attention given by the Association of European Universities to continuing education; Comments; Outlook.

The article discusses the European Quality Assurance Register for Higher Education, which was created in March 2008. The 46 countries involved in the process seek to improve the quality and assessment of higher education throughout Europe, thus facilitating students' mobility among institutions and countries and enhancing international use of courses and degrees from the participating countries. According to the author, the register is a good idea, but participants face problems because of the vast differences in government standards for higher-education oversight between member states.

The article discusses how 137 researchers in North America and Europe have reported that they have identified several chromosomal regions linked to autism. The researchers took blood samples from nearly 8,000 people who had a family member with some type of autism-spectrum disorder. The team focused on data from nearly 1,200 families that had at least two affected individuals. They then analyzed the data to find chromosomal regions that were present in people with autism more often than would be expected by chance. They identified a region on chromosome 15, which had been implicated before, and a part of chromosome 11 that had not previously been linked to autism.

Focuses on the role of photographs by Swiss writer, journalist and photographer Annemarie Schwarzenbach in depicting Europe and the U.S. in the 1930s. Background on a visit made by Schwarzenbach in the U.S. in 1936; Views of the contemporaries of Schwarzenbach on her personality; Cause of her death.