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Working in the UK, Sadler-Smith, Down and Lean, in their article "'Modern' learning methods: rhetoric and reality", Personnel Review, Vol. 29 No. 4, 2000, pp. 474-90, have shown that distance learning methods are neither favoured nor perceived as effective by enterprises pursuing training that yields a competitive edge. They have suggested that these methods need to be integrated with other more conventional on-job training methods. This paper, based on Australian research, shows a tension between the requirements of flexible training methods based on distance learning methods, and the characteristics that typify learners and their workplaces. That identified tension is used to suggest how an integration of training methods may be effected in workplaces.

The transition from school to work is a story that meshes the life histories of youth and the economic and social development of societies. Drawing on reports from diverse regions of the world, this article describes the range of adolescent experiences as they encompass the completion of school and the commencement of adult work. As the 21st century begins, major threats to the preparation of youth for adult work include deficiencies in schools, hazards of the informal work sector, a lack of clear connections between school and work, and the misuse or underutilization of technology. Yet this transition is also a story of optimism, as the significance of youth for economic and social development is increasingly appreciated at the national and international levels. Accordingly, this article considers the broad policy implications of the survey and then details the lines of action that address challenges to the preparation of youth for adult work. Although many regions of the world share common challenges, the integration of youth into the 21st century world of work will depend on how each country formulates a unique response that is sensitive to its demographic profile, social institutions, cultural heritage, and economic conditions.

Recent policy statements reveal that the future work-based route to vocational qualifications in the UK will include 'taught knowledge and understanding' as well as competence acquired in the workplace. The intention is to bring National/Scottish Vocational Qualifications into line with the German dual system of apprenticeship, which involves much more academic study. This article seeks to clarify the UK policy by exploring recent developments in the German dual system, and considering two key questions: how to define knowledge and understanding in this context, and how to distribute control of the curriculum between the stakeholders.

Multiskilling, or cross training, can enable students to gain the knowledge and skills to become proficient practitioners. This article describes a multiskilling course designed to increase dietetics students' awareness of diverse healthrelated skills and to enhance their ability to develop new skills for future practice. Allied health professionals lectured on and demonstrated cardiopulmonary resuscitation, stress management, dysphagia and swallowing evaluation, adaptive feeding devices, exercise testing, monitoring of vital signs, and multi-department management. Results of course-evaluation surveys distributed to the students (n = 12) on the last day were extremely positive, with an overall mean rating of 1.07 on a scale of 1 (highest) to 4, indicating that the course included appropriate information, assignments, and evaluation mechanisms. This study provides preliminary evidence that a didactic experience can enhance students' awareness of other allied health professions. Through "hands-on" activities, students can become more confident in their knowledge and in the skills needed to function effectively as members and leaders of healthcare teams.

Many young people entering the workforce are not well prepared to meet the demands of a dynamic work environment. Students with disabilities benefit from work-based learning activities as much as, if not more than, their non-disabled peers. Unfortunately, many school-to-work programs in high school and cooperative education and internship programs in college do not fully include students with disabilities, a group that represents an increasing proportion of today's school population. The University of Washington conducted a three-year project to help students with disabilities head toward successful careers by using a holistic and collaborative approach. Besides the students served, the team includes staff from precollege and postsecondary educational institutions, parents, mentors, employers, and community service providers. A post-work-experience survey was developed to answer the question "What impact do work-based learning experiences have on career-related attitudes, knowledge, and skills for students with disabilities?" Participants reported considerable benefit from their work-based learning experiences. They gained motivation to work toward a career, learned about careers and the workplace, gained job-related skills, learned to work with supervisors and co-workers, and developed accommodation strategies.

Background: Occupational skin diseases (OSDs) account for a large portion of occupational diseases in Europe, but population-based epidemiological studies are missing. Objectives: We analysed the initial reports of OSDs in our register of OSDs in Northern Bavaria (BKH-N). Methods: A total of 5285 cases were assessed prospectively and registered from 1990 to 1999. As the German Federal Employment Office provides specific occupational data in relation to the total employed population of Northern Bavaria, it was possible to conduct a population-based study that investigated the trend in incidence rates between two study periods (1990-92 and 1993-99) in 24 different occupational groups. Results A total of 3097 cases of OSD (median age 25 years) were recorded in the 24 occupational groups. There was a significant decline (P<0.001) in the overall incidence rate of OSD with 10.7 cases per 10,000 workers per year for the first study period and 4.9 cases per 10,000 workers per year for the second study period. This general trend in incidence rates was also significant for hairdressers and barbers, bakers, health-care workers, cooks and metal processors. Conclusions: The BKH-N provides national data based on the notification of OSDs in Germany. The results demonstrate the rank of occupations hazardous for the skin and are helpful for defining target groups for prevention.

Background. This study was performed to assess radiotherapy education among family physicians. Methods. A questionnaire evaluating radiotherapy training and knowledge was given to participants of a palliative care conference. Results. Thirty-four physicians completed the survey (71% response rate). Major deficiencies in radiotherapy education were identified and 88% of respondents stated that they did not have adequate knowledge. Only 33% had received formal training in radiotherapy and the majority (77%) thought that they would benefit considerably from continuing medical education. Conclusions. Better education about radiotherapy is required for family physicians and could lead to increased patient referral for such treatment.

This article maps the contentious question of ‘national curriculum’ in Australia. It explains both why there is no national (i.e. Australian) curriculum, and analyses the history of curriculum formation with a view to documenting the changing significance and status of ‘national’ (i.e. nation-building) curriculum. The analysis is informed by an historical sociology perspective which begins by considering curriculum in relation to the national question in Australia and then moves on to examine the role of curriculum in the contemporary re-design of education as a social institution and a regulatory device within the Australian national jurisdiction. © 2001 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

National training packages have become the mandated framework for course delivery in Australia's vocational education and training sector. Each training package contains: qualifications that can be issued, industry-derived competencies, and assessment guidelines but do not contain an endorsed curriculum component or learning outcomes. All public and private vocational education and training providers must use training packages, or industry-endorsed competencies in cases where they do not exist, if they are to receive public funding for their programs. This article describes the operation of Australia's national training packages and considers some of their strengths and weaknesses, many of which may be shared by similar systems elsewhere. Argues that training packages may result in poorer student learning outcomes, and that they may threaten the end of effective credit transfer between the vocational education and training and higher education sectors. Suggests that national training packages are not a good model for other countries and that Australia's current vocational education and training policy needs to be reviewed. © 2001, MCB UP Limited

This article explores a frequent and important practice in the ancien Régime society, namely, apprenticeship. The apprenticeship contracts of legitimate orphans (boys and girls) who were received in institutions that specialized in caring for them - such as the Trinité or the Saint-Esprit - provide the data for this study. By focusing on these two, it is possible to compare two groups of orphans, as well as differences in the intentions and accomplishments of the institutions in terms of offering instruction and preparation for the working world. This examination focuses on the transition from the institution to society. How did the orphans interpret this transition? And how did administrators perceive their roles? The example of the Trinité and the Saint-Esprit serves to rectify the common image of the hospitals as poor and highly imperfect in terms of education and apprenticeship. It shows that these were genuine training institutions for older children. © 2001 Elsevier Science Inc.