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We have carried out case based comparative studies in Japan, US and Korea with special reference to the medical education programme using standardized patients (SPs). The schools in US we have visited are still in the process further reforming interactive medical education. In Daegu, Korea, five medical schools have jointly started a working group for the betterment of medical education on a regular basis from the year 1999. The emphasis is on cooperative research on standardized patient training and its application. In Japan, the substantial activities for training and implementing SPs were later followed by several citizens who are active in training and providing SPs to medical schools and hospitals in need. In comparison to the established research oriented framework and flexible application of SPs in US and new & dynamic developmental discussions of SPs in Korea, the Japanese reality is a bit behind with less opportunity for research oriented trials.

Over the past 5 years, an innovative portfolio of degrees in complementary therapies has been developed at the University of Westminster. Most of the degrees were the first of their kind in the UK, and the provision is now the widest range of complementary therapies courses in Europe.With an intake of 80 students in 1996, the provision has grown rapidly to a total of over 500 in 2000.The opening of the unique multidisciplinary Polyclinic in 1998 marked the beginning of an exciting clinical training and research dimension. The context that has lead to the growth of mainstream higher education provision of complementary therapies is explored.The current offer is reviewed, and criteria for degree provision and the role of the professional bodies discussed. The development of the University of Westminster's provision is described, including the early collaboration with established providers, design, influence of nursing and midwifery, experiences with the professional bodies, development of the unique Polyclinic and the plans for the future. © 2001 Harcourt Publishers Ltd.

[No abstract available]

The aim in this article is to examine the ingredients of 'success' in the small enterprise development experience of Africa. More specifically, it seeks to review and selectively highlight issues of the successes of the African small enterprise development experience and to identify the key factors or agents of change with a focus upon the record of sub-Saharan Africa. Overall, this paper focusses on identifying (1) the elements of successful enterprises, (2) the ingredients of successful clusters of enterprises, and (3) the best practices of policy support for small enterprise development in Africa, in terms of both finance and business development services. © 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Two multiple baseline designs were used to evaluate a two-stage model for training four young adults with visual and cognitive impairments to shop for groceries. General case methods of choosing training exemplars and canvassing the skill performance of individuals without disabilities were the bases of a task-analytical flow chart of the behavioral skills involved in grocery shopping. The four young adults improved both the number of skills steps completed and the number of correct items purchased and maintained their skills at the 3-, 9-, and 12week follow-ups.

Objective: The aim of this prospective follow-up study was to quantify the impact of hand dermatitis (HD) in bakers, confectioners and bakery shop assistants, and to investigate related risk factors. Method: Bakers', confectioners' and bakery-shop assistants were included in a prospective follow-up study in the region of East Thuringia starting in August 1996. At the beginning of their vocational training 91 apprentices were interviewed and examined in a standardised way. Follow-up examinations and interviews were done after 6 months (n = 79), 12 months (n = 63) and at the end of the training (n = 69) after 36 months. Results: In their case histories 3.3% (n = 3) of the apprentices reported previous HD in childhood and adolescence. The first assessment after 2 to 4 weeks of vocational training revealed HD in 17.5% (n = 16) of the individuals. At the follow-up examination after 6 months, point prevalence of HD was 29.1% (n = 23), after 12 months 27.0% (n = 17) and after 36 months 27.5% (n = 19). Mild to moderate irritant contact dermatitis was the most frequent finding. Finally, an atopic skin diathesis (> 10 points, "atopy score") (OR = 4.89; CI 95% 1.15-20.79), previous HD (OR = 41.1; CI 95% 4.99-339.13) as well as flexural dermatitis (OR = 6.8; CI 95% 1.72-27.22) proved to be predictive factors for the development of HD. No association was found to respiratory atopy (OR = 1.29; CI 95% 0.35-4.7) and mental sensitisation (OR = 1.1; CI 95% 0.29-4.35). Exogenous irritant factors did not show a strong association towards a risk increase. Wet work in general, as well as distinct occupational tasks showed only a tendency for being a risk factor for HD. However, leisure time activities, especially house building and rebuilding (OR = 5.4; CI 95% 1.05-27.81), were associated with an elevated risk. Conclusions: Endogenous and exogenous factors contribute to the development of HD in bakers' and confectioners' apprentices.

This article examines what Foundation level GNVQ students say about their learning experience drawing on findings from a case study of staff and students involved in GNVQ programmes at a further education college. The college has a Foundation Studies department, where all Foundation level GNVQ is taught, and the article reports on interviews with a small group of seven Foundation students. It is argued that the most important issue for them is the shift from being disaffected learners to becoming accepted as students within the college. In achieving this, relationships with teachers are crucial, and appear to be the most significant factor in helping these students move from being apparent failures within the education system, to starting out on a more successful path to learning. © 2001 Journal of Vocational Education and Training All rights reserved.

This article reports some of the findings from a research project on students’ perceptions of education business link activity. Using a self report questionnaire, it contrasts student perspectives on the education business (EB) link activity in schools with ‘well-developed’ links with those having ‘less well-developed’ links. The results suggest that where ‘welldeveloped’ links exist they tend to have overall positive effects on certain key aspects of students’ perceived vocational insight, vocational concerns, locus of control, self-efficacy and work-based learning. These results held up irrespective of the way in which the EB links were organised. Furthermore, the effects were found, on a number of variables, to be most positive in respect of male students. The study concludes that there are differences between schools in their approaches to EB links, which merit further research. © 2000 Journal of Vocational Education and Training. All Rights Reserved.

The main forces influencing vocational education and training (VET) systems are broadly the same in all countries. Based on interviews with heads of institutions, this article compares these forces and their possible consequences as they affect the development of further education (FE) colleges in England and technical and further education (TAFE) institutes in Australia over the next 10–15 years. Despite the fact that FE colleges and TAFE institutes are embedded in different systems of organisation and management, centralisation of planning and policy making has been a feature in both countries. Recent reforms have sought to emphasise greater efficiency, higher participation rates and more effective responses to market forces. The future is likely to be dominated by a continuation of these trends and institutional agendas will need to reflect this. In particular, we can expect to see further restructuring and rationalisation of provision, the emergence of funding regimes which channel assistance through individual learners and a steady decline in the use of face to face teaching. FE colleges and TAFE institutes will continue to have an important role to play as part of an extensive network of outlets for flexible learning, support and guidance, but it is doubtful whether FE and TAFE systems will survive in their present form. © 2000 Journal of Vocational Education and Trainin. All rights reserved.

In this article the author looks at the extent to which European Union (EU) suggestions for Vocational Education and Training (VET) policy development for young people, are translated in the context of convergence, as the result of an international trend for adaptation of common policies towards integration. The article traces issues that describe the relation of VET to convergence and integration, and questions the feasibility of socioeconomic integration in the EU, by presenting a short thematic analysis of issues and trends in three Member States, that have conformed to a large extent to the EU policy framework for VET. It is suggested that integration, as a multidimensional process, relates more to the pressure exerted by adults on young people to conform to predetermined standards, whether in working or social life, and argues that if there is to be a change, there will be a need for new methods of integration into a society which is not fixed and immutable, but in fact in the process of upheaval and of being constantly restructured. © 2000, Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.