UK Times Higher Education: education news and resources
"Times Higher Education is the UK's most authoritative source of information about higher education. Designed specifically for professional people working in higher education and research, Times Higher Education was founded in 1971 and has been online since 1995.
We cover policy issues and intellectual developments worldwide through a specialist staff of reporters and many contributors from within the academic community. Times Higher Education provides high-quality information and analysis as well as a forum for debate for the academic community on higher education policy issues - public funding, tuition charges, quality assurance, institutional governance, student assessment, postgraduate training etc - and on intellectual developments, personalities and debates. Coverage includes a large number of book reviews of both specialised texts and books of general interest to an academic audience."
(TSL Education Ltd.)
CONTRIBUTOR
Simon PerkinsSHARE
The UK Higher Education Statistics Agency
"The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) is the official agency for the collection, analysis and dissemination of quantitative information about higher education.
It was set up by agreement between the relevant government departments, the higher education funding councils and the universities and colleges in 1993, following the White Paper 'Higher Education: a new framework', which called for more coherence in HE statistics, and the 1992 Higher and Further Education Acts, which established an integrated higher education system throughout the United Kingdom."
(Higher Education Statistics Agency)
CONTRIBUTOR
Simon PerkinsSHARE
Why Design Education Must Change
"even were a design school to decide to teach more formal methods, we don't really have a curriculum that is appropriate for designers. Take my concern about the lack of experimental rigor. Suppose you were to agree with me - what courses would we teach? We don't really know. The experimental methods of the social and behavioral sciences are not well suited for the issues faced by designers.
Designers are practitioners, which means they are not trying to extend the knowledge base of science but instead, to apply the knowledge. The designer's goal is to have large, important impact. Scientists are interested in truth, often in the distinction between the predictions of two differing theories. The differences they look for are quite small: often statistically significant but in terms of applied impact, quite unimportant. Experiments that carefully control for numerous possible biases and that use large numbers of experimental observers are inappropriate for designers.
The designer needs results immediately, in hours or at possibly a few days. Quite often tests of 5 to 10 people are quite sufficient. Yes, attention must be paid to the possible biases (such as experimenter biases and the impact of order of presentation of tests), but if one is looking for large effect, it should be possible to do tests that are simpler and faster than are used by the scientific community will suffice. Designs don't have to be optimal or perfect: results that are not quite optimum or les than perfect are often completely satisfactory for everyday usage. No everyday product is perfect, nor need they be. We need experimental techniques that recognize these pragmatic, applied goals.
Design needs to develop its own experimental methods. They should be simple and quick, looking for large phenomena and conditions that are 'good enough.' But they must still be sensitive to statistical variability and experimental biases. These methods do not exist: we need some sympathetic statisticians to work with designers to develop these new, appropriate methods."
(Don Norman, 26 Nov 2010, Core77)
CONTRIBUTOR
Simon PerkinsSHARE
Statistics New Zealand Tatauranga Aotearoa: Digital yearbook collection
"The New Zealand Official Yearbook has provided a comprehensive statistical picture of life in New Zealand since 1893. 'Handbooks' and 'Blue books' of statistical information go back even further."
(Statistics New Zealand Tatauranga Aotearoa)
CONTRIBUTOR
Simon PerkinsSHARE
Infographics & Data Visualization
"'Where data meets design.' Visual communication is growing in importance; infographics and data visualization are two visual forms designers and statisticians use to communicate to the masses complex and often hard to understand concepts."
(Otto Ottinger)
CONTRIBUTOR
Simon PerkinsSHARE
