An Examination of the Interaction Between Modelling and Its Relationship with Construction Kits: Lessons from the Past and for the Future

Construction kits have played a significant part in nurturing the growth and development of the minds and manipulation-based skills of children (and adults) in formal and non-formal education settings. These kits have origins rooted in the representation of the built world and now have a diversity of form and function, including technical versions with moving parts. This article examines some of the historically based ideas that lie behind the role that kits may have in terms of physical modelling. The article traces the transformation of kits from simple bricks and blocks into more complicated pieces for space-filling and achieving the transfer of forces and motion. This transformation occurred during the Victorian era when the influence of the ideas of educationalists and, perhaps rather strangely, exponents of early aviation, played major roles in determining the diversity of forms of construction kit and modelled possibilities that are now to be seen in classrooms and homes. The article ends with a review of some of the lessons from the past and present that will need to be considered in relation to concrete modelling in schools for the future. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The Impact of the Implementation of Technology Education on In-Service Teacher Education in South Africa (Impact of Technology Education in the RSA)

In this article the impact of technology education, as a new learning area (subject) in the curriculum, on in-service teacher education in South Africa is described in order to ascertain the extent of the impact. The research on which this article is based draws on a variety of experiences and observations in the field at grassroots level (in particular an outreach project in rural communities). The envisaged impact of technology education on South African schools, communities, teacher educators and teachers, the range of in-service teacher education that is required, and the impacts in urban and rural areas are discussed. Finally a number of concluding remarks are made about the extent of the impact of the inclusion of technology education in the new National Curriculum Statement and whether the situation has changed since the implementation of a pilot technology education project in 1998. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

股份制石油企业增加值核算方法探讨

从建国到改革开放初期，我国国民经济核算采用的是前苏联、东欧国家的物质产品平衡表体系(MPS)、核心指标是国民收入，反映的是物质生产。改革开放后，非物质性服务业获得了迅速发展，并在国民经济中发挥越来越重要的作用。随着1998年石油行业重组改制和2000年股份公司改制上市、股份制石油企业的管理体制、运行机制、经济关系和会计核算方法等都发生了重大变化，对增加值这一重要经济总量指标的核算方法进行研究已迫在眉睫。增加值有三种核算方法：一是生产法，二是收入法或分配法，三是支出法或最终使用法。文章结合石油企业的实际，着重讨论了前两种核算方法，包括基本原则、计算公式、主要指标、资料获取，以及对生产法和收入法增加值计算结果不等的处理。