tag:theconversation.com,2011:/uk/topics/undergraduate-11875/articlesUndergraduate – The Conversation2019-01-09T07:48:15Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1082672019-01-09T07:48:15Z2019-01-09T07:48:15ZSouth Africa joins global charge to overhaul undergraduate economics<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/248989/original/file-20181205-186064-3igcju.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C628%2C5000%2C2859&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Economics teaching needs to be more relevant and rooted in reality, not theory.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jason Winter/Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Are universities teaching the right kind of economics? Are they equipping students with the right kind of skills? </p>
<p>These are some of the questions academics in the economics discipline have been grappling with for quite some time. Over the past five years the discussions and debates have shifted to action – the development of a new undergraduate curriculum designed by a global network of economists. </p>
<p>The new curriculum has already been implemented in several countries. The latest to go down this route is South Africa. Academics from several universities are collaborating to implement and adapt the curriculum known as CORE: <a href="https://www.core-econ.org/">Curriculum Open-Access Resources in Economics</a>. </p>
<p>The new curriculum exposes students to modern economic theories. These are drawn from a range of schools of thought. The curriculum is also consciously rooted in real world examples. It features relevant historical and institutional analysis. This resonates with students. CORE also introduces students to behavioural issues and the realities of power relations and inequalities of income, wealth and opportunity from the very beginning of their undergraduate economics degrees.</p>
<p>It’s an approach that holds enormous value. Economics students need a strong, relevant undergraduate foundation. Many students take a year or two of economics as part of other degrees. These include accounting, actuarial science, finance, business management, politics, law and general arts and commerce degrees. </p>
<p>It’s important that these students get an up to date introduction to economics. This will allow them to benefit from and gain insights into contemporary economics thinking. Such lessons will be valuable in whatever careers they pursue in future.</p>
<p>Those who major in the subject or pursue it at postgraduate level will also benefit hugely from a revamped curriculum. A deep, nuanced understanding will provide them with the skills they need to offer useful policy advice and produce high quality research.</p>
<h2>Curriculum reform</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.core-econ.org/about/">CORE project</a> was launched in 2013. It was designed as a response to weaknesses exposed in the economics profession by the <a href="https://www.globalpolicy.org/social-and-economic-policy/the-world-economic-crisis.html">global economic crisis</a> of late 2007 to 2009. It has grown enormously since then. It has a <a href="http://www.core-econ.org">strong digital presence</a>: students and lecturers can register to access interactive e-books, apps, and the teaching and learning materials for free.</p>
<p>In 2018, CORE’s introduction to economics replaced the standard introductory micro and macro economics courses at University College London and the Toulouse School of Economics in France. It is now used as a basis for economics teaching at over 100 universities around the world. South Africa’s universities of Pretoria, Cape Town, Stellenbosch and the Witwatersrand will start implementing parts of the CORE curriculum between now and 2020.</p>
<p>Part of the curriculum’s appeal is that it tries to synthesise the best economic ideas into a coherent body of thought that equips students with the methods and tools to apply appropriate economic concepts in analysing and solving economic problems. This approach is distinct from traditional economic teaching, which is either ideologically narrow – drawing from one or two economic schools of thought – or is comparative, juxtaposing a variety of distinct schools of thought. </p>
<p>The CORE material draws on a range of schools of economic thought. At the moment, though, its text is mostly American or European. In a recent <a href="http://www.polity.org.za/article/wits-hosts-two-day-core-workshop-2018-11-29">workshop</a> at the University of the Witwatersrand that brought South African economics academics and students together, it was agreed that this would need to be addressed to improve the curriculum for a South African context.</p>
<p>Lecturers and students who participated in the workshop spoke about the need for an economics text which outlines South African economic history. It should also, they argued, be located in the country’s institutional milieu and must deal with local case studies. </p>
<p>Ideally, whether a new curriculum is based on CORE or on other models, it would combine international best practice with a strong resonance to South African lived experience.</p>
<h2>Future work</h2>
<p>The workshop, and ongoing discussions around it, have signposted a clear way forward for undergraduate economics curriculum reform in South Africa. </p>
<p>Universities should begin the process of updating and modernising their undergraduate economics curricula. To do so, they should draw on international developments in this area – such as those represented by CORE. </p>
<p>Secondly, at a national level, a detailed discussion is needed about how best to adapt the undergraduate economics curriculum to be most useful in addressing South Africa’s specific economic challenges.</p>
<p>These processes will help universities to start producing the kind of economists the country needs to help resolve South Africa’s deep-seated economic problems.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/108267/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kenneth Creamer does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Universities should begin the process of updating and modernising their undergraduate economics curricula.Kenneth Creamer, Senior Lecturer, University of the WitwatersrandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/479752015-09-25T09:21:39Z2015-09-25T09:21:39ZTo cut costs, college students are buying less food and even going hungry<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/96094/original/image-20150924-17074-1lwdv5d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">On the list of students' struggles are basic necessities – food.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/tulanesally/3618969705/in/photolist-6vNaBp-bv3VsV-bv3UDB-fAEzH-8x6nrx-fHNkQv-fHNkdr-fHMPnK-fJ5M4d-fHN9xD-fHMNLi-fJ5EaE-fJ5FcW-fHMUhg-fJ5FNJ-fJ5tnS-fHN3cT-fJ5m2E-fHNaBB-fJ5mid-fHN2a4-fHMT8e-fHNixB-fTH67f-fTJ6DN-fTHRzr-fTHXQc-fJ5FBy-fJ5L8A-fJ5wN1-fJ5pAE-71BgUu-2PJJS7-bjrwuH-dKZExV-6EJSmL-9qb66P-6AsDsk-fTJwNp-fTJ6wp-fTGLio-fTJb5d-fTGSCC-fTJ6Qb-fTJBJB-fTJ8Ec-7y6LNK-fJ5Crw-fHN8uD-fHNdoF">Tulane Public Relations</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Studies have long shown that a college student’s odds of achieving financial security and a better quality of life improve <a href="http://oreopoulos.faculty.economics.utoronto.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/23_01_03.pdf">when he or she earns a degree</a>. </p>
<p>But what are some of the obstacles that prevent degree attainment? </p>
<p>At the <a href="wihopelab.com">Wisconsin HOPE Lab</a>, we study the challenges that students from low- and moderate-income households face in attaining a college degree. Chief among these are the many hurdles created by the high price of college. Paying the price of attending college, we find, changes who attends and for how long, as well as the college experience itself – what classes students take, the grades they earn, the activities in which they engage and even with whom they interact.</p>
<p>Our <a href="http://wihopelab.com/publications/APPAM.Draft.10.28.2014.pdf">recent research</a> shows an alarming trend on college campuses: an increasing number of students tell us that they are struggling in college, sometimes even dropping out, because they can’t afford enough of life’s basic necessity – food. </p>
<h2>College students are without food</h2>
<p><a href="http://hepg.org/hep-home/books/reinventing-financial-aid">Pell Grants were introduced in the 1970s</a> as the nation’s flagship program to help low-income students cover their college costs. Back then, the grants covered nearly 75% of the cost of attending a public four-year college.
<a href="http://wihopelab.com/publications/Redefining_College_Affordability.pdf">Today, that percentage has dropped to 30</a>. Add to this the fact that <a href="http://www.finaid.org/educators/ProfileofPellGrantRecipients.pdf">two-thirds</a> of all current Pell Grant recipients grew up in families who live below 150% of the federal poverty line.</p>
<p>Now, let’s look at our research findings.</p>
<p>Beginning in 2008, we began surveying undergraduates attending public two-year and four-year colleges and universities across Wisconsin – 3,000 students in total. All of the students surveyed received the federal Pell Grant.</p>
<p><a href="http://wihopelab.com/publications/APPAM.Draft.10.28.2014.pdf">Our study</a> found that 71% of the students said that they changed their food shopping or eating habits due to a lack of funds. We then asked students if they were getting enough to eat. Twenty-seven percent of students said they did not have enough money to buy food; they ate less than they felt they should; or they cut the size of their meals because of money. </p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/96096/original/image-20150924-17074-fw2uo2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/96096/original/image-20150924-17074-fw2uo2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/96096/original/image-20150924-17074-fw2uo2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/96096/original/image-20150924-17074-fw2uo2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/96096/original/image-20150924-17074-fw2uo2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/96096/original/image-20150924-17074-fw2uo2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/96096/original/image-20150924-17074-fw2uo2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Some 7% of students at four-year colleges said they’ve gone hungry for an entire day.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/ginnerobot/4482898587/in/photolist-7Q92yX-fx5j6-8Yy5fi-7LHXqJ-arHmTK-6K1BWV-5NfQvz-bUKXf9-arsNk1-2GraSU-nxpLWc-8sP3b3-bxZrsP-6VT1dy-LVHur-dBjH2L-6VEg9g-7TF4sW-3aim6a-LVHyg-gRJRwF-pouqq7-bUKXa7-m6jFmo-wkqBe-utdXir-5nchL-8MAwTF-7vzFGy-kCdA6Z-wyyHv-hMeFN-mntAh-6d199r-pWYde-2JRbqu-nmVM5s-4bEZzm-6d8VPU-arL2HU-564JLu-nYZx2i-7pzE23-KBY6e-5e2TiK-bxsgG-9kkqW7-4VqpyD-phRWGV-boRVgq">Ginny</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>When asked if they ever went without eating for an entire day because they lacked enough money for food, 7% of students at two-year colleges and 5% of students at four-year colleges said yes. </p>
<p>Our study focused on students attending public colleges and universities when a recession was getting under way. But our more recent surveys, as well as similar research initiatives in other parts of the country, indicate this situation is not limited to these institutions or that time period alone. </p>
<p>For example, Wisconsin HOPE Lab affiliate <a href="http://scholar.harvard.edu/anthonyjack/home">Anthony Jack</a> from Harvard University <a href="http://host.madison.com/daily-cardinal/harvard-researcher-reveals-alienating-effects-of-inclusion-programs/article_5fdfbc5e-5c08-11e5-8b6a-0bdd28b92104.html">is also uncovering hunger among undergraduates</a> at elite institutions that purport to meet their full financial needs. His ethnographic research found students turning to off-campus food pantries and sometimes fainting from hunger. This is startling <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/17/upshot/college-access-index-2015-the-details.html?_r=0">given the positive media attention paid to such schools</a>, which often advertise “<a href="http://thecollegematchmaker.com/63-colleges-committed-student-loans/">no loans</a>” policies.</p>
<h2>What this means for America</h2>
<p>The ramifications of this situation are dire, and not only for the students who cannot travel the higher education path to the American Dream. </p>
<p>When a person makes a trade-off between food and other essential living expenses, such as paying for housing or medical expenses, it is also a sign of food insecurity – inadequate access to nutritious food.</p>
<p>We presented this research in <a href="http://wihopelab.com/publications/Hunger_Testimony_Broton_Goldrick-Rab_2015.pdf">our recent testimony</a> to the <a href="https://hungercommission.rti.org/">National Commission on Hunger</a>, noting also that students need not be hungry all the time in order to be food-insecure. Reducing the quality of food intake or acquiring food in a socially unacceptable way is also <a href="http://agris.fao.org/agris-search/search.do?recordID=US9111600">food insecurity</a>. </p>
<p>This is not just an issue of unaffordable debt and no degree. The nation’s economy is at risk as well. Consider this: </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/96098/original/image-20150924-17100-8mnej5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/96098/original/image-20150924-17100-8mnej5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=468&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/96098/original/image-20150924-17100-8mnej5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=468&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/96098/original/image-20150924-17100-8mnej5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=468&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/96098/original/image-20150924-17100-8mnej5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=588&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/96098/original/image-20150924-17100-8mnej5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=588&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/96098/original/image-20150924-17100-8mnej5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=588&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Why can’t colleges have a lunch program for students?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/pennstatelive/5999542906/in/photolist-a9ae5W-a1aKJT-HWJbk-9wusXG-DfLaj-avxCZB-bjPUUA-4Jq1yv-4Juf2S-4Jq1ux-4Jueqj-4JueXj-4JueuJ-4Jufh5-4Juf6b-2hSjEv-2hWJX3-2hSjzP-bkY4hE-4zbGiA-6yHwRr-B5c4j-48dyMi-9CDkSv-e631Np-B5cf9-8xa7ah-dzHzjg-o5XRWW-Cp3e-8M4RHK-r9YZKC-quLY9i-rrrG8B-rrynZH-quyR1f-7ZxtG4-c1JPr9-c1JQJU-e62TDP-8xcRfx-8xuFJD-c1JKH1-9d8TDd-8x7wtc-7bqtT-bfW3ED-8x77AT-97TEdA-8xaikZ">Penn State</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Enough students start college to meet these goals, but not enough finish. </p>
<p><a href="https://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2015144">Studies show</a> that only 14% of students from the bottom 20% of the income distribution completed a bachelor’s degree or higher within eight years of high school graduation, compared to 29% of those from middle socioeconomic families and 60% of students from the top 20% of the income distribution.</p>
<h2>What can be done</h2>
<p>In our testimony, we urged the National Commission on Hunger, as well as government and educational institutions, to align hunger policies with educational policies. </p>
<p>For example, students who have grown up in poverty do not suddenly become wealthier when they enroll in college, and grants fall far short of covering their full cost of attendance. Yet the free breakfast and lunch and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits that supported them during their elementary and high school years disappear or become difficult to access in college. </p>
<p>Instituting a National School Lunch Program at public colleges and universities – and allowing students to use both financial aid and SNAP to pay for college expenses – will likely help them complete degrees more often and faster.</p>
<p>SNAP, especially, should be retooled to allow more students to benefit. Fixes could include:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>aligning SNAP eligibility with need-based financial aid eligibility</p></li>
<li><p>allowing college enrollment to count toward <a href="http://www.clasp.org/resources-and-publications/publication-1/SNAP-Policy-Brief_College-Student-Eligibility-Update.pdf">SNAP work requirements</a></p></li>
<li><p>removing logistical barriers to filing a SNAP application. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>This is an issue that needs further investigation. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1515/jcc-2014-0031#.VgKuzyBViko">Studies of specific institutions</a>, conducted over the last decade, indicate that college students are at a greater risk of food insecurity than the general public. However, there is no nationally representative study that exists. </p>
<p><a href="http://wihopelab.com/projects/SSUSA-Implementation-Assessment.pdf">Practitioners are working</a> to respond to students’ needs, but effective policy response requires additional information.</p>
<p>Finally, universities and colleges themselves must do more to identify and deal with the problem of on-campus food insecurity. That includes surveying students and establishing services such as <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CB0QFjAAahUKEwjy3LS7zInIAhVNFZIKHXTQCE4&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cufba.org%2F&usg=AFQjCNFROJP2fC16Dvw1IF2APQDsBWVIbw&sig2=hQI0WpO-izOgUnkJaHqlYg&bvm=bv.103073922,d.aWw&cad=rja">food pantries</a> as well as other means of accessing nutritious food. These institutions need to educate students not only about the issue of hunger but also the resources that they can access.</p>
<p>Clearly, the true costs of college attendance are greater than anticipated.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/47975/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sara Goldrick-Rab receives funding from the Great Lakes Higher Education Guaranty Corporation, William T. Grant Foundation, and National Science Foundation.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Katharine Broton receives funding from the National Science Foundation and Institute of Education Sciences. </span></em></p>Students are going hungry on college campuses. The latest survey shows that four in 10 University of California students do not have access to nutritious food.Sara Goldrick-Rab, Professor of Educational Policy Studies & Sociology, University of Wisconsin-MadisonKatharine Broton, PhD Candidate in Sociology, University of Wisconsin-MadisonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/428102015-06-05T04:43:17Z2015-06-05T04:43:17ZHow an undergraduate discovered tubes of plasma in the sky<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/84032/original/image-20150605-3381-uher5d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A 3D visualisation of the plasma tubes conforming to the Earth's magnetic field.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">CAASTRO</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The discovery by an undergraduate student of <a href="http://caastro.org/news/2015-tubes">tubes of plasma drifting above Earth</a> has <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/technology/sci-tech/astronomy/sydney-university-physics-undergraduate-maps-huge-plasma-tubes-in-the-sky-20150601-ghcc9g.html">made headlines</a> in the past few days. Many people have asked how the discovery was made and, in particular, how an undergraduate student was able to do it.</p>
<p>The answer is a combination of an amazing new telescope, a very smart student and an unexpected fusion of two areas of science. </p>
<p>Here is how it all happened, from my perspective as the academic who supervised the project at the <a href="http://sydney.edu.au/science/physics/sifa/">Sydney Institute for Astronomy</a>.</p>
<p>My research involves studying the variability of stars and galaxies using a new radio telescope, the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Murchison.Widefield.Array">Murchison Widefield Array</a> (MWA). My colleagues and I were worried about the <a href="http://solar-center.stanford.edu/SID/activities/ionosphere.html">ionosphere</a> being a problem for this research, because at low frequencies it can distort the radio signals that we receive from outer space. </p>
<p>This makes celestial objects appear to jiggle around, be stretched and squeezed, and change in brightness. I knew this would be a problem for my plan to study how the brightness of stars and galaxies varied, so I wanted to find out how severe the distortion was.</p>
<p>The ionosphere is the part of the Earth’s atmosphere that has been ionised by radiation from the sun. It is made up of a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plasma_%28physics%29">plasma</a> in which the gas molecules have lost one or more electrons. It stretches between 50 to 1,000 kilometres above the Earth’s surface (commercial aeroplanes typically fly at 10 kilometres above the Earth). Importantly, it refracts radio waves, affecting radio communication around the world.</p>
<p>At the beginning of last year I had a final-year undergraduate student, Cleo Loi – who also contributed to this article – looking for a research project, so I gave her the task of investigating how much the ionosphere was affecting astronomical observations with the MWA.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ymZEOihlIdU?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Watch Cleo explain her amazing discovery.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Strange distortions</h2>
<p>Around that time, a postdoctoral researcher from Curtin University, <a href="http://www.icrar.org/contact/academic_staff/dr-natasha-hurley-walker">Natasha Hurley-Walker</a>, was examining MWA data and came across a night that looked rather unusual. </p>
<p>Celestial objects were dancing around wildly, distorting strongly in shape and flickering in brightness. She flagged this night as one that the ionosphere had rendered unusable for our astronomy research.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5KWGDx0fq50?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The distortions caused by the ionosphere in a particularly bad night of data. The bright points are distant galaxies that appear to move and flicker. On a normal night these would be stationary.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Cleo then developed a way of visualising the distortions caused by the ionosphere on the images of distant background galaxies. She took the data Natasha had identified and applied her analysis to it. </p>
<p>When she showed me and other researchers the distortion maps she was generating, we were surprised to see huge waves of correlated motion rippling through the image. They looked like spokes radiating from a point outside the image.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/rYXuZsNWGmg?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Cleo’s original visualisation. The red and blue arrows show the apparent change in position of the background sources.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Looking for answers</h2>
<p>To try to work out what they were, Cleo transformed the coordinates from a celestial reference frame (that astronomers usually use) to an Earth-based reference frame, which is fixed with respect to the atmosphere. This crucial transformation revealed that the bands were hanging almost stationary in the Earth’s sky.</p>
<p>In the process of writing up our research, we emailed Cleo’s preliminary results to collaborators. The MWA collaboration consists of hundreds of radio astronomers and engineers from Australia, New Zealand, the United States, India and Canada. They were quick to respond with a list of suggestions as to what the bands might be. </p>
<p>It is a critical part of science that good scientists respond to unexpected results with scepticism, particularly if they come from an inexperienced student. But the sheer volume of emails was initially quite overwhelming for Cleo. However, she stayed focused on solving the problem. </p>
<p>The suggestions ranged from possible problems with the telescope, the observing set-up, the imaging process and Cleo’s analysis techniques. Hundreds of emails were exchanged over a few months as Cleo tested and ruled out each suggestion.</p>
<p>Once we had run out of things to test we were left with an interesting dataset, an unexplained phenomenon and an increasing suspicion that the strange distortion pattern was a real effect caused by the ionosphere.</p>
<p>As she was preparing her honours thesis, Cleo had a geometrical insight into explaining the radial spoke-like pattern. She realised that a set of parallel lines viewed at an angle would appear to converge due to perspective distortion, like train tracks going into the distance. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-A3YjUL9JAI?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">A map of the tubular structure in two dimensions. The black lines are the Earth’s magnetic field.</span></figcaption>
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<p>However, without much knowledge of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geophysics">geophysics</a>, it was several weeks until she made a second critical link: the layout of the spokes matched the Earth’s magnetic field. These strange tubular structures were tracing the magnetic field lines, which are parallel to one another but at an angle to the ground. The agreement was perfect.</p>
<h2>Stereo vision</h2>
<p>Armed with solid evidence, Cleo and I got in touch with geospace physicists to help us interpret what we were seeing. Suggestions to explain the phenomena included plasma bubbles, travelling ionospheric disturbances and ultra-low-frequency waves. </p>
<p>Finally, <a href="https://www.newcastle.edu.au/profile/fred-menk">Fred Menk</a> from the University of Newcastle suggested they might be “whistler ducts”. These are cylindrical structures aligned to a magnetic field, where the electron content is higher inside than outside. They are thought to guide the propagation of electromagnetic waves called “whistlers” in the same way that optic fibres guide light.</p>
<p>Whistler ducts had never been seen before, but all their properties deduced by scientists over the years matched what we were seeing with the MWA. Except for one thing: we didn’t know how high they were. </p>
<p>Until now, we had only used the MWA to take two-dimensional pictures of the sky. Whistler ducts exist at very high altitudes, and an altitude measurement was necessary if we were to confirm them as a known phenomenon. </p>
<p>Cleo was reluctant to publish the result without an altitude estimate. However, we couldn’t derive that from our data, so we encouraged her to publish the results as they were. </p>
<p>At that point Cleo had a brainwave. She realised that the MWA could be used stereoscopically to achieve 3D vision, like a giant pair of eyes. By splitting the data from the eastern and western receivers of the MWA, she revealed a slight parallax shift in the distortion pattern that let us triangulate the altitude: around 600km above the ground. </p>
<p>We were all astounded that this idea had worked, confirming that these were likely to be whistler ducts.</p>
<p>It has been an exciting year of research. We started out with an astronomy question and found a surprising answer in geospace physics. To the layperson, these might seem like the same field, but to scientists focused deeply within their narrow field of expertise, the gap is wide.</p>
<p>Cleo has shown how a talented but novice researcher can have an advantage over experienced researchers. By approaching the problem without preconceptions she was able to bridge these two disciplines and use a novel technique on a new radio telescope to discover plasma tubes in the sky.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/42810/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tara Murphy works for the University of Sydney. She receives funding from the Australian Research Council through the Centre for All-Sky Astrophysics (CAASTRO).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Cleo Loi does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Cleo Loi was an undergraduate when she made a startling discovery. Her story shows how brilliance, dedication and imagination drive science.Tara Murphy, Senior Lecturer, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/303822014-08-13T08:59:25Z2014-08-13T08:59:25ZIndia’s outdated approach to education is hurting students and academia<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/56194/original/4gt4vwv6-1407769468.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">An institute with a great history.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Institute_of_Science#mediaviewer/File:IISc_Main_Building.jpg">Pp391</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>I joined the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) a few years ago for two main reasons. It offered academic freedom and the best research opportunities in India. But also, unlike most research institutions, IISc puts more emphasis on research by offering a four-year undergraduate program in basic sciences, compared to the usual three-year program. This gave me an opportunity to interact with talented students passionate about science. However, recently both the academic freedom and the innovative undergraduate program of IISc have faced threat from the country’s regulatory body.</p>
<p>Last week, India’s University Grants Commission (UGC), a government regulatory and funding body for higher education, <a href="http://www.telegraphindia.com/1140807/jsp/frontpage/story_18695683.jsp#.U-r42UgdXTy">directed IISc to scrap the four-year program</a>. The reason for doing so had nothing do with the quality of education. Instead it was alleged that IISc “failed” to follow a national policy 1986 that requires the bachelor degrees in science to be three years. Experiments in higher education, according to UGC, are not allowed.</p>
<p>Only a month ago, UGC forced Delhi University, one of the few universities in the country offering good quality undergraduate education, to scrap a similar program. At about the same time it issued <a href="http://dsanghi.blogspot.in/2014/07/ugc-rules-dual-degree-offerings-of-iits.html">new rules</a> that put dual-degree programs at the Indian Institutes of Technology in doubt. These programs offer a bachelor’s and a master’s degree at the end of the course, and they have helped retain students in academia and promote doctoral research.</p>
<p>Although it appears that <a href="http://www.telegraphindia.com/1140813/jsp/frontpage/story_18716500.jsp#.U-r3X4BdW2N">a compromise</a> has been reached with IISc after UGC faced <a href="http://www.thehindu.com/features/education/college-and-university/iisc-is-not-delhi-varsity-say-students-faculty/article6292628.ece">criticism</a> from top scientists of India, these moves could push the brightest students of India away from choosing a career in science. It could threaten innovation in higher education that is in bad need of an overhaul. </p>
<h2>Why four years?</h2>
<p>India has adopted the UK’s model of three-year BSc program for more than 50 years, but the quality of most of the programs is abysmal. A <a href="http://www.ias.ac.in/academy/misc_docs/Four-year-BS-position-paper.pdf">paper prepared jointly by three Indian science academies in 2008</a> identified various limitations of the present system that focuses on quantity of information rather than the quality of education. The report argued for a four-year program with an emphasis on flexibility in curriculum, choice of subjects and research experience. They also recommended allowing students to switch between science and engineering. </p>
<p>India’s requirement as a large and diverse country cannot and should not rely on a failed mode of higher education uniformly imposed across the entire country. Experiments to improve education must be encouraged, especially if the premier institutes of the country are taking the lead. We can only know what works best if we attempt a variety of approaches. </p>
<h2>Where’s my freedom?</h2>
<p>These recent directives by UGC are troubling and raise concerns about academic freedom that is vital to institutions aiming to reach excellence. If a few academic institutions such as IISc have been able to maintain quality in research and education, it is because of lack of interference from higher authorities on how to conduct their academic work. Directives such as this one from the UGC could set a precedent for more to follow in the future.</p>
<p>It is ironic that the new Indian government which seems to be doing everything to reduce regulations, <a href="http://www.nature.com/news/india-races-through-environmental-approvals-1.15520">from making it easy to obtain environmental clearances and to acquire lands</a> to facilitate industrial growth, must scuttle the growth of knowledge sector by enhancing regulations.</p>
<p>We need to ask what ought to be <a href="http://dsanghi.blogspot.in/2014/07/what-is-role-of-ugc.html">the role of UGC</a> in the higher education. As it stands, UGC plays the roles of advising, regulating and funding agency of nearly all universities in India, and the government in power has huge control over it. This means significant powers are vested in a single body with conflicts of interest. This must change. </p>
<h2>What should be done?</h2>
<p>We do need oversight and regulation that ensure the highest quality in all academic endeavours and state funding to sustain higher education. But these must be conducted by different and competent agencies with minimal interference from the government. </p>
<p>Now is also the time for scientists to come out, speak up and engage with both the public and policymakers to ensure India has a good higher education system. These academics, including me, have responsibility towards students who expect high quality education from Indian universities and institutions.</p>
<p>The institutions, too, must reform from within. They have held age-old hierarchical structures with powers vested with the top few. Unless the internal functioning is democratised, made transparent and accountable to the public, scientists can’t expect authorities in the government to do so.</p>
<p>As I write this article from a conference abroad, I am reminded how the undergraduate program of IISc, that was threatened to be scrapped, offers the flexibility comparable to major universities in the world. To mention an example from my own lab, I have a student who is majoring in physics and has keen interest in pursuing research in ecology. He is looking to apply those ideas not just in ecology but also to analyse data from financial systems. Such ventures are unlikely in a typical university set up governed by UGC rules where rigid walls between different disciplines is the norm. </p>
<p>It is not too late for the new government to reverse the direction of discourse on higher education in India. It could start by initiating a debate on restructuring, and revising the mandate of UGC.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/30382/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Vishwesha Guttal receives funding from IISc. Views expressed by the author are personal. </span></em></p>I joined the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) a few years ago for two main reasons. It offered academic freedom and the best research opportunities in India. But also, unlike most research institutions…Vishwesha Guttal, Assistant Professor, Indian Institute of Science Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.