bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Pathways to the Enabling State: Changing Modes of Social Provision in Western Australian Community Services
Authors: Earles Wendy , Moon Jeremy
Published: March 2003

This investigation of reform of Western Australian community services problematises assumptions about the enabling state. The investigation is distinctive by virtue of its attention to the departure points as well as the destinations in pathways of policy change and its unpacking of three modes of public provision into their three constituent policy elements (funder‐provider mix; the nature of agreements between policy actors; and the type of funding relationships). We find first that government had long adopted some aspects of the model of governance associated with the enabling state. Second, we find some path dependency in policy change towards marketisation. Third, we find highly nuanced policy outcomes combining government exploitation of its authority, market innovations and the maintenance of basic network features of the programs.
The Queensland Public Sector: Recent Developments in Employment Relations
Authors: Hollander Robyn , Thornthwaite Louise
Published: March 2003

With the incumbent Labor government embracing a recentralisation of industrial relations, public sector agencies in Queensland are experiencing a dramatic shift in the framework of employment relations. This paper discusses the approach of the previous Coalition government to managing the public sector workforce and the emerging approach of the Labor government. The comparison of contrasting governmental approaches to public sector employment relations throughout the 1990s suggests that successive governments have balanced very differently the three main pressures they have faced: political, managerialist and industrial relations.
The Purse Strings and the Policy Process: Bureaucratic Shaping of Industry Policy Capacity after 1945
Authors: Jones Evan
Published: March 2003

Much literature in public administration debates the role of the public servant in the policy‐making process. Some literature acknowledges an integral role of the public servant in the process. However, this role often remains obscure, due to being couched in abstract terms. The hierarchical structuring of responsibilities and power within bureaucracies imparts the capacity for differential influence. This paper provides a case study of the role of the Public Service Board (power over staffing) and the Australian federal Treasury (power over the purse) in the shaping of the bureaucratic structure. The case study centres on the industry policy bureaucracy in the volatile decade after World War II. In shaping the bureaucratic capacity, the Board and the Treasury exerted a discretionary influence on the policy process itself.
Rethinking Caretaker Conventions for Australian Governments
Authors: Davis Glyn , Ling Alice , Scales Bill , Wilkins Roger
Published: March 2003

Australia has well‐established conventions for caretaker governments. These conventions regulate how a government should operate once an election is called, and have been documented for some decades. Yet the current conventions date from an era when elections usually produced clear and immediate results. Can our caretaker conventions cope with the emerging reality of indecisive elections and long delays before a new government is confirmed? This paper canvasses the state of Australia's caretaker conventions and offers suggestions for an expanded, contemporary code.
Reconstructing Citizens as Consumers: Implications for New Modes of Governance
Authors: Ryan Neal
Published: March 2003

This article examines the relationship between government and the public within a producer–consumer market exchange. Four conceptual problems are identified in relation to the application of market models to the relationship between government and citizen. These types of models fail to account for the essentially political engagement between government and citizens, the collective responsibilities of government, the absence of markets in many areas of government service delivery and the complexity of relations between government and citizens.
The HIH Royal Commission and the Tangled Web of Truth
Authors: McCarthy Greg
Published: March 2003

There are high expectations that the HIH Royal Commission will uncover the truth about the collapse of the HIH insurance group and bring to justice the individuals and organistions culpable for the losses incurred. This article argues that this hope for veracity flies in the face of other royal commissions into financial issues in Australia which were but verisimilitude.
What is a Community Service Obligation (CSO)? An Analysis of the Issues Involved in Identifying and Accounting for CSOs within Public Sector Organisations
Authors: Baird Kevin
Published: March 2003

he meaning of the term ‘community service obligation’ (CSO) has been a point of conjecture in recent years. This paper highlights the importance of CSOs within the context of the accountability of public sector organisations. In particular the paper advocates the need to formulate an agreed definition of a CSO. The paper seeks to distil such a definition by using academics and GBE representatives as authoritative opinions.
A Standard for Regulatory Compliance? Industry Self‐regulation, the Courts and AS3806‐1998
Authors: Carroll Peter , McGregor‐Lowndes Myles
Published: March 2003

The primary objective of this article is to describe recent Australian moves to greater industry self‐regulation and, within that context, to examine the development of AS3806, a voluntary standard developed by Standards Australia, which firms may use as a model or template for the design and management of their regulatory compliance systems. The article is divided into four sections. The first provides an outline of recent Australian developments regarding industry self‐regulation and compliance. The second describes the growing interest in industry codes of conduct and the role of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). The third describes the main features of AS 3806. The fourth examines the question of compliance standards in relation to the legal process, focusing on two recent cases and is followed by a conclusion.
Mapping Public Participation in Policy Choices
Authors: Bishop Patrick , Davis Glyn
Published: March 2003

In an era of democratic discontent, more and better participation in policy making has become a standard expectation. Yet it is rarely clear what counts as participation, and how the many practices loosely bundled under the label should be understood. This paper has a modest undergrowth‐clearing objective: to examine assumptions behind competing typologies of participation, and to propose a classification framework less laden by idealist notions of democracy.
Poverty — A Precarious Public Policy Idea
Authors: Adams David
Published: March 2003

The mixed economy of the welfare state armed with the new science of public administration was going to eradicate poverty. But it hasn’t and the policy influence of the idea of poverty has fallen away. I explain this by looking at the conditions under which good ideas are likely to make it to policy status. Good ideas tend to be simple to understand; resonate with people’s experiences of life; have leadership and a policy community around them; fit into program and resource structures of governments and seem capable of solving immediate problems. The idea of eradicating poverty has lost these features. For example, for the past 20 years poverty ideas have been knocked off their perch by economic reform ideas. Not only are there these competing economic ideas (which are claimed to be a solution to poverty), there is also a raft of new social capital ideas making claims on policy resources. The idea of poverty has been obfuscated such that we can’t agree what it means any more or how to measure it or who is responsible for tackling it. Which, of course, means no one can be held accountable. Out of the muddle I suggest a way forward to make the idea influential again. For example, having some national goals and agreeing some basic language and targets would be a good start.
Genetic Therapy, Person‐regarding Reasons and the Determination of Identity
Authors: Elliot Robert
Published: March 2003

It has been argued for example by Ingmar Persson, that genetic therapy performed on a conceptus does not alter the identity of the person that develops from it, even if we are essentially persons. If this claim is true then there can be person‐regarding reasons for performing genetic therapy on a conceptus. Here it is argued that such person‐regarding reasons obtain only if we are not essentially persons but essentially animals. This conclusion requires the defeat of the origination theory, which says that personal identity is determined by the identity of the foetus from which one originates. It is argued that the origination theory is false in the special case relevant to performing genetic therapy on a conceptus for person‐regarding reasons.
Unmanaged Care: The Need to Regulate New Reproductive Technologies in the United States
Authors: Cohen Cynthia B.
Published: March 2003

In the aftermath of allegations of the misuse of human eggs in the United States, questions are being raised about whether profitable reproductive services should continue to function in a free market under the aegis of physicians or should be regulated. Other countries in which reproductive technologies are employed to a significant degree have developed regulations governing their use, many as a result of recommendations made by inter‐disciplinary commissions that solicited public input. Policy makers in the United States have been reluctant to regulate reproductive technologies, however, because their use is politically controversial, they want to whittle down government, some do not consider infertility an illness, and some believe regulation would interfere with the right to reproduce. Yet the unfettered use of reproductive technologies can create such harms as lack of informed consent, providing procedures not medically indicated for financial gain, practice by unqualified personnel, injury to patients and donors, failure to screen donated gametes, and inadequate medical record keeping. Americans place special value on the welfare of children and those who bring them into the world. Such values can outweigh individual procreative liberty when new reproductive technologies are at issue. Although the optimal course would be to establish a regulatory body to govern reproductive technologies, this is not politically feasible now. The newly established National Bioethics Advisory Commission provides a forum in which issues surrounding reproductive technologies should be addressed at this time in the United States.
Mass Immunisation Programmes: Some Philosophical Issues
Authors: Dare Tim
Published: March 2003

Most countries promote mass immunisation programmes. The varying policy details raise a raft of philosophical issues. I have two broad aims in this paper. First, I hope to begin to remedy a rather curious philosophical neglect of immunisation. With this in mind, I take a broad approach to the topic hoping to introduce rather than settle a range of philosophical issues. My second aim has two aspects: I argue that the states should have pro‐immunisation policies, and I advance a view on the subsequent and more specific question as to which sorts of pro‐immunisation policies they should prefer. I use the immunisation policies of the United States and New Zealand to frame my discussion of these substantive questions. Immunisation is effectively compulsory in the United States. New Zealand, by contrast, requires evidence not of immunisation but of immunisation status upon school enrolment: New Zealand's policy effectively makes immunisation choice compulsory. I argue that, as between the pro‐immunisation policies of the United States and New Zealand, the latter should be preferred. Though the threshold question as to whether states should have pro‐immunisation policies should be answered affirmatively, the move to compulsory immunisation cannot be justified.
Advance Directives, Dementia, and ‘The Someone Else Problem’
Authors: Degrazia David
Published: March 2003

Advance directives permit competent adult patients to provide guidance regarding their care in the event that they lose the capacity to make medical decisions. One concern about the use of advance directives is the possibility that, in certain cases in which a patient undergoes massive psychological change, the individual who exists after such change is literally a (numerically) distinct individual from the person who completed the directive. If this is true, there is good reason to question the authority of the directive ‐ which is supposed to apply to the individual who completed it, not to someone else. This is ‘the someone else problem’.

After briefly introducing advance directives as a basis for medical decision‐making, this paper elaborates ‘the someone else problem’ in the context of severe dementia. The paper then reconstructs the reasoning that leads to this putative problem and exposes the important underlying assumption that we are essentially persons. An alternative view of what we are, one that regards personhood as inessential, is then considered, before several arguments are advanced in favor of that alternative view. The paper next explores implications for advance directives: ‘The someone else problem’ is effectively dissolved, while it is noted that a related problem (one beyond the paper's scope) may persist. A few implications beyond advance directives are also identified.
Poverty and Health Ethics in Developing Countries
Authors: Begum Hasna
Published: March 2003

Developing countries face difficulties of exploitation, dehumanisation and lack of ethical professionalism, to an extent that developed countries do not encounter. Poverty‐related difficulties include lack of infrastructure, unreasonable dominance of defence‐related expenses in the budget, lack of a sufficient number of health care providers, absence of accountability for serious medical malpractice, as well as exploitation of patients in pharmaceutical trials. This country report presents the case of Bangladesh, one of the poorest countries in the world and therefore a good example for the deplorable condition of the health sector in developing countries.
New Productive Technologies, Ethics and Legislation in Brazil: A Delayed Debate
Authors: Guilhem Dirce
Published: March 2003

This paper focuses on the debate about the utilization of new reproductive technologies in Brazil, and the paths taken in the Brazilian National Congress in an attempt to draw up legislation to regulate the clinical practice of human assisted reproduction. British documents, such as the Warnock Report and Human Fertilization and Embriology Authority (HFEA) are used for thorough reference. The analysis of the Law Projects in the National Congress, the Resolution by the Federal Medicine Council, Resolution 196/96 and documents by the Ministério Público (Public Prosecution Office), suppled the bases for the discussion. The principal question involved is the observation of different technical and moral prientations that influence the conduct of the issue in the legislative process. It is possible to observe that the main focus of the projects relates to the rights and interests of the children, to those possibly benefited by the technique and to embryo reduction. Very little attention has been directed to the issues of sexual and reproductive rights and to the health of the women submitted to the new reproductive techologies.
Medicalization, Medical Necessity, and Feminist Medicine
Authors: Purdy Laura
Published: March 2003

New and proposed medical technologies continually challenge our vision of what constitutes appropriate medical treatment. As scholars and consumers grapple with the meaning of innovation, one common critical theme to surface is that it constitutes undesirable medicalization. But we are embodied creatures who can often benefit from medical knowledge; in addition, rejection of medicalization may be in some cases based on an untenable appeal to nature. Harnessing the power of medicine for women’s welfare requires us to rethink the goals of medicine as well as implement fundamental reforms.
Psychiatric Ethics
Authors: Radden Jennifer
Published: March 2003

Psychiatric ethics spans several overlapping domains, including the guidelines for ethical research in psychiatry, the professional ethics required in the practice of psychiatry, and a broader set of moral and ethical problems and dilemmas distinctive to, or at least magnified by, the mental health care setting. Reviewed here are selected issues arising in the last two domains, some seemingly inevitable components of mental disorder and its cultural history and others resultant from recent changes and discoveries. Even as science explains and demystifies mental disorder, it is concluded, new ethical problems will continue to arise in psychiatry and certain recalcitrant problems will likely persist.
A Phenomenological Account of Users’ Experiences of Assertive Community Treatment
Authors: Watts Jay , Priebe Stefan
Published: March 2003

Assertive community treatment (ACT) is a widely propagated team approach to community mental health care that ‘assertively’ engages a subgroup of individuals with severe mental illness who continuously disengage from mental health services. It involves a number of interested parties – including clients, carers, clinicians and managers. Each operates according to perceived ethical principles related to their values, mores and principles. ACT condenses a dilemma that is common in psychiatry. ACT proffers social control whilst simultaneously holding therapeutic aspiration. The clients’ perspective of this dilemma was studied in interviews with 12 clients using the ‘grounded theory’ approach. Results suggest that clients’ disengagement is as much a historical and cultural phenomenon as a result of lack of insight. Many clients had experienced rejection of early help–seeking behaviour and all had been subject to coercive interventions. These coercive interventions were experienced as an attack on identity. All felt that their voice had not been listened to in previous interactions with psychiatric services. Consequentially the clients had an increased level of arousal around issues of power, which needs to be incorporated when examining the ethics of community psychiatry. Traditional notions of the difference between persuasion and coercion – for example – may need to be adapted for this client group. Results are compared with the provider perspective. We conclude that the perspectives differ on two key dimensions. Such an empirical approach to examining psychiatric ethics may ensure that we incorporate the subjectivities of various interested parties in the clinical decision–making process.
Embryonic Stem Cell Research and Therapy: The Need for a Common European Legal Framework
Authors: Romeo–Casabona Carlos M.
Published: March 2003

The possibility of obtaining stem cells from human embryos has given rise to an intensive legal and ethical debate. In this paper, attention is paid to the normative disparity and ambiguity in Europe. An argument for the need for a minimal legal harmonization is made; and a prudent and flexible way to reach this successfully is suggested. Establishing a common legal framework seems to be the only way to guarantee true competitiveness for the European scientific community.
Towards Inclusive Schooling
Authors: Ainscow Mel
Published: March 2003

Mel Ainscow, Professor of Special Education at the University of Manchester, is the third of the new professors to articulate his views on the future of special education as the millennium approaches.

He speculates on some of the reasons for the apparent lack of overall progress towards a more inclusive school system in order to identify some possible ways forward.
Research Section: Facilitating Development in Preschoolers with Down's Syndrome in Hong Kong: A Controlled Evaluation Study of the Effects of Centre‐based Intervention and Regular Preschool Attendance
Authors: Rao Nirmala
Published: March 2003

Six preschoolers with Down's syndrome who attended a centre‐based educational intervention program, for three mornings a week, were assessed on the Merrill‐Palmer Scale and matched on chronological age (CA), mental age (MA), intelligence quotient (IQ) and the mother's educational level. Three of them also attended regular preschools, two days per week, but the rest did not. Children were reassessed on the Merrill‐Palmer Scale one year late. At that time, parents were interviewed in order to determine their views on the educational intervention program. Results indicated that all children increased in terms of MA, but decreased in terms of IQ and that children in the Program Plus Preschool group, fared better than those in the Program Only group in terms of both MA and IQ. Responses to interview questions indicated that parents were very satisfied with the program; they felt that their children's therapy sessions and the training that they themselves received as part of the intervention, were the most beneficial aspects.
Facilitating Classroom Assistants’ Professional Reflection Through Video Workshops
Authors: Potter Carol A. , Richardson Helen L.
Published: March 2003

Carol A. Potter, a research associate at the University of Durham, and Helen L. Richardson, a governor trainer and support co‐ordinator, explore an approach to the development of reflective abilities amongst classroom assistants, whose need for appropriate training was recognised in the White Paper Excellence in Schools (DfEE, 1997).
Working in groups: social and cognitive effects in a special class
Authors: Watson Judith
Published: March 2003

Judith Watson, Reader in Education at the University of Edinburgh, considers the potential of social‐constructivist ideas of teaching and learning for pupils with learning difficulties and reports on the introduction of social learning experiences within a special unit for pupils with moderate learning difficulties.
Focus on Practice: Experience and Achievement: Initiatives in Curriculum Development for Pupils with Severe and Profound and Multiple Learning Difficuties
Authors: Byers Richard
Published: March 2003

Richard Byers, education consultant and part‐time lecturer at the University of Cambridge School of Education, challenges recent thinking on the teaching of subjects to pupils with learning difficulties. He emphasises that school‐centred and innovative practices in curriculum development should be fully recognised and the role of experience and achievement thoroughly explored.
Race and Special Educational Needs in the 1990s
Authors: Diniz Fernando Almeida
Published: March 2003

Fernando Almeida Diniz, currently in the Faculty of Education at The University of Edinburgh and formerly Reader in Special Needs in Education at the University of Greenwich, considers the effects of ‘institutionalised racism’ on the education of black and ethnic minority children with special educational needs.
Leadership in inclusive education: a professional development agenda for special education
Authors: Powers Stephen , Rayner Stephen , Gunter Helen
Published: March 2003

Leadership roles in special education have changed dramatically over recent years. Stephen Powers, Stephen Rayner and Helen Gunter, all of whom are lecturers and researchers in the School of Education at the University of Birmingham, conducted a questionnaire survey of the perceived professional development needs of heads, deputies and senior staff working in specialist contexts. The results reveal a significant concern with organisationally focused issues; support for school‐ and LEA‐based courses and higher education provision; but a perceived lack of Government‐funded training addressing the needs of those in leadership roles in special education. The authors conclude this article with a call for interested readers to become involved in further research in this important area.
Planning, teaching and assessing the curriculum for pupils with learning difficulties: a response from EQUALS
Authors: Humphreys Keith
Published: March 2003

EQUALS is a national organisation that has a major concern for the development of a curriculum that promotes the inclusion of all pupils. The EQUALS movement has, in the past, published its own materials in support of curriculum development for pupils with learning difficulties. In this article, Keith Humphreys, EQUALS' quality assurance manager, provides a response to the publication of the QCA/DfEE guidelines. He discusses EQUALS' response to these guidelines and proposes a way forward for schools already using EQUALS materials. While acknowledging that the implementation of the QCA/DfEE guidelines will lead to an evolution of good practice, he articulates a concern that staff should continue to appreciate and value their own development work. Keith Humphreys details the ways in which EQUALS intends to support this process of evolution in the future.
Teacher and pupil ratings of self‐esteem in developmental dyslexia
Authors: Humphrey Neil
Published: March 2003

Neil Humphrey is a lecturer in psychology at Bolton Institute. In this article, based on the research he carried out for his PhD thesis, he explores the relationships between dyslexia and self‐esteem in pupils. Neil Humphrey gathered data using both teacher rating scales and pupil self‐reporting. He compares results from a group of pupils with dyslexia in mainstream settings; a group attending units for pupils with specific learning difficulties (SpLD); and a control group. In discussing his findings, Neil Humphrey presents practitioners working towards inclusion with a carefully considered challenge.
Focus on Practice: Parent and Teacher Perceptions of Individualised Transition Planning
Authors: Goupil Georgette , Tassé Marc J. , Garcin Nathalie , Doré Catherine
Published: March 2003

This article presents the results from a pilot study of individualised transition planning (from school to adulthood) for students with learning disabilities in Québec, Canada, an area in which there is currently no requirement to undertake individual transition planning. The authors, Georgette Goupil, of the Université du Québec à Montréal, Marc J. Tassé, of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Nathalie Garcin, of Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario and Catherine Doré, of the Université du Québec à Montréal, discuss the content of the plans; the process of preparing them; and the perceptions of parents and school personnel who participated in the study. The results, based on the preparation of 21 individualised transition plans (ITP), indicate that while students had limited participation in their own ITP, parents were pleased with the ITP process. Parents, however, reported several concerns about their child’s transition towards the assumption of adult roles and responsibilities. Analyses of the ITP objectives revealed that few ITP objectives focused on work and leisure skills. Parents and school personnel reported having little knowledge of community options available for the students with respect to residential settings. Finally, parents acknowledged that they had little knowledge and understanding of potential employers’ expectations in relation to work for adults with disabilities. These results are discussed with respect to factors that may facilitate the transition from school to adulthood for students with learning disabilities and will provide interesting points of comparison for those involved in transition planning in the United Kingdom and elsewhere. In order to support these comparisons, the authors have used the term ‘learning disabilities’ throughout this article to describe those students who would be identified in the United States as having ‘mental retardation’.
Near‐point Gripping in Pencil Hold as a Possible Disabling Factor in Children with SEN
Authors: Thomas Stephanie
Published: March 2003

Stephanie Thomas, Head of Learning Support at Heathfield School, Kidderminster, considers the effects of near‐point gripping, in pen or pencil hold, on the overall educational performance of children with specific learning difficulties (SpLD).
Green Paper: Notes on the Green Paper: an Initial Response
Authors: Farrell Michael
Published: March 2003

Michael Farrell, Education Inspector (SEN) for the London Borough of Hillingdon, considers the practical implications of the recent Green Paper, Excellence for All Children: Meeting Special Educational Needs, for teachers, schools and LEAs (local education authorities).
Exploring the Association Between Integrated Therapy and Inclusive Education
Authors: Mackey Sue , McQueen Jill
Published: March 2003

Sue Mackey (Lecturer and Course Co‐ordinator, Child Health Therapy Programme) and Jill McQueen (Lecturer and Research Fellow, Rehabilitation Research Unit) at the University of Southampton, consider the terms ‘integrated therapy’ and ‘inclusive education’ (as indicators of emerging philosophies in education and therapy), explore the links between them, and assess the extent of their success in practice.
The Assessment of Special Educational Needs for Bilingual Children
Authors: Cline Tony
Published: March 2003

Tony Cline, Professor of Educational Psychology at the University of Luton and Chair of the Editorial Board of NASEN Journals, examines the challenges that face those involved in the assessment of the special educational needs of children for whom English is an additional language. He rejects some notions of the ideal that have stood in the way of achievable good practice and argues for a closer look at the learning environments in which children are placed.
Child and Parent Relationships with Teachers in Schools Responsible for the Education of Children with Serious Medical Conditions
Authors: Norris Claire , Closs Alison
Published: March 2003

Claire Norris, former research associate at Moray House Institute of Education, and Alison Closs, a lecturer in special education at the Institute, describe a small research project which examined the interpersonal relationships between children with chronic and/or deteriorating conditions and their parents and teachers. The research was one aspect of a wider study (Closs & Norris, 1997) which sought ways of enabling the mainstream education of such children in Scotland.
What Does ‘Inter‐professional Collaboration’ Mean to Professionals Working with Pupils with Physical Disabilities?
Authors: Graham Jackie , Wright Jannet A.
Published: March 2003

Jackie Graham, Schools Adviser (Special Educational Needs), Sheffield, and Jannet A. Wright, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Human Communication Science, University College, London, describe an investigation into multi‐professional collaboration in special schools. Over many years such an approach to the assessment and meeting of special needs has been advocated and was reinforced in the Government’s Meeting Special Educational Needs: a Programme of Action (DfEE, 1998). Awareness of both the obstacles to achieving such working practice and its desirability led to the investigation. Consequently a collaboration scale was developed based on professional descriptions of collaborative activities. This important tool clarifies the concept of collaboration in a school context and may be used to develop a holistic approach to meeting special needs in a variety of educational settings.
After inspection in special schools: action planning and making progress
Authors: Davies John Dwyfor , Lee John , Postlethwaite Keith , Tarr Jane , Thomas Gary , Yee Wan Ching
Published: March 2003

As a high proportion of special schools ‘fail’ their inspections, the DfEE commissioned researchers from the University of the West of England (UWE) to examine post‐inspection improvement. Can other schools learn from the ‘best practice’ identified? John Dwyfor Davies, John Lee, Keith Postlethwaite, Jane Tarr and Wan Ching Yee (all of whom lecture and research at UWE) and Gary Thomas, now Chair of Education at Oxford Brookes University, report on their findings, which point strongly to the need for good target‐setting and monitoring, together with strong support.
The role of LEAs in developing inclusive policies and practices
Authors: Ainscow Mel , Farrell Peter , Tweddle Dave , Malki George
Published: March 2003

Mel Ainscow and Peter Farrell (from the Faculty of Education, The University of Manchester), Dave Tweddle (Senior Assistant Education Officer, Oldham MBC) and George Malki (research assistant) report on the findings of their DfEE‐funded study into LEAs’ (local education authorities’) policies andpractices on inclusion.
Focus on Practice: Mrs Miggins in the Classroom
Authors: Barnes Rob
Published: March 2003

Useful therapeutic material, often found in rational‐emotive behaviour therapy (REBT), does not always reach the daily life of classrooms, although there are some exceptions in specific educational programmes. Pupils in schools can benefit daily from therapeutic ideas that prevent disturbed thinking and promote more optimistic views of setbacks. The aim of these ideas is to improve attitudes to schooling, especially in pupils who frequently need special help. In a small‐scale project, a therapeutic board game was devised in order to generate discussion and to dispute irrational thinking. Two teachers and the author found that pupils of ten years of age responded positively to REBT, and teachers found that the cards used in the game provided a framework for discussion and self‐help strategies.
Logo, motivation, and a project about garden gates in a primary classroom
Authors: Pritchard Alan
Published: March 2003

This is a description of a unit of work undertaken in a primary (Key Stage Two) classroom. It illustrates an approach to teaching which, in this case, appeared to increase the level of engagement of the children. This increased engagement in turn appears to have led to increased motivation and an improvement in the standard of work produced by the majority of the children in the class.

The work involved the measurement of garden gates in the vicinity of the school and the children making use of photographs, measurements and sketches to help them to reproduce the gates as Logo designs. The complexity or simplicity of the end products (Logo designs) was left to the individual children to establish. Naturally help was given on the way and great progress was made by some children in their understanding of the basics of Logo.

The teacher was in a position to monitor the progress of the work and in particular to notice increased motivation and enthusiasm for school work generally. It is not possible to show with any certainty that the style of curriculum organisation or the use of Logo were responsible for the increase in motivation but the feeling of the teacher, and of others involved, was that the work undertaken by the children during the school term in question contributed greatly to the children’s enjoyment of school which in turn, it is believed, contributed to the satisfactory progress of the children.

This is not a report of an empirical study, but a case study report of one example of “good practice” with a commentary which, it is hoped, will encourage discussion and consideration of ways of organising the primary curriculum and of the use of Logo.
“Who is who”: the roles in an intelligent system for foreign language terminology learning
Authors: Dimitrova Vanya , Dicheva Darina
Published: March 2003

ITELS is an intelligent system for foreign language terminology learning. It is aimed not only at assisting language learning focused on specific terminology but also at enhancing learner's conceptual knowledge in the subject area. The system could be tuned to aid learning in different terminological areas and supports three styles of tutoring: system‐initiated, collaborative, and learner‐initiated. Three agents take part in the instructional process supported by ITELS: the human teacher, the system, and the learner. Each of them is an active agent characterised by a set of specific roles with respect to the system functioning. In this paper we describe ITELS with emphasis on the roles of these agents.
Initial teacher education: a study of the efficacy of computer mediated courseware delivery in a partnership context
Authors: Hacker Roger , Sova Brian
Published: March 2003

The null hypotheses tested were (1) that the efficacy of computer‐mediated delivery of courseware was not significantly different from that of traditional university delivery methods, and (2) that the efficacy of learning in partnership with schools was not significantly different from university‐based learning.

Forty three student teachers of science were assigned to four treatment groups, in a true experimental research design. The same courseware, designed to develop lesson planning skills, was delivered to the four groups. The first group (n = 11) were taught at university, receiving a traditional lecture, supplemented with a seminar. The second group (n = 12) were taught in a partnership context, receiving the traditional lecture at university, supplemented with a courseware package completed with the student's supervising teacher in school. For groups three (n = 10) and four (n = 10), the contexts were the same as for groups one and two respectively, but courseware delivery was via the Internet with e‐mail tutorial support provided by the university lecturer.

Students' achievement was pre‐tested and post‐tested. Post‐test scores were subjected to a two‐way analysis of co‐variance, with the delivery strategy (traditional or computer‐mediated) and the context (university‐based or partnership) as factors and the pre‐test scores as co‐variate.

Achievement gains were 12% higher when student teachers worked in a partnership context rather than entirely at university. Achievement gains were 15% higher for computer‐mediated delivery when compared with traditional delivery methods. When these two factors were combined achievement gains were 36% higher.
Can computer‐aided instruction accommodate all learners equally?
Authors: Ross Jonathan , Schulz Robert
Published: March 2003

This exploratory study investigated the impact of learning styles on human‐computer interaction. Seventy learners who were enrolled in a large urban post‐secondary institution participated in the study. The Gregorc Style Delineator™ was used to obtain subjects' dominant learning style scores. Results indicated that patterns of learning indices did not differ significantly based on subjects' dominant learning style. Five of the six measures indicating human‐computer interaction behavior were not significant at the p < 0.05 level. However, learning styles significantly affected learning outcomes, as indicated by a significant main effect, as well as an interaction effect between dominant learning style and achievement scores. It would appear that Abstract Random learners may be at‐risk for doing poorly with certain forms of computer‐aided instruction. Based on the review of literature and results found in this study, it was concluded that computer‐aided instruction may not be the most appropriate method of learning for all students.
Cognitive style, gender and learning from multi‐media materials in 11‐year‐old children
Authors: Riding Richard , Grimley Michael
Published: March 2003

Eighty 11‐year‐old pupils (40 males and 40 females) from an urban primary school were assessed for cognitive style by means of the Cognitive Styles Analysis which indicated their positions on each of the two style dimensions, the Wholist‐Analytic and the Verbal‐Imagery. They then studied parts of three CD‐ROM multi‐media packages on science topics and after each, completed a multiple choice recall test. An indication of their performance on traditionally taught science was taken to be the performance on science SATs at 11 years. A comparison between multi‐media and traditional work indicated that, (a) in terms of overall science performance (traditional and multi‐media), Wholist‐Imagers and Analytic‐Verbalisers were superior to Wholist‐Verbalisers and Analytic‐Imagers, and (b) Analytics did better on traditional work than multi‐media, with the reverse for the Wholists. With the multi‐media materials there were three modes of presentation—picture and sound (PS), picture and text (PT), and picture, text and sound (PTS). Female Wholist‐Imagers and Analytic‐Verbalisers were better with PS than PT, with the reverse for Wholist‐Verbalisers and Analytic‐Imagers, while the opposite applied for males. For all style and gender groups performance was best with PTS. The findings are discussed in terms of their practical implications and further research.
Technology, Narcissism, and the Moral Sense: Implications for Instruction
Authors: Ryan Francis , Bednar Maryanne , Sweeder John
Published: March 2003

Numerous researchers (Kohn, 1994; Kottler, 1992; Katz, 1993a, 1995; Streibel, 1994; Tingle, 1992) have recently examined the rise of narcissism in American culture and especially its relationship to education. However, William Damon's (1995) analysis of narcissism, which he frames against the larger dynamic of related social and cultural realities, is particularly engaging, although somewhat ominous:

“Our heightened concern with children's internal mental states has combined with the increased child‐centeredness of modern times to create crippling imbalances in children's views of themselves and the world. When we tell children that their first goal is self‐love, we are suggesting to them that they are the center of the universe. By contributing further to the already child‐centered orientation of modern culture, this emphasis can push a child toward a narcissistic insensitivity to the needs of others. We should not dispute the value of self‐love, but we should question its utility as a primary goal in raising and educating children.” (p. 77)

Damon's assessment of child‐rearing practices offers compelling reasons to reconsider self‐love as the central focus of such practices. His comments are additionally significant because they suggest a causative connection between child‐centeredness and narcissism and between narcissism and social insensitivity. “In citing these connections, Damon is echoing Christopher Lasch's (1979) equally troubling warning made almost twenty years ago in The Culture of Narcissism—a warning linking the ‘culture of narcissism’ to numerous dysfunctions within social institutions, including a multiplicity of failings in schooling.” (Ryan, 1997, p. 233)
Implementation strategies for educational intranet resources
Authors: Herson Katie , Sosabowski Michael , Lloyd Andrew , Flowers Stephen , Paine Cameron , Newton Becci
Published: March 2003

Recent events in UK Higher Education have caused university schools to look toward alternative means of enhancing and monitoring the quality of the service they provide. One approach utilises networked learning and teaching resources, in particular intranets. Two Schools at the University of Brighton commenced independent implementation of intranets at similar times. The subjects of the case studies are the School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences Intranet (SPI) and the Business School Intranet (BSI). This paper describes the two alternative strategies for intranet implementation, demonstrates the differing degrees of staff and student utilisation of these learning and teaching assets, identifies barriers to success within each and proposes solutions to address them. The paper proposes a unified strategy for effective intranet implementation and suggests measures to manage organisational resistance to change.
The CREDIT project: Towards a generic framework for assessment and accreditation—a prototype for childcare
Authors: Sandberg Jacobijn , Anjewierden Anjo , Groothuismink Jolanda , De Hoog Robert , Giebels Mascha
Published: March 2003

Many individuals throughout Europe acquire knowledge and skills in an informal manner for which they find no official recognition. Procedures for assessment and accreditation are meant to help individuals in finding recognition of previously gained competencies. The CREDIT (Capabilities, Registration, Evaluation, Diagnosis and advice through Internet Technology) project develops a computer system that supports the assessment and accreditation process and provides advice on further training possibilities tailored to the level of knowledge and skills of individuals.
Teachers and ICT: current use and future needs
Authors: Williams Dorothy , Coles Louisa , Wilson Kay , Richardson Amanda , Tuson Jennifer
Published: March 2003

In Scotland, ICT is clearly integral to the existing curriculum in primary and secondary education, see, for example, the 5–14 Development Programme or Higher Still in which information technology is identified as one of the core skills areas (HSDU, 1998). In light of current UK‐wide developments such as the National Grid for Learning (NGfL) and the New Opportunities Fund (NOF) funded training in ICT for teachers and librarians, it is all the more important to understand teachers' ICT skills and knowledge needs, to discover their priorities for future development and to establish what will encourage teachers to adopt ICT where appropriate in their professional lives as classroom practitioners, as planners and managers and as learners. An investigation of the ICT skills and knowledge needs of teachers working in Scotland was therefore commissioned by the Scottish Office and completed by the authors. This paper reports on that study indicating relatively low use of ICT and a number of key issues which have implications for teacher training and development. The full report is available on the Scottish Executive website
Computer spellcheckers and dyslexics—a performance survey
Authors: Pedler Jennifer
Published: March 2003

Word‐processors are widely used by dyslexics but the spellcheckers are often not appropriate to their needs. This paper examines a sample of around 3000 words of running text containing almost 600 errors typical of those made by dyslexics. It first describes the types of error and the ways in which they differ from the more conventional misspellings that spellcheckers are designed to deal with. It then presents the results of running four current spellcheckers over this sample and finds that the correct word was suggested for only around half of the errors. There were two types of failure: errors that were flagged but not corrected and errors that were not flagged at all. The former often bore a phonetic resemblance to the intended word and in many cases looked correctable. The latter were caused by misspellings that resulted in another valid word. Spellcheckers need to use syntactic and contextual information to improve performance in this area. This would also enable them to make more appropriate suggestions for the errors that are flagged.
Instructional design in multi‐channel learning system
Authors: Mukhopadhyay Marmar , Parhar Madhu
Published: March 2003

The Multi‐channel learning environment is nebulous and incidental configuration where channels reinforce as well as contradict each other. The Multi‐channel learning system is a deliberate, planned configuration to create the sync and synergize the power of various media to achieve optimal learning. This articles examines instructional design for the classroom, for self instructional materials, media—and MCLS.
The role of benchmarking in the provision of management development programmes
Authors: Christian‐Carter Judith
Published: March 2003

The focus of this paper is how to use benchmarking as both quantitative and qualitative tool when reviewing management development in light of changing business strategy and organizational design. The reader will be presented with a benchmarking framework for use with this particular type of review and the framework will be supported with specific case study material.