The impact of digital distraction on lecture note taking and student learning

Instructional Science - Laptop computers allow students to type lecture notes instead of relying on the traditional longhand (i.e. paper–pencil) method. The present research compared laptop...     

NAGPRA: Effective Repatriation Programs and Cultural Change in Museums

A survey of museums in the United States sought to identify evidence of broad impact on the organisational culture and practices of museums in their relatioships with indiginous peoples as a result of the passage of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act 1990 (NAGPRA). NAGPRA establishes a process for the repatriation of human remains and other specified items held in museum collections to Native Americans who can prove they are lineal descendants or members of tribes which are culturally affiliated with identified items covered by the legislation. Effective repatriation programs are characterised by: * a genuine belief in the primary rights of indigenous people in the management of their cultural material presently held in museum collections; * a commitment to greater collaboration between the museum and indigenous people in the management of scientific research and public programs pertaining to items of indigenous cultural heritage; * practices which are indicative of an organisational culture which acts in ways which go beyond the minimum requirements of the legislation. Our research shows that museums are engaging in consultation with indigenous people in the management of collections of indigenous cultural heritage, and that this engagement is influencing conservation strategies. Museums espouse goals which promote external consultation, the involvement of indigenous people in their activities, respect for the cultural goals of indigenous people and a commitment to increasing public awareness of indigenous cultural heritage and social issues. However, only in the areas where NAGPRA has mandated it should happen—collections of human remains and secret/sacred material—is there evidence of communication and consultation, commitment of resources and sharing of authority with indigenous people consistent with the outcomes intended under NAGPRA.     

The Andamans as a “sea of islands”: reconnecting old geographies through poaching

The rise of military and political tensions in the Indo-Pacific maritime zone has brought new attention to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. With this visibility has come a disturbing awareness in some quarters that this Indian archipelago is qualitatively different from the rest of the country. Whether defined in terms of unorthodox cultural practices or the unauthorized presence of other national bodies, the multicultural habitus of the Andamans is deeply unsettling from a geopolitical standpoint that imagines the islands as a natural extension of a homogeneous national-territorial space. This article argues that the persistence of cultural and other heterogeneities in the Andamans should be read as a trace of histories that are intimately tied to the location of this archipelago. Framing the archipelago as a “sea of islands” lying off the littoral of the Andaman Sea rather than as an extension of Indian national space permits unauthorized social relations to become visible again. Once we redraw island geographies, spectral presences begin to appear, taking the form of both foreign bodies as well as narrative contradictions. Currently, these specters are interpellated under the sign of “poaching,” a portmanteau of activities that joins indigenous, settlers, outsiders, and Nature in an illicit assemblage that is presumed to lie outside the law. Contradictions of the poaching discourse should be read as signs of recalcitrance: the complexity of the Andamans that cannot be erased by the violence of denial.     

The role of visual representations in the learning of mathematics

Visualization, as both the product and the process of creation, interpretation and reflection upon pictures and images, is gaining increased visibility in mathematics and mathematics education. This paper is an attempt to define visualization and to analyze, exemplify and reflect upon the many different and rich roles it can and should play in the learning and the doing of mathematics. At the same time, the limitations and possible sources of difficulties visualization may pose for students and teachers are considered. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.