Touching epistemologies: meanings of average and variation in nursing practice

We present a study of the meanings of average and variation displayed by paediatric nurses. We trace how these meanings shape, and are shaped by, nurses' interpretations of trends in patient and population data. We suggest a theoretical framework for making sense of the data which compares and contrasts nurses' epistemology with that of official mathematics. Finally, we outline some provisional didactical implications.This revised version was published online in September 2005 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Communication between children and carers during mealtimes

Mealtimes are identified as an important learning environment where socialisation and language development takes place. Caregivers can facilitate the structure of a child's learning in the mealtime setting. The aim of this study was to gain an understanding about the nature of communication in a normal population during mealtimes. This is important to help understanding about the nature of communication and interaction in children with disabilities during mealtimes. Participants were six typically developing preschool children aged from 8 months to 3;05 years. Caregivers of the children supported their child having a typical meal at home. Each mother–child dyad was video‐recorded by the researchers during a typical meal for up to 30 minutes. Each recording was transcribed by the researchers, and specific communicative features were counted and coded; caregiver comments about appropriate mealtime behaviour, child verbal and nonverbal initiation, caregiver questions and comments about meal enjoyment, caregiver praise of child, and caregiver repetition to coax feeding. A caregiver questionnaire was also completed to obtain information about the child's feeding, any early history of feeding difficulties and typical mealtime routine. The results indicated that the most considerable difference were between the dyads who had reported early feeding difficulties and those who had not reported any. Carers who supported children who had a history of early feeding difficulties used more language to manage and guide the child's behaviour during the mealtime. Caregivers who reported early feeding difficulties appeared to be more concerned with how their child was presenting at the meal (i.e., appropriate behaviour and meal enjoyment). This information has important implications for supporting children with complex needs during mealtimes.     

Measuring the impact of child protection through Activation States

Child protection (CP) has risen to the top of the UK sports policy agenda in the past four years and the Football Association has invested in this major strategy as part of its commitment to ‘use the power of football to build a better future’ (Football Association, 2000a). Evidencing the impact of child protection is, however, a complex task, exacerbated by the dearth of measurement tools that exist for this purpose in sport. This article presents a new model of ‘Activation States’ that has been designed and used to measure shifts in football culture as child protection has begun to impact upon the sport. The model is used to map changes over time related to the knowledge, feelings, actions and discourses of key stakeholders in football. The research for which the model was designed is a longitudinal study, commissioned by the English Football (soccer) Association, on the impact of the organisation's child protection strategy on the culture of soccer. Sample data from the project are used to illustrate the model and to examine its potential and limitations as a tool for measuring impacts in child protection and other social inclusion themes.     

A survey of augmentative and alternative communication used in an inner city special school

This study surveyed staff use of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) within a large inner city special school for children with complex needs and learning disabilities. A questionnaire asked 72 staff members about the range of AAC strategies they typically used during the working day and how often they used it; training they had received about AAC; and which AAC approaches they found easy to use and those they found difficult. A range of AAC approaches were identified by staff. Participant confidence and understanding of the reasons for using identified AAC strategies was reported to be one of the key barriers to implementing AAC effectively. The implications in relation to how children with complex needs receive support for their receptive and expressive communication within an education environment are discussed.     

Administrative Managers – A Critical Link

Institutional responses to changes in the higher education environment have caused movements in the roles and identities of administrative managers in UK universities. These shifts have highlighted the problem for individuals of balancing traditional public service considerations of administration with institutional innovation and development. Administrative managers find themselves not only acting as independent arbiters, giving impartial advice on the basis of professional expertise, but also becoming involved in political judgements about institutional futures. They increasingly undertake an interpretive function between the various communities of the university and its external partners. As the boundaries of the university have become more permeable, administrative and academic management have inter‐digitated, and hybrid roles have developed. In undertaking increasingly complex functions, therefore, administrative managers play a critical role in linking the academic and executive arms of governance in the university.