A Foucauldian perspective on student experiences of family discourses in post-primary schools

This work involves researching normative family discourses which are mediated through post-primary settings. The traditional family, consisting of father, mother and children all living together in one house (nuclear) is no longer reflective of the home situation of many Irish students [Lunn, P., and T. Fahey. 2012. Households and Family Structures in Ireland: A Detailed Statistical Analysis of Census 2006. Dublin: ESRI]. My study problematises micro practices involving families as reported by students in three post-primary schools, to report how family differences are managed and (mis)recognised from their lens. The influence of the dominant educational discourses (contextual and textual), are also considered. A framework using Foucauldian post-structural critical analysis traces family profiling through normalising discourses such as notes home which presume two parents together. Teacher assumptions about heterosexual two-parent families make it difficult for students to be open about a family set-up that is constructed as ‘different’ to the rest of the schools. My findings will be of interest to educational research and policy-makers because they highlight how changing demographics such as family compositions are mis-conceptualised in schools, leading to issues of injustice such as bullying and isolation for the students involved.     

Time pressure in scenario-based online construction safety quizzes and its effect on students’ performance

Online quizzes have been shown to be effective learning and assessment approaches. However, if scenario-based online construction safety quizzes do not include time pressure similar to real-world situations, they reflect situations too ideally. The purpose of this paper is to compare engineering students’ performance when carrying out an online construction safety quiz with time pressure versus an online construction safety quiz without time pressure. Two versions of an online construction safety quiz are developed and administered to randomly assigned engineering students based on a quasi-experimental post-test design. The findings contribute to scenario-based learning and assessment of construction safety in four ways. First, the results confirm earlier findings that ‘intrinsic stress’ does not seem to impair students’ performance. Second, students who carry out the online construction safety quiz with time pressure are less likely to ‘learn by trial and error'. Third, students exposed to time pressure appreciate that they become better prepared for real life. Finally, preparing students to work under time pressure is an important industry requirement. The results of this study should encourage engineering educators to explore and implement ways to include time pressure in scenario-based online quizzes and learning.     

Development and validation of a brief screening version of the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire

OBJECTIVE: The goal of this study was to develop and validate a short form of the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (the CTQ-SF) as a screening measure for maltreatment histories in both clinical and nonreferred groups. METHOD: Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses of the 70 original CTQ items were used to create a 28-item version of the scale (25 clinical items and three validity items) and test the measurement invariance of the 25 clinical items across four samples: 378 adult substance abusing patients from New York City, 396 adolescent psychiatric inpatients, 625 substance abusing individuals from southwest Texas, and 579 individuals from a normative community sample (combined N=1978). RESULTS: Results showed that the CTQ-SF's items held essentially the same meaning across all four samples (i.e., measurement invariance). Moreover, the scale demonstrated good criterion-related validity in a subsample of adolescents on whom corroborative data were available. CONCLUSIONS: These findings support the viability of the CTQ-SF across diverse clinical and nonreferred populations.     

The Green Paper and Beyond: How primary headteachers see their deputies

This article reports the findings from interviews with ten primary headteachers on the roles, responsibilities and relationships of the heads and their deputies, particularly in the light of the 1998 Green Paper 'teachers meeting the challenge of change'. These heads were selected because their schools had figured well in the 'Performance Tables 1999: Key Stage 2 Test Results' and so should exemplify good practice. The findings suggest the following key characteristics for an ideal partnership between a head and a deputy: shared values and vision; close personal and professional relationships; clarity about boundaries; provision of non-contact time. Moreover, the article proposes a distinctive role for the deputy in an era of performativity: the 'leading professional' within the school.     

The City Personified: The Geopolitical Narratives of Rudy Giuliani

The article examines the growing interest in political celebrity and urban branding within media and cultural studies. It stresses the significance of narrative strategies in political statecraft, with specific reference to the intimate relationship between mayors and cities. It focuses on the figure of Rudy Giuliani, both in his period as mayor of New York between 1993 and 2001, and in his subsequent political and private lives, paying close attention to how the event of 9/11 acted as a pivot in his political career. After conceptualizing the relationship between mayors and cities through a discussion of public discourse, celebrity, and political scale, the paper then identifies three processes by which Giuliani has personified New York: first, through narrative control and self-projection within the New York political sphere, by considering his use of selected city sites as a form of synecdoche in his media strategies, and his marginalization of those who challenged him politically; second, through his elevated celebrity status and visual representation by the media in the aftermath of 9/11; and third, through the genre of autobiography and branding, via his book Leadership and related commercial activities, whereby he shifted the scale of his narrative beyond New York.     

Adolescents and music lyrics: Implications of a cognitive perspective

This essay addresses the relevance of cognitive research in memory processes and auditory information processing for the resolution of policy issues concerning the regulation of popular music. Several assumptions are offered regarding music listening, and conclusions are presented which center on appropriate research methods for resolution of questions surrounding music listening and regulation.