Professional skills development in a resource-poor setting: the case of pharmacy in Malawi

The dominance of the human capital approach in vocational skills development has been increasingly questioned for being de-humanised and de-contextualised. Contrary to this trend, the discourse in health professional skills development has shown increasing enthusiasm for consolidating this existing paradigm. To debate whether professional skills development should indeed be insulated from such scepticism, this paper examines one strategy adopted by the health professions. Called ‘task shifting’, this strategy involves re-delegating professional tasks to nonprofessional cadres according to a skills-based toolkit. Challenging the context-free approach to using this toolkit, this paper presents ethnographic evidence derived from a case study of pharmacy workforce issues in Malawi. It was found that task shifting was inhibited by a perception barrier about the moral and intellectual superiority of the pharmacists. Pharmacy technicians were judged to be unfit for a professional task because of a perceived lack of professional status, power and ethics. On tracing the origin of the inherent professional prowess assigned to the pharmacists, it was found that professionalism was an ideology borrowed from external sources, inter alia, colonial legacies and global health governance. This study exposes our hidden assumption about an axiomatic transferability of Anglo-American skills development models to a postcolonial, aid-dependent context. This paper therefore suggests redefining this toolkit by bridging health research into dialogue with non-health disciplinary concerns such as postcolonialism and aid-dependence. In conclusion, it argues that professional skills development is context-laden; and in need of a human-centred approach that involves true indigenous participation–challenges not unlike those faced by the vocational skills discourse.     

Engaging young students in scientific investigations: prompting for meaningful reflection

This study examined the verbal prompts a tutor used to promote reflection and young students’ responses to these prompts. Seven children (ages 8–12) participated in 260 min of one-on-one tutoring to learn scientific concepts related to gear movement; the tutor spontaneously provided these students with 763 prompts for reflection. Prompts reliably induced reflection: Students responded verbally 87% of the time. Turn-by-turn discourse analysis revealed seven distinct types of prompts and 11 distinct types of verbal responses. High-level prompts were strongly associated with high-level responses. A log-multiplicative association model with two dimensions (temporality and certainty) represented the relationships between prompt and response types; from this model, odds ratios estimated the strength of association between specific pairs of prompt and response types. Findings are discussed in terms of the effects that reflection may have on students’ developing understanding of scientific concepts.     

“My Child is Your Child”: Family Behavior in a Mexican Science Museum

Abstract In this paper we describe the particularities of Latin American museum visitors as learners through an exploratory study that took place at Universum, Museo de las Ciencias, a science museum located in Mexico City. The exploration of the learning experiences of Latin American family groups was carried out by means of a case study approach and from a socio‐cultural theory perspective. This inquiry of 20 family groups reveals that nuances of the concept of “family,” in the Mexican context, are important in studying family learning in museum settings. The prominent roles of the extended family and interactions within family groups are discussed as intrinsic traits of a family’s museum learning. In addition, the outcomes of this study highlight the impact that the Latin American notion of educación has on museum education and research, as it encompasses issues that relate to the perpetuation of socio‐cultural values, child‐rearing, and ultimately, cultural identity.     

Supervision Experiences of Professional Counselors Providing Crisis Counseling

In this phenomenological study, the authors explored supervision experiences of 13 licensed professional counselors in situations requiring crisis counseling. Five themes concerning crisis and supervision were identified from individual interviews. Findings support intensive, immediate crisis supervision and postlicensure clinical supervision.     

The social–emotional development of dual language learners: Looking back at existing research and moving forward with purpose

This review describes the state of existing knowledge with regard to dual language learners’ (DLLs) social–emotional development birth to age 5. The review focuses on several widely recognized dimensions of children's social–emotional development: self-regulation, social competence, social cognition, and problem behaviors. We begin by presenting a theoretical perspective that frames our understanding of the interplay between relational and contextual factors that contribute to the social–emotional well-being of DLLs. A targeted search of the literature identified 14 peer-reviewed studies published from 2000 to 2011 that examined social–emotional outcomes for young DLLs in family, school, and peer contexts. Results suggest that DLLs have at least equal (if not better) social–emotional outcomes compared to native English speakers. There is also some evidence that the use of the home language in early childhood classrooms can be a positive, moderating factor for DLLs’ social–emotional development. Contextual and individual characteristics are highly correlated with DLL status, making it difficult to develop clear conclusions about the unique influence of DLL status on social–emotional outcomes. We conclude by identifying avenues for future inquiry.     

The changing experiences of bisexual male adolescents

Drawing on in-depth interviews with 15 openly bisexual male youth from sixth forms across the UK, this article documents positive experiences of bisexual male youth in school: participants had positive coming out experiences and did not encounter significant discrimination or harassment because of their sexual identity. Participants attribute this to the inclusive environments of their schools and local cultures. Examining the narratives of two participants who had negative experiences, this article also highlights continued issues for bisexual youth in schools. It thus advances our understanding of contemporary bisexual lives in educational institutions, and contributes to debates about whether sixth forms are more inclusive spaces than secondary schools for bisexuals.     

Verbal aggression: A study of the relationship between communication traits and feelings about a verbally aggressive television show

This study investigated the relationship between people's communication tendencies for sending and receiving verbally aggressive messages with their opinions and feelings about a verbally aggressive television show. Participants (N=216) completed measures of verbal aggressiveness and psychological hurt before viewing a 7‐minute clip from the television show Daddy Dearest. Participants then completed measures for show affinity, character affinity, and show realism. The results showed that people who were verbally aggressive, tended to watch more television weekly, and did not report being hurt by receiving verbally aggressive messages, expressed more affinity for the character and the show and perceived the show to be similar to real life. People who reported greater psychological hurt from receiving verbally aggressive messages and tended to watch more television weekly also reported that the show was similar to real life.     

Media violence research: Interpreting the findings

The pages which follow are an attempt to stand back and assess what we know about the effects of media violence in an effort to sort into a usable pattern the results of hundreds of reported studies. Timothy P. Meyer is assistant professor of speech in Mass Communications at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst; James A. Anderson is associate professor of radio‐television and director of the Broadcast Research Center at Ohio University, Athens.     

Research Guide to Mexican Law*

ABSTRACT

Carrying out effective and efficient research on Mexican law presents special challenges. Some of these are structural because they condition the entire research process. This guide covers all aspects of Mexican legal research, providing a contextualized overview of the subject. The guide is organized into three main sections: Primary Sources, Secondary Sources, and Online Resources. The reader of this guide will gain a solid foundation in how to do research on Mexican law.