The Illusion of Freedom: Tyranny,Whiteness, and the State of US Society

Despite boasting its self-characterization as the “land of the free,” US American “freedom” is, at times, tainted with historical amnesia, hypocrisy, and inhumanity. This article examines today's socio-political climate by drawing from de Tocqueville's (2003) prediction that American democracy is a tyranny of the majority. Because tyranny relies on gaslighting and dismissing facts, no definitive portraiture of freedom is made; therefore, the tyrannized wonder whether they are truly living within freedom or, instead, in collective submission to its illusion. This article examines this phenomenon in order to investigate how whiteness (re)produces conditions of disillusionment and tyranny. By employing hermeneutics of whiteness as a methodology, the authors investigate how whiteness infiltrates thoughts/epistemology, speech/rhetoric, emotions/emotionality, and nationalistic symbols/semiotics. The authors analyze implications for US education and offer a plea for all to consider.     

Developing Performance-Oriented Models for University Resource Allocation

This article examines some methodologies for allocating instructional resources within a large, public university. Models are developed for allocating equipment and current expense funding that incorporate objective or performance-oriented variables, as well as weighting variables that enable decision makers to quantify the more subjective elements of the allocation process. As examples, the recent application of the models at Kent State University is described in order to illustrate the flexibility of these approaches in use.     

The hispanic world in the information age

Conclusion Despite their persistent economic ills, the Spanish-speaking areas of the world have managed to successfully cross the threshold into the Information Age. As programs and technology such as those described in this article continue to proliferate, perhaps Spanish-speaking countries will eventually surpass those countries that today are better equipped and trained in computer technology. It is not unfeasible to predict that, should the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) finally establish an open market with México, and eventually with other countries of Latin America, the Hispanic world would quickly emerge as one of the prime leaders of the Information Age.     

Predicting faculty success in university graduate departments

This study tests a model of predicting faculty success in the different fields of chemistry, physics, sociology, and political science. The main hypotheses tested and confirmed are:

1. In a field with a low technological development, professional age is more important in predicting faculty success than in a field with a high technological development.
2. In a field with a high technological development, articles are more important in predicting faculty success than in a field with a low technological development.
3. In a field with a low technological development, books are more important in predicting faculty success than in a field with a high technological development.

These hypotheses are tested separately for the tenured and the nontenured faculty groups. The policy implications of this model in regard to the management of graduate departments have been discussed and explored.     

Enhancing Teachers' Knowledge and Use of Inquiry Through Environmental Science Education

Journal of Science Teacher Education -     

Dealing with graphic output from diagram processing tasks: Approaches to characterisation and analysis

The current relative lack of detailed knowledge about how learners interact with the types of diagrams used in instructional materials is partly due to the research difficulties in characterising the cognitive structures and processes involved in these interactions. One of these difficulties arises from the lack of research tools specifically designed for the collection and meaningful analysis of relevant data. This paper describes computer-based approaches developed to analyse and characterise graphic output produced during diagram processing tasks. Specializations: Mental representation and processing of scientific diagrams, characteristics of explanatory diagrams, visual aspects of problem solving, instructional design.     

Teaching for independence

If learning how to learn is the most important subject matter of 20th Century schools, then the time has come to encourage the widespread development of undergraduate reading degree programs for future teachers. Ten years ago, Eastern Washington University began offering Reading Education as an undergraduate major for elementary teaching candidates, and as an undergraduate minor for secondary teaching candidates. The availability of a reading major has created a positive cycle of benefits for EWU students, the districts that hire our students, the department of education and the university. This paper explains the rationale behind the establishment of the reading major and this university's findings following 10 years of successful teacher education in the discipline of reading.She is a specialist in reading and elementary education. Formerly a public school teacher, she has served as a reading consultant and program developer.A position he has held for 13 of the 18 years he has been there. Barbara de Michele, a former public school teacher and magazine editor, is the internal communications coordinator for the Spokane Washington Public School District.