Changing Perspectives: Exploring a pedagogy to examine other perspectives about stem cell research

This study explores how teachers developed and critically evaluated a range of teaching strategies that could support the discussion of a socio-scientific issue (SSI) that had the potential to be controversial. The issue was stem cell research and six New Zealand teachers of senior biology students (grades 12/13) took part in an action research project that was situational, collaborative and self-evaluative. The focus of the research was to identify communication barriers that interfered with classroom discussion and how teachers could help students cross cultural borders when they discussed SSIs that were outside their life worlds. The barriers to communication were access to relevant science knowledge, religion, language, an inability to question issues and cultural expectations of girls. Teachers trialled and adapted two discussion strategies, ‘Drawing the Line’ and ‘Diamond Ranking’ that provided a vehicle for their students to explore and discuss this issue from a range of perspectives. These discussion strategies enabled their students to take part in a dialogue where reciprocal conversation could occur because they had opportunities not only to explore their own perspectives but also other people's viewpoints.     

An analysis of role conflict and role ambiguity within the cancer information service's communication network

This research examines the relationship between individuals' positions in a communication network and their corresponding levels of role conflict and role ambiguity. As part of a larger research program, the data for this study were collected at two points in time from members within the Cancer Information Service (N = 56), an award winning information service of the National Cancer Institute. In general, findings suggest lower levels of role conflict and ambiguity experienced by members of the CIS. In addition, neither the role conflict model nor the role ambiguity model were consistent with the data. Revised models, however, did suggest that experiencing role conflict and role ambiguity may lead to a decrease in the perception that a person is powerful within one's network. In addition, as members' interpersonal contacts increased, levels of role conflict and role ambiguity between regional offices and the National Cancer Institute decreased. The implications of these results for the CIS and other organizations are discussed.     

Mapping the discipline history of education

Inaugurated in 2013, this collective research programme aims to construct an international mapping of the history of education that accounts for recent developments in the field. Our goal is to create a current and retrospective assessment of the discipline’s institutional grounding and of the knowledge produced by its practitioners, stretching across national and cultural borders. Ultimately, the programme will help to increase interactions among scholars and facilitate the creation of collaborative research agendas, thereby augmenting the standing and visibility of the discipline.

This text will briefly introduce the programme’s conceptual basis, explaining the methodological steps taken to ensure the comparability of data gathered and the transnational and transcontinental character of the study’s design. In the second section, we will zoom in on doctoral students’ dissertations, which are the optimal way to study a discipline’s development and potential. Doctoral students and recent graduates are part of a tradition, a school of thought, and yet they constitute that tradition’s replacement and renewal. Therefore, as graduate students carry forth the disciplinary torch, they hold the future of the field in their hands.     

Capital and Control: Consequences of Different Forms of Newspaper Ownership

Abstract

Debates over the effects and efficacy of different forms of newspaper ownership are rising. This article elucidates the debates by exploring private, public, not-for-profit, and employee ownership using economic and managerial theory about ownership and control of enterprises. It shows the managerial and economic conditions that emerge under the different forms of ownership, their implications, and the advantages and disadvantages of each. The article concludes that there is no perfect form of newspaper ownership.     

Managing Competition Through Barriers to Entry and Channel Availability in the Changing Regulatory Environment

In this article, we explore factors that influence the number of broadcasters in a market and the achievement of optimal outcomes in broadcast markets.We explore a range of barriers to entry and means of overcoming those barriers in broadcast markets.We argue that choices regarding and influences on barriers to entry and channel availability act as forms of competition management in broadcast markets. Policymakers and regulators indirectly influence markets by altering the effects of those barriers and directly influence market activities by making decisions regarding the number of competitors, market structures,and-indirectly-the financial performance of broadcasters. We argue that barriers to entry can be controlled to produce competition levels and market outcomes that promote optimal social and economic outcomes.     

The Role of Life-Space,Social Activity,and Depression on the Subjective Memory Complaints of Community-Dwelling Filipino Elderly: A Structural Equation Model

Subjective memory complaints are one of the major concerns of the elderly and remain a challenging area in gerontology. There are previous studies that identify different factors affecting subjective memory complaints. However, an extended model that correlates life-space on subjective memory complaints remains a blank spot. The objective of this study is to investigate the role of life-space, social activity and depression on subjective memory complaints among the selective group of Filipino elderly in the community. To test the factors affecting subjective memory complaints, a structural equation modeling was employed among all parameters. One hundred eighty-nine Filipino elderly aged 60 years and above located in Parañaque City, Makati City and Malabon City were given a multiaspect questionnaire consisting of a robotfoto, Life-Space Assessment (LSA), Research and Development (RAND) Social Health Battery, Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS), and Subjective Memory Questionnaire (SMQ). Results revealed that life-space and social activity inversely affect depression while subjective memory complaints are directly affected by depression. New pathways emerged suggesting the interrelationship between life-space and social activity. Additionally, social activity directly affects subjective memory complaints. This study provides a confirmation of the impact of the factors affecting subjective memory complaints. Incorporation of these factors into the existing practice can help the health care providers in optimizing the quality of care rendered and quality of life of the elderly.     

Biotechnology teaching models: what is their role in technology education?

The introduction of technology education in New Zealand provided an opportunity to teach biotechnology from a technological perspective. Biotechnology teaching models were developed during a professional development programme. The role of these teaching models has been described and analysed according to the definitions identified by the 'Models in Science and Technology: Research in Education' (MISTRE) group and classified according to Grosslight et al.'s analysis of models in order to identify and analyse the role of biotechnology teaching models in technology education. These teaching models fulfilled a variety of roles that included providing a focus to understanding the factors influencing a biotechnological outcome to providing a technique for collaborative evaluation of manipulative skills in microbial plating exercises.