Non-accidental immersion in the bath: Another extension to the syndrome of child abuse and neglect

With increasing awareness of the prevalence of non-accidental injury, new facets of child abuse are constantly being added to the long-recognized syndrome of battered children. To the spectrum of acute physical violence, thermal injury, sexual abuse, deprivation and poisoning, has been added the subacute concomitants of dermatitis and infection, and anaemia. Nutritional neglect, occasionally with hypovitaminosis, is also part of the syndrome. In recent years it has been further appreciated that general neglect for a child's well-being and safety, and specific acts of abuse are spectral variants of the same syndrome. We have evidence to indicate that the wilful and deliberate submersion of a child under water, particularly in the domestic bathtub, is a further variant of this syndrome. We feel that the differential diagnosis of atypical immersion accidents, especially bathtub accidents, should include this possibility.     

Conscientious withdrawal from religious education in Scotland: anachronism or necessary right?

This paper considers the right of parental withdrawal from the statutory subject Religious Education (RE) in Scottish primary and secondary schools. The background, history and current legislative situation relating to this right are considered, as well as current discussions and debates about this issue. The intentions are to establish how often and for what reasons parents opt to withdraw their children, as well as to investigate how schools and local authorities respond to requests for withdrawal. This research is informed by a survey of primary and secondary schools within two local authorities in particular. It emerges that there are relatively few cases of withdrawal. A majority of participating schools argued for the abolition of this right.     

Developing an inclusive learning environment for students with visual impairment in higher education: progressive mutual accommodation and learner experiences in the United Kingdom

Abstract

Drawing on the findings of a unique longitudinal qualitative study, this article investigates the experiences of 32 young people with visual impairment (VI) in higher education (HE) in the United Kingdom (UK) to explore how well they were able to participate on their courses. We propose and apply a Bioecological Model of Inclusive HE to interpret these experiences and examine how accommodations were made to facilitate participation. Focusing specifically on ‘curriculum access’, the results highlight the importance of accommodations that are progressive and mutual. The accommodations come in many forms and include: the provision of resources through nationally based schemes (e.g. the Disabled Students Allowance in the UK); the support, adjustments and anticipatory adjustments HE institutions should provide; and the study skills and independence skills individual students should be able to act upon. The findings showed that while the majority of participants reported that their HE institution made some adjustments to enable them to access their course, a lack of anticipatory adjustments created barriers. The most common compensation for this barrier was to provide deadline extensions, often resulting in additional pressure on other aspects of the course. Interviews with university staff highlighted limited specialist knowledge and resources within their institutions to enable accommodations for students with VI and, more broadly, understanding of how to develop an inclusive learning experience. The findings also highlighted expectations made of the learner, particularly being able to explain their required adjustments and having well-developed independent study skills. The paper has particular relevance to HE institutions in that it provides a model to aid interpretation of their role in creating an inclusive learning experience for students with VI. It also offers a reference point for professionals supporting young people with a broader range of disabilities in considering how best to prepare them for life after compulsory education.     

Moderation of peer assessment in group projects

It is shown here that a grade distribution scheme commonly used to moderate peer assessments where self assessment is excluded is based on a false premise and will give an erroneous ranking in the situation where the best performer in a student group ranks the second best performer much higher than the other group members. An alternative to normalisation is proposed based on the idea that the rank order of peer grades should be preserved and should as far as possible be consistent between assessors. It is shown that the method correctly recovers the rank order of students within the group for all cases examined, while still eliminating biases that can result from differences in marking standards in the group. It is suggested that the approach could also be used to check for bias when self assessment is included.     

Cognitive Style and Gender Differences in Drawing from Memory Versus Copying in 11‐year‐old Children

A total of 71 11‐year‐old children were asked to draw two pictures: one by copying and one from memory. The quality of each of their drawings was assessed on a five‐point scale by four adult judges rating independently. The cognitive style of each child was assessed by means of the Cognitive Styles Analysis. A significant effect of Verbal‐Imagery Style was observed in which Verbalisers were superior to Imagers in overall drawing performance. There was also a significant interaction between drawing task‐type and gender in which females were superior to males, particularly in drawing from memory. These findings were discussed in terms of the representation of information in memory.     

父亲节的回忆

1994年4月18日.在宾夕法尼亚州是一个美丽如画的日子。春日融融,徐徐暖风吹起朵朵白云在空中飘荡——正适合我观看12岁儿子的棒球赛。看完比赛,路上我给家人买了个比萨饼。我到家时,电话正在响。电话是我父母的老管家海德·雷特打来的,她的消息让我吃了一惊。在春天的气息中,喝着用毕雷矿泉水、酸橙汁和“甜而廉”特别调制的饮料,我81岁的父亲正在阳台上休息,而她正在厨房里准备晚饭。突然她听到玻璃杯碎裂的声音。等来到阳台上,她发现我父亲已经因为大脑中风摔倒在地上。那是父亲风风雨雨一生中最后一次战斗的开始。     

Public educators as interpretive critics: Edward Said and Raymond Williams

The work of Edward Said and Raymond Williams exemplifies an important aspect of the role of the public intellectual as educator. This paper concentrates on the significance of their work as public educators and on the tradition of interpretive criticism as they developed it within the field of literary and cultural theory. The argument builds from the assumptions that (1) the work of these two very different critics provides important methodological insights regarding the nature of interpretation; (2) these insights have general application across the human and social sciences; and (3) their application is integral to the role of the public intellectual as educator. Central to the argument is that the prime responsibility of the public educator is not to mark out her or his own value position, but to ensure that there are the necessary civic spaces for others to do so – and, crucially, that these spaces are kept open. Holding open the civic spaces is the duty and moral responsibility of the public educator as interpretive critic.