Trusted by whom? TDRs,standards culture and the nature of trust

The first part of this paper examines the notion of trust within the suite of standards that anchor the trustworthy digital repository (TDR) concept. The second part traces the short and confusing trajectory of the TDR project at Library and Archives Canada (LAC) and explores the extent to which the failure of LAC TDR should be understood in relation to organizational funding, operational decisions, TDR standards culture or other factors. In the conclusion I suggest that the notion of trust within TDR standards culture is itself evolving in a positive direction that emphasizes user perceptions of trust rather than seeking to establish objective evidence of trust.     

The ADAPT Program: A Developmental Approach for Serving Profoundly Disturbed Children

The need to provide educational and therapeutic services for profoundly emotionally handicapped children has been well documented in the professional literature. The purpose of this article is to describe a local program for this population of children. The program, known as ADAPT, is operated by the Hillsborough County School System in Tampa, Florida.     

Theorising a model for teaching and assessing reflective learning in higher education

The importance of reflection in higher education and across disciplinary fields is widely recognised and it is generally included in university graduate attributes, professional standards and programme objectives. Furthermore, reflection is commonly embedded into assessment requirements in higher education subjects, often without necessary scaffolding or clear expectations for students. Despite the rhetoric around the importance of reflection for ongoing learning, there is scant literature on any systematic, developmental approach to teaching reflective learning across higher education programmes/courses. Given that professional or academic reflection is not intuitive, and requires specific pedagogic intervention to do well, a programme/course-wide approach is essential. This paper draws on current literature to theorise a new, transferable and customisable model for teaching and assessing reflective learning across higher education, which foregrounds and explains the pedagogic field of higher education as a multi-dimensional space. We argue that explicit and strategic pedagogic intervention, supported by dynamic resources, is necessary for successful, broad-scale approaches to reflection in higher education.     

The Cathartic Effect of Vigorous Motor Activity on Agressive Behavior

Abstract

Each of 120 male university students was randomly assigned to a 3 × 4 factorial design, with 10 subjects in each cell. There were three arousal conditions, and four “cathartic” conditions. One-third of the subjects were not angered, while the other two-thirds were angered by an accomplice of the experimenter. All subjects then had an opportunity to participate in one of four cathartic conditions (sitting, pounding, competing and winning, competing and losing). Subjects were given a socially sanctioned opportunity to deliver electric shock. Half of the angered subjects first shocked the accomplice who had angered them, then shocked an “innocent” bystander. The other half first shocked the bystander, then shocked the person who had angered them. There were significant cathartic effects, with no difference between sit and pound, but significant differences between the two competitive situations with the compete-win resulting in less aggression. There were also significant differences between the arousal conditions. The accomplice who did the angering always received the greatest amount of shock, regardless of when he was shocked or of the cathartic condition.     

The Challenge of Beginning

This article presents a way of approaching introductory design education that expands student creativity through building on research related to the impact of cognitive development and metacognitive thinking. The strategy presented emphasises the importance of encouraging divergent thinking and understanding how students perceive knowledge. The goal is to create a learning environment that acknowledges where students are in their thinking and provides a structure that promotes both cognitive and creative growth.     

Multicultural Awareness, Knowledge, and Skills Among American Counselor Trainees: Group Differences in Self-Perceived Competence Based on Dispositional and Programmatic Variables

Multiculturalism has been a topic of scholarly discourse and inquiry for the last three decades. As the philosophical commitment to multiculturalism continues to be endorsed by the counseling field, it is becoming increasingly imperative that we integrate theory, research, and practice in an applied and compelling manner. This article provides the results from a quantitative study exploring the dispositional and programmatic variables that influence the level of self-perceived multicultural competence among a sample of counselor trainees in the United States of America. The research contributes to a foundation for discussing the current status of multicultural counseling competence as well as generating creative strategies for enhancing future competence in counselors.     

Impact and dynamics of portfolio assessment and traditional assessment in a college physics course

Popular belief in alternative assessment procedures suggests that the use of student portfolios can help learners successfully organize and integrate newly acquired scientific knowledge. This two-group comparison study documents the use of student created portfolios in an algebra-based, college-level, introductory physics course. Sixteen students were assessed primarily using a portfolio-style assessment procedure. Nineteen students were assessed primarily using traditional, objective examinations. Both groups were given the same cumulative, multiple-choice final examination. All students completed a pre- and post-self-report survey of achievement in physics. There were no significant differences in learner achievement between the two groups on the final examination or on the self-report of achievement given before and after instruction. Analysis of two focus group discussions did, however, suggest that students assessed by portfolios feel less anxious about learning physics, devote considerable time to reading and studying outside of class, internalize and personalize the content material, and enjoy the learning experience. The results of this study suggest that portfolio-style assessment procedures support student achievement at least at the same level as traditional assessment procedures and appear to have additional benefits. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 34: 255–271, 1997.