The Development of the Olympic Narrative in Chinese Elite Sport Discourse from Its First Successful Olympic Bid to the Post-Beijing Games Era

Abstract

As a phenomenon exogenous to China, the Olympics have been proactively interpreted in the local context since China’s entry (and subsequent re-entry in 1984) into the Olympic movement. With China’s increasing involvement in promoting three bids to host the Olympic Games, two of which were successful, respectively, in 2001 and 2015, the nature of the discourse of key stakeholders in relation to Chinese elite sport has both reflected and reshaped the meaning of the Games to Chinese elite sport. This paper examines the discursive construction process of the Olympics in the Chinese elite sport system by key stakeholders through analyzing statements of political figures on sport and Olympic phenomena, Chinese elite sport policy documents, and the commentaries of leading Chinese sport academics. The analysis of discourse highlights two main features in the construction of the Games in official accounts during the period under investigation. The development of these two themes reflects the nature of the Chinese Olympic discourse, manifests the political power over the interpretation of the Olympics in Chinese context, and continues to characterize the on-going major themes in Chinese elite sport policy.     

Videotutoring, non-verbal communication and initial teacher training

Telematics has the potential to transform Higher Education through creating a distributed community of tutors and students. Videotutoring is central to telematics, enabling personal tutoring to occur at a distance. Within the context of a post-graduate teacher training course, videotutoring was used to tutor two students during the first six weeks of their first full-time school placement. Both ends of the videosignal were recorded. Analysis of the tapes used a protocol based upon research into non-verbal communication (NVC). NVC is as important as verbal communication in the tutorial process. Findings suggest that the interaction of participants mediated through the screen was significantly different from face-to-face communication in relation to the two-dimensional image of the screen and the "viewing frame" effect of the physical boundaries of the image. The viewing frame literally served as the proscenium arch of a theatre. Two-dimensionality and the viewing frame effect emphasised both the positive and negative elements in inter-personal communication as represented in Argyle's social skills and Goffman's theatrical models. The conclusion is that videotutoring can potentially be a more effective form of tutoring than face-to-face interaction.     

Constituting information technology research: the experience of IT researchers

The collective consciousness of effective groups of researchers is characterized by shared understandings of their research object or territory. In this study, we adopted a phenomenographic approach to investigate information technology (IT) research, and its objects and territories, as they are constituted in the experience of IT researchers. Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with researchers representing different sub‐disciplines. Analysis revealed the variation in meaning associated with the idea of IT research; and the awareness structures through which participants experience variation in ways of seeing the object and territories of IT research. Eight ways of seeing IT research were found. The outcomes of our project appear to make visible the changes and developments that are an essential part of the character and experience of contemporary IT research.     

The changing pattern of higher education in England and Wales — The end of an era?

During the past twenty years great changes have taken place in British higher education. During the 1980s these changes have been even more noticeable, so that by the middle of the 1990s the pattern and the ethos of British higher education will be very different from that prevailing in the 1970s. Not only have there been structural changes but there have also been concerns about autonomy and freedom, accountability and appraisal in the face of government demands for improved management efficiency, restrictions on tenure and alternative forms of finance. This paper analyses these changes in universities, polytechnics and teacher education colleges and traces the growing intervention on the part of government. It also seeks to draw out implications for other education systems facing the same pressures. A glossary of abbreviations and acronyms appears on p. 301.

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Zusammenfassung Während der vergangenen zwanzig Jahre gab es in der britischen Hochschulbildung große Veränderungen. Im Laufe der 80er Jahre sind diese Veränderungen besonders deutlich geworden, und bis zur Mitte der 90er Jahre werden sich die Struktur und das Ethos der britischen Hochschulbildung von den in den 70er Jahren vorherrschenden stark unterscheiden. Es hat nicht nur strukturelle Veränderungen gegeben, sondern auch besorgte Überlegungen zu Fragen der Autonomie und Freiheit, Verantwortlichkeit und Beurteilung angesichts der Forderungen seitens der Regierung nach verbesserter Wirtschaftlichkeit der Verwaltung, Begrenzung der Amtszeiten und alternativen Finanzierungsformen. Im vorliegenden Artikel werden diese Veränderungen an Universitäten, Technischen Hochschulen und Pädagogischen Hochschulen analysiert, und es wird den zunehmenden Eingriffen durch die Regierung nachgegangen. Darüberhinaus wird versucht, Auswirkungen auf andere Bildungssysteme aufzuzeigen, die mit denselben Zwängen konfrontiert sind. Ein Glossar der Abkürzungen und Akronyme erscheint auf S. 301.

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Résumé Au cours des vingt dernières années, de grands changements sont intervenus dans l'enseignement supérieur en Grande Bretagne. Ces changements sont devenus encore plus sensibles durant les années 1980, si bien que, vers le milieu des années 1990, la structure et l'éthos de l'enseignement supérieur britannique seront très différents de ceux qui prévalaient dans les années 1970. Non seulement il y a eu des changements structuraux, mais on s'est également préoccupé d'autonomie et de liberté, de responsabilité et d'appréciation en dépit des exigences gouvernementales à l'égard d'une gestion plus efficace, d'une réduction de la période d'exercice des fonctions, et de nouvelles formes de financement. Le présent article analyse ces changements dans les universités, les collèges polytechniques et les écoles normales et décrit le rôle grandissant de l'Etat. Il s'efforce également d'en dégager les leçons pour d'autres systèmes éducatifs qui font face aux même pressions. Un glossaire d'abbréviations et d'acronymes apparaît à la page 301.

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Abbreviations and Acronyms CATE Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education - CHEs Colleges of Higher Education - CNAA Council for National Academic Awards - CVCP Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Principals - DES Department of Education and Science (equivalent to a Ministry of Education) - HMI Her Majesty's Inspectorate - HMSO Her Majesty's Stationery Office - INSET Inservice Education for Teachers - LEA Local Education Authority - NAB National Advisory Board for Public Sector Higher Education - PCFC Polytechnics and Colleges Funding Council - PDEs Polytechnic Departments of Education - PGCE Postgraduate Certificate in Education - PICKUP Professional, Industrial and Commercial Updating Programme - PSHE Public Sector Higher Education (i.e., all higher education not under university control) - UCET Universities Council for the Education of Teachers - UDEs University Departments of Education - UFC Universities Funding Council - UGC University Grants Committee - WAB Welsh Advisory Board for Public Sector Higher Education - binary divide the separation between universities and polytechnics, etc. - White Paper a government document setting out official proposals prior to introducing legislation in parliament     

Increasing the uptake of peer feedback in primary school writing: findings from an action research enquiry

This article reports on how an action research strategy was used to increase children's uptake of feedback during peer assessment in primary school writing. Several different strategies were used in the study that had been successful in increasing students’ uptake of peer feedback in contexts such as higher education. In order to evaluate how successful these actions were, several different data collection methods were drawn upon to triangulate findings including children's work, observations, informal interviews and mind mapping. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data generated. Findings are consistent with those from research in other settings which suggest that pupils make better use of feedback if: it is task-involving and useful; there is sufficient time given for them to act on it and discuss it with their peers; and they are asked to reflect on how it has been used to improve the quality of the assessed work.