Equitable representation of deaf people in mainstream academia: Why not?

Approximately 5% of people in most countries have deafness or significant hearing loss. This significant minority is underrepresented in mainstream universities across the world. Background information about deafness, relevant technology and its drawbacks, and the use of interpreters are discussed. The barriers to equitable representation of qualified Deaf academics in university settings are reviewed. The experiences of three Deaf academics who teach in mainstream universities are discussed, and suggestions for resolution are offered. Examples are cited for teaching, research and service, the threefold duties of the successful academic. Continuing access difficulties mean that only a few deaf graduates now consider doctoral study; cost and the perception of cost, as well as negative attitudes and lack of knowledge may mean that the few successful graduates have difficulties gaining employment; successful tenure and promotion prospects may also be hindered for the same reasons. We also provide recommendations how barriers for successful Deaf academics can be removed or mitigated.     

Taiwanese Grandmothers: Strengths and Learning Needs as Perceived by Grandmothers,Mothers, and Granddaughters

The purposes of this study were to (a) determine how three generations of females from the same families perceived the grandmothers, (b) identify strengths and learning needs of the grandmothers, and (c) recommend guidelines and curriculum themes to assist the grandmothers in adjusting to change. The 348 Taiwanese subjects included grandmothers (n = 116), mothers (n = 116), and teenage granddaughters (n = 116). Subjects completed a Mandarin version of the Grandparent Strengths and Needs Inventory. Each generation reported favorable ratings for grandmothers on the frustration, difficulty, information needs, and satisfaction scales. Unfavorable ratings were given for the teaching and success scales.     

Severe Violence During Adolescence and Early Adulthood and Its Relation to Anticipated Rewards and Costs

This report compares the effects (concurrent and lagged) of the anticipated rewards and costs of violent crime on engagement in severe violence in a sample of male juvenile offenders (N = 1,170; 42.1% black, 34.0% Hispanic, 19.2% white, and 4.6% other; ages 14–18 at baseline). Anticipated rewards (social approval, thrill) are more predictive of concurrent severe violence than are anticipated costs (social disapproval, risk of punishment). The analysis finds no evidence that perceptions of the rewards and costs of violent crime influence engagement in severe violence 6 months later. The results support the view that adolescence is a time of heightened reward salience but raise doubt about the longitudinal predictive validity of perceptions about crime during this time of life.     

Perceived and experienced stigma among people living with HIV: Examining the role of prior stigmatization on reasons for and against future disclosures

HIV remains a significant health concern entering the fourth decade of the epidemic [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2014. HIV basics. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/basics/index.html], and people living with HIV continue to grapple with stigma. This study uses Leary and Schreindorfer's [1998 Leary, M. R., &; Schreindorfer, L. S. (1998). The stigmatization of HIV and AIDS: Rubbing salt in the wound. In V. J. Derlega &; A. P. Barbee (Eds.), HIV and social interaction (pp. 12–29). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. [Google Scholar]. The stigmatization of HIV and AIDS: Rubbing salt in the wound. In V. J. Derlega &; A. P. Barbee (Eds.), HIV and social interaction (pp. 12 Lekas, H. M., Siegel, K., &; Schrimshaw, E. W. (2006). Continuities and discontinuities in the experiences of felt and enacted stigma among women with HIV/AIDS. Qualitative Health Research, 16, 1165–1190. doi:10.1177/1049732306292284[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]–29 Lekas, H. M., Siegel, K., &; Schrimshaw, E. W. (2006). Continuities and discontinuities in the experiences of felt and enacted stigma among women with HIV/AIDS. Qualitative Health Research, 16, 1165–1190. doi:10.1177/1049732306292284[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage] conceptualization of stigma to explore prior stigmatization on reasons for and against future disclosures. We interviewed HIV+ individuals (N?=?59) and used a combination of deductive and inductive coding to analyze participants’ responses. Deductive codes consisted of four stigma characteristics (pose a threat to others’ health and safety, deviate from group standards, create negative emotional reactions in others, and failure to contribute), experiences of feeling stigmatized due to HIV status (yes or no), and the degree to which HIV stigma was a concern (major, minor, or no concern). Inductive coding identified examples of perceived and experienced stigma and stigma concerns on future disclosure decision-making. Practical implications discuss individual, institutional, and societal stigma-reduction interventions and programs.     

Student & tutor consensus: a partnership in assessment for learning

The mistakes made when attempting tasks often prove to be some of the most invaluable learning experiences. Despite this, outcome and results driven assessment formats largely penalise student performance errors or reward students who succeed by chance. The consequences of this paradigm are visible effects on student relationships with assessment. The student–tutor consensus approach to assessment was introduced to capture student learning achieved ‘from’ assessment to complement the measurement of performance outcomes. This approach parallels student and tutor judgement in a grade negotiation, affording the student an opportunity to share with their assessor what they have learned from the assessment activity. This student self-awareness was then considered alongside the conventional outcome-based score awarded by the tutor to generate a final grade for the assessed activity. Our study evaluated the perceptions of 90 undergraduate students enrolled in the bachelor of paramedic studies, who participated in this novel assessment approach as part of a final-year capstone topic. The results comprehensively indicated value for all aspects of the assessment approach, as well as a recognition that the skills will be useful in their future professional roles.     

How pre-service teachers navigate trade-offs of food systems across time scales: a lens for exploring understandings of sustainability

In response to the increasing recognition of the need for sustainable food systems, research on students’ and educators’ knowledge of food systems and sustainability more broadly has grown but has generally focused on what people ‘fail’ to understand. Moving away from this deficit approach, the present study used semi-structured interviews to explore how 12 pre-service teachers (PSTs) in the US consider sustainability in terms of the trade-offs – or concurrent costs and benefits – associated with using different agricultural resources over short, medium, and long terms. Drawing upon the constructs of framing, metacognition, and complex causality, the study found that the majority of PSTs referred to indirect experiences of seeing or hearing about agricultural resources to demonstrate stable knowledge of short-term trade-offs and construct tentative knowledge about medium-term trade-offs. Few described long-term trade-offs. Most participants also acknowledged some gaps in their knowledge in discussing trade-offs across the different time scales. Findings suggest the importance of leveraging and building upon educators’ (and ultimately students’) prior experiences to build their understanding of complex trade-offs that underlie food systems. The study also illustrates the value of using the concept of trade-offs across time scales to explore people’s conceptions and understandings of sustainability.     

Global competition in a ‘flat’ world: a Foucauldian analysis of the neoliberal mentalities of 2 Million Minutes

Through an application of Foucauldian theories of power and neoliberalism, this article employs an ascending analysis to identify an embedded neoliberal agenda within the documentary 2 Million Minutes. The author argues that this neoliberal agenda serves to support and maintain notions of international white supremacy as it assumes relationships between whiteness and success, American identity and privilege, and through its definition of the global economy as one in which all students can equally take part. By articulating how the film engages in techniques of biopower through a comparative portrayal of high school students from India, China, and the United States, the author argues that representations of education ‘realities’ should be examined and questioned in order to locate powerful and hidden hegemonies.