Framing sweatshops: Nike,global production,and the American news media

This study examines US newspaper coverage of sweatshops, focusing on the case study of Nike (1995–2000) and asking how the coverage was structured, how sweatshops were problematized, and how they were explained. We find that while activists established a measure of definitional control over the coverage, it tended to concentrate on solutions rather than causes, and the source of the problem tended to be rooted in the agency of consumers rather than producers. This has implications for explaining how social, political, and cultural issues are transformed into essentially economic problems.     

“Re-acculturation” through Community-Based Religious Education

Reflective engagement in reciprocal community partnerships holds tremendous potential for guiding members of congregations through the process of “re-acculturation.” One of the “best practices” named in research about community-engaged learning for undergraduates is “re-acculturation”—an ongoing process of critical reflection about one's own cultural formation and the cultural realities of people one encounters through community partnerships. Only through this kind of honest critical reflection can people develop friendships of true mutuality and reciprocity. Religious education should include biblical, ethical, and theological reflection, combined with historical and cultural research about ethnic, economic, and religious diversity in relation to particular congregation–community partnerships.     

Employability through the curriculum

Abstract

Employability, it is argued, can be embedded in any academic subject in higher education without compromising core academic freedoms. A strategy for curriculum change is described, which is sensitive to both governmental expectations and traditional academic values ‐ and is relatively easy to use. The strategy provides a way of preserving legitimate diversity in response to the homogenising tendencies of the human capital policies that are influential in many advanced economies.     

Teachers’ Perceptions of their Mentoring Role in Three Different Clinical Settings: Student Teaching,Early Field Experiences,and Entry Year Teaching

The purpose of this study was to determine the differences in mentoring across three different clinical settings: student teaching, early field experiences, and entry year teachers. Eighteen teachers with mentoring experience in all three clinical settings were selected and interviewed. The teachers’ expectations for teacher development, mentoring relationships, and mentoring strategies differed across all three clinical settings. In addition, their confidence, their relationship with mentees, and their mentoring strategies were influenced by two features of the clinical setting: (a) the amount of time for mentoring interactions, and (b) the expectations for the mentee. To improve mentoring, the authors recommend (a) lengthening clinical experiences, (b) providing support for creating positive relationships, and (c) providing professional development specific to each of the three clinical settings.     

《中国的非凡经济增长》

约翰·奈特是著名的劳动经济学家,英国牛津大学经济学系主任、资深教授。丁赛毕业于南开大学国际经济贸易系,后在英国伯明翰大学获得国际货币银行专业硕士学位和经济学博士,现为牛津大学经济系研究人员。该书回顾了中国经济高速发展的历史,回答了中国经济增长的重要动力,重点揭示了投资和人力资本在中国经济中的     

Walker Percy's The Moviegoer: On the Existential Novel as Educational Text

In this essay, Kip Kline and Kathleen Knight Abowitz use Walker Percy's novel The Moviegoer to examine the existential plight of young Americans today who, as they turn the broad and long corner from youth to adulthood, are engaged in a search for self-knowledge and identity construction. They are particularly interested in the young adult as “college student,” engaged in the work of postsecondary education, autonomous from but often still very closely connected to their family of origin in a culture saturated by late-capitalist consumerism and commercial media. Kline and Knight Abowitz interpret this novel in order to examine a malaise specific to our current historical moment that may characterize how young people experience institutions such as U.S. colleges and universities as well as the institution of the contemporary American family. They also wish to show that particular themes in existentialism, which can be teased out in novels such as The Moviegoer, can assist our analysis of the contemporary malaise of the college student and provide theorists, educators, and advocates with possible ways of responding to it.     

Professional Practices: Commitment and Capability in a Changing Environment

Book reviewed in this article:
Tony Becher, Professional Practices: Commitment and Capability in a Changing Environment