Registered nurses' constructed meaning of concepts of solution and their use in clinical practice

Since the introduction of nursing into tertiary institutions in Australia in 1975, there has been increasing interest in the teaching of physical science to nurses. Various courses in physical science for nurse students have been developed. They vary in length and content but there is agreement that concepts taught should be closely related to nursing applications. The choice of relevant concepts tends to be made by individual curriculum developers. This paper reports an examination of the use of physical science concepts and their relevance from the perspective of registered nurses practising in general ward areas. Inherent in this study is the premise that for registered nurses to have ideas of the physical science underlying their practice they must have constructed meaning first for these concepts. Specific chemical concepts related to solutions are discussed in these terms. Specializations: phenomenology, thinking, caring, euthanasia and palliative care, curriculum development for nurses. Specializations: thinking, science curricula for nurses, isotope geochemistry, mass spectrometry.     

Implementing information technology at the Border Technikon in South Africa

The mission of Border Technikon in South Africa is to provide the best vocational and career education to students of all racial and cultural backgrounds in the East London area. The staff believes that an important component of this mission includes giving students marketable skills for the information age. Therefore, in 1996, the Technikon undertook an extensive program to implement new information technologies that would help fulfill the institution's mission. Implementing information technology at academic institutions in developing countries must address a special set of problems, some of which are technology gaps, educational deficits, and lack of adequate facilities. This paper describes some of the more unique problems the Technikon encountered, and a few solutions. During 1996, she served as a Senior Librarian at Border Technikon, East London, South Africa, under the Educators for Africa Program of the International Foundation of Education and Self-Help.     

The Commerce of Utility: Teaching Mathematical Geography in Early Modern England

The teaching and learning of geographical and mathematical knowledge in early modern England was a complex interaction among scholars, practitioners, merchants, and gentry. Each group had different values and goals associated with geographical knowledge and therefore different educational venues and different topics to be investigated. This paper argues that the alternate educational sites of the universities of Oxford and Cambridge and the more entrepreneurial site of London and the merchant halls were both important to the development of geographical knowledge and produced an important synergy of practical and esoteric interests and concerns.     

Reimagining the purpose of VET – Expanding the capability to aspire in South African Further Education and Training students

This paper applies the capabilities approach to the broader debate of the role of vocational education and training (VET) in poverty alleviation. The capabilities approach provides an approach for conceptualising and evaluating VET which differs in orientation from dominant productivist conceptions. It does so by shifting the focus from economic development to human development. By placing the well-being of VET students at the centre of our concern it shifts the lens from income generation and with it employability to a lens on capability expansion which includes but is not limited to the capability to work. The paper is based on interviews with 20 South African Further Education and Training (FET) college students. The central argument is that VET has an important role to play in poverty alleviation, but only if located in a multi-dimensional view of poverty which understands poverty as capability deprivation across multiple human functionings. In this broader notion of poverty, the role that VET plays includes training for employability, but also includes the expansion of other important capabilities such as, and in the voice of a FET student interviewed in this study, ‘the ability to dream’, or in the language of the capabilities approach, the capability to aspire.     

Exploring “STEM-Readiness” in Public Libraries

Abstract

Many public libraries are offering Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) programing to their patrons. Using data from a national survey of public library professionals, the current study examined the growing STEM movement by measuring “STEM-readiness” and through the lens of Diffusion of Innovations Theory. Results indicate that most libraries are ready to implement STEM programing. Characteristics of STEM-ready libraries included serving more patrons, having more space, and engaging more often with STEM programing. Such findings suggest that public libraries that have access to resources are more likely to be STEM-ready; whereas, those with fewer resources may need additional support.     

Staff involvement in the design of a key skills curriculum model: a case-study

This case-study follows a school as it struggles to prepare for the changes brought about by Curriculum 2000 and the new key skills qualification. It describes the curriculum debate within the senior management team as it balanced the conflicting needs of subject popularity and necessity. It relates how inherent structural flaws were uncovered in the proposed curriculum strategy, how this very failure was used as an opportunity to initiate staff involvement in the design of curriculum structures and how success was subsequently fashioned from the process. It is a story of failure, consideration, reflection and improvement, and offers some insight into the lessons learned by management and teaching staff as they reflect on the process of change and their own participation in it.     

Practical Knowledge,Performance, and Physical Education

This paper is based on the premise that physical education as a practical subject on an educational curriculum is often undervalued because the concept of practical knowledge is not sufficiently understood. Explanations that rely on either propositional knowledge or on practical reasoning are inadequate. A critique is given that exposes “knowing how” as an ambiguous concept. It is argued that the performance itself counts, judged against the public standards of excellence that a particular physical education activity demands. Practical knowledge, it is concluded, is a legitimate kind of knowledge where there will be evidence of intentional action and learning and where there will be an implicit, as well as an explicit, dimension.     

Communications Approaches to a Cleaner Environment

Abstract

Recent studies of ideologies of sustainable farmers and conventional farmers suggest that these two groups have differing beliefs, values, and attitudes on agriculture and rural life. Although awareness of these differing attitudes and values is an important step in moving toward educational programs and policies for a more sustainable agriculture, actual behavior may not be predictable from this knowledge. A mail survey of Iowa farmers with membership in Practical Farmers of Iowa, a sustainable agriculture organization, was used to examine the attitude—behavior relationship of these farmers and the role social influences play in this relationship. Attitude and social influence scales were developed, as well as a chemical input index that measures commitment to sustainable practices. The results indicate that, when controlling explanatory factors, the attitude—behavior relationship is moderate and the social influences examined do not facilitate this relationship. Implications for educational programs and policies of these findings are discussed.     

Participation Patterns in Higher Education: a comparative welfare and production régime perspective

This article considers the counter-intuitive observation that some of the wealthiest nations can feature low tertiary graduation rates (e.g. Austria, Germany, and Switzerland). It also considers the observation that many countries with high tertiary graduation rates show low levels of social equity, while many countries with low tertiary graduation rates show high levels of social equity. These observations are considered through the lenses of institutional perspectives, and specifically welfare and production régime theories. The analysis elaborates on educational attainment, patterns and key aspects of economic functioning and development, and educational attainment patterns and their relationship to social inequality.