Premature termination of conselling at a university Counselling Centre

This study investigated premature termination of counselling at a university Counselling Centre. Twenty (20) premature terminators reported on their experience of counselling by completing a mailed questionnaire containing open- and close-ended items. The following results were obtained: Premature termination was not the result of a negative experience of counselling by the client; nor was premature termination the manifestation of a failed interpersonal relationship between the client and the counsellor; clients who terminated prematurely are likely to seek counselling again at a later stage in their lives; premature terminators would be likely to refer someone for counselling and premature terminators did not consider their participation in the study as violating the counsellor-client confidentiality. Limited support was established for the hypothesis that premature terminators will consider their expectations of counselling as not having been met.     

The American professoriate and the movement toward unionization

This paper examines the movement away from professionalization and toward unionization by the American professoriate. A content analysis of the bi-annual addresses of the thrity-two past presidents of the American Association of University Professors demonstrates that the approach taken by this organization which has been central in representing the professional interests of the professoriate has been inadequate. The fact that academics are not independent professionals but carry out their research and pedagogical functions in bureaucratic structures makes their quest for autonomy particularly problematic. The traditional stance taken by the leadership of the American Association of University Professors seems to ignore the obstacles, e.g. the distribution of power in organizations, in the path of attaining full professional status. Consequently, the professoriate has not only fallen considerably short of its aspirations and is beset with a number of problems, e.g. continual violations of academic freedom, but increasing numbers have begun looking to labor unions to further their quest for professional status.     

Casual Games and Casual Learning About Human Biological Systems

Casual games are everywhere. People play them throughout life to pass the time, to engage in social interactions, and to learn. However, their simplicity and use in distraction-heavy environments can attenuate their potential for learning. This experimental study explored the effects playing an online, casual game has on awareness of human biological systems. Two hundred and forty-two children were given pretests at a Museum and posttests at home after playing either a treatment or control game. Also, 41 children were interviewed to explore deeper meanings behind the test results. Results show modest improvement in scientific attitudes, ability to identify human biological systems and in the children’s ability to describe how those systems work together in real-world scenarios. Interviews reveal that children drew upon their prior school learning as they played the game. Also, on the surface they perceived the game as mainly entertainment but were easily able to discern learning outcomes when prompted. Implications for the design of casual games and how they can be used to enhance transfer of knowledge from the classroom to everyday life are discussed.     

Air Toxics Under the Big Sky: examining the effectiveness of authentic scientific research on high school students’ science skills and interest

Air Toxics Under the Big Sky is an environmental science outreach/education program that incorporates the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) 8 Practices with the goal of promoting knowledge and understanding of authentic scientific research in high school classrooms through air quality research. This research explored: (1) how the program affects student understanding of scientific inquiry and research and (2) how the open-inquiry learning opportunities provided by the program increase student interest in science as a career path. Treatment students received instruction related to air pollution (airborne particulate matter), associated health concerns, and training on how to operate air quality testing equipment. They then participated in a yearlong scientific research project in which they developed and tested hypotheses through research of their own design regarding the sources and concentrations of air pollution in their homes and communities. Results from an external evaluation revealed that treatment students developed a deeper understanding of scientific research than did comparison students, as measured by their ability to generate good hypotheses and research designs, and equally expressed an increased interest in pursuing a career in science. These results emphasize the value of and need for authentic science learning opportunities in the modern science classroom.     

Whose reality counts? Local educators as researchers on the quality of primary education

This article describes a methodology that local educators can use to conduct structured analytic research on the quality of primary education. The methodology has been developed by four twenty-person teams of local educators who carried out studies in rural regions of Madagascar, Mozambique, Tanzania and Uganda. In addition to describing the methodology, the article presents short summaries of the researchers’ conclusions and recommendations. However, its main purpose is to share the methodology that has evolved. The methodology is qualitative, but a simple quantitative measure of relationship between binary variables (Yule’s Q) was used to test the researchers’ qualitative findings. It is this tool that provoked the most significant reflection among the researchers in each group. In general, the results of the four studies corroborate other research on the factors that influence student outcomes in primary schools in Sub-Saharan Africa. More importantly, the studies’ results demonstrate that the methodology offers practicing educators a tool that helps them define, collect, and rigorously analyse empirical information to reach shared insights about their schools and then to formulate practical recommendations about what to do to improve student learning.     

Integration of Mildly Handicapped Cerebral Palsied Children into Regular Schools

Eighty‐five mildly handicapped cerebral palsied children integrated into regular schools were assessed in order to identify characteristics associated with academic success and social acceptance. About 50 percent of the children were successful in reading accuracy and comprehension, 45 percent in arithmetic and 60 percent were socially acceptable to peers. Academic achievement was associated with cognitive ability rather than with degree of handicap, while social acceptance was related to affective variables. Cognitive, affective and behavioural mean scores were all within the normal range. Commonality analysis of data derived from the experimental subjects and a contrast group enrolled in a special school indicated that educational placement did not contribute significantly to academic success.     

Inventors and invention processes in Europe: Results from the PatVal-EU survey

Based on a survey of the inventors of 9017 European patented inventions, this paper provides new information about the characteristics of European inventors, the sources of their knowledge, the importance of formal and informal collaborations, the motivations to invent, and the actual use and economic value of the patents.     

Computer ethics: Its birth and its future

This article discusses some``historical milestones' in computer ethics, aswell as two alternative visions of the futureof computer ethics. Topics include theimpressive foundation for computer ethics laiddown by Norbert Wiener in the 1940s and early1950s; the pioneering efforts of Donn Parker,Joseph Weizenbaum and Walter Maner in the1970s; Krystyna Gorniak's hypothesis thatcomputer ethics will evolve into ``globalethics'; and Deborah Johnson's speculation thatcomputer ethics may someday ``disappear'.     

Increasing public understanding of transgenic crops through the World Wide Web

Transgenic crops among the most controversial "science and society" issues of recent years. Because of the complex techniques involved in creating these crops and the polarized debate over their risks and beliefs, a critical need has arisen for accessible and balanced information on this technology. World Wide Web sites offer several advantages for disseminating information on a fast-changing technical topic, including their global accessibility; and their ability to update information frequently, incorporate multimedia formats, and link to networks of other sites. An alliance between two complementary web sites at Colorado State University and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln takes advantage of the web environment to help fill the need for public information on crop genetic engineering. This article describes the objectives and features of each site. Viewership data and other feedback have shown these web sites to be effective means of reaching public audiences on a complex scientific topic.     

A comparative study of students' and their teacher's perceptions of laboratory work in secondary schools

This article reports on a study of student and teacher perceptions of the purpose and effectiveness of laboratory work in science at the Year 10 level of secondary school. The main focus of the study was a comparison between the perceptions of one class of students and their teacher at each of six different schools with regard to the aims, regularity, conduct and assessment of laboratory work. The study identified a number of areas of mismatch between students and their teachers. The findings of the study will be of use to teachers in developing and improving their science curriculum, particularly with regard to laboratory work.