Tutor and student perceptions of what makes an effective distance language teacher

This collaborative research project sought to determine the attributes, skills and expertise/knowledge needed by distance language teachers. The first phase of the project explored tutor perspectives using discussion groups, questionnaires, interviews and a yoked-subject technique. Statements and categories of expertise were identified, elaborated on and refined to produce a taxonomy of teaching expertise. The second phase explored how distance language students viewed the domains of teaching expertise put forward by tutors, and attempted to identify any gaps, differences and points of convergence. Tutor and student views were generally aligned, but differed in emphasis. Issues related to articulation of non-verbal communication, differentiation and empathy with the learner were highlighted. This article argues for the value of enquiring into student and tutor perspectives on teaching expertise, and concludes with implications for linking research and practice and for teacher professional development.     

Psychological Benefits of Participation in Three-dimensional Virtual Worlds for Individuals with Real-world Disabilities

One hundred and ninety-six individuals with real-world disabilities were administered a battery of psychological adjustment measures soon after joining the three-dimensional virtual world of Second Life^®. After three months, 61 participants who continued to be actively involved in Second Life were re-administered the adjustment measures and completed a survey about their virtual and real-life experiences during the interval between assessments. Participants’ scores significantly improved on measures of affective states (depression, anxiety, positive emotion, life satisfaction, and feelings of loneliness) and self-evaluation (self-esteem). An index of overall change was associated with the number of virtual friends and group affiliations in Second Life, as well as feelings about the self as a result of involvement in the virtual world. The current study provides initial empirical support that three-dimensional virtual worlds can serve as a psychologically beneficial context for individuals with real-life disabilities.     

In search of inclusive non-dualistic pedagogies through collaborative and affective learning events

Despite growing consensus that dualistic thinking and hierarchically organised binary categorisations must be challenged if inclusion is to be achieved, advice on the design and implementation of non-dualistic pedagogies is less readily available. The role of teacher educators should therefore include: the modelling of possible actions that provoke thought, support for experimental learning events, and the fostering of vocabularies that defy sanctioned narratives about the nature of teaching, learning and achievement. Illustrational material is provided from an audio project which evolved as an exercise in open-ended collaborative experimentation between members of two faculties. An unanticipated outcome of the production process was the use of parody and frivolity to assert inclusive pedagogic values. The authors draw on relational aesthetics inspired by feminist poststructuralist theory and Deleuzean philosophising to describe the paradoxically singular and relational nature of learning. A version of achievement is proposed which avoids the cognitivism that permeates educational discourse. Behaviourist assumptions are similarly rejected as another manifestation of an enduring philosophical mind–body dualism.     

Epideictic and deliberative strategies in opposition to war: The paradox of honor and expediency

This essay examines the dissent of two major congressional opponents of war in the modern age: Senators Robert F. Kennedy and Sam Nunn. It advances the argument that, like presidential discourse advocating military action, congressional dissent can be understood in terms of appeals to honor and expediency. Such a framework elucidates the rhetorical dynamics between presidents and Congress and facilitates an understanding of the continuing rhetorical failure of the congressional branch on issues of war and peace.     

周林与首席检察官:拒绝入境的政治策略

新西兰原本应为欧洲人的定居地,中国人应被拒绝入境是一个早已既定的事实。考虑到这一事实,那些已设法进入新西兰的中国人位置何在?他们在新西兰的法定身份和地位如何?同样重要的是,那些出生在新西兰的中国人的地位,他们是新西兰人还是中国人?他们能同时既是“中国人”又是“新西兰人”吗?这些问题对于确定新西兰的国家特性是相当重要的。谁是新西兰人,谁是合格的新西兰人?直到最近,对于新西兰特性的确认还与英国性、与盎格鲁撒克逊的社会归属和大英帝国联系在一起。在这种界定下,中国人能成为新西兰人吗?直到1919年,当周林(音译)因为其在新…