What is protest? Feminism,psychoanalysis and methods of social change

ABSTRACT

Despite the fact that feminism has recognised psychoanalysis to be a theory with direct application to the understanding of sexism for over 50 years, the application of psychoanalytic thinking to feminist activism has yet to be significantly realised. Using the work of Julia Kristeva, sexism is described as a symptom of an intolerable situation and overt forms of activism, such as street protest, that are critiqued as making demands on their subject. The third-wave tendency for deconstruction is examined as having direct implications to a concept of psychoanalytically informed activism.     

Oblique chest views as a routine part of skeletal surveys performed for possible physical abuse--is this practice worthwhile?

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the utility of oblique chest views in the diagnosis of rib fractures when used as a routine part of the skeletal survey performed for possible physical abuse. METHODS: Oblique chest views have been part of the routine skeletal survey protocol at Primary Children's Medical Center since October 2002. Dictated radiology reports since that time were reviewed, and all cases with rib fractures documented were chosen for study. For each chosen case two pediatric radiologists identified and recorded rib fractures using only the PA and lateral chest radiographs (standard two-view chest series) from the skeletal survey for each case. In a separate session they identified and recorded rib fractures using the PA, lateral, right oblique, and left oblique radiographs (four-view chest series) from the skeletal survey for each case. The results were compared. RESULTS: Twenty-two cases with rib fractures were identified. Interpretation of the four-view chest series was different than interpretation of the two-view chest series in 12 of the 22 cases (54%). Overall, the four-view chest series differed significantly in the number of rib fractures diagnosed compared with the two-view chest series (p=.02, Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed-rank test) adding 19 rib fractures and excluding 6 rib fractures. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate that use of the four-view chest series adds information to that obtained from the two-view chest series and increases the accuracy of diagnosing rib fractures in cases of possible physical abuse. Addition of oblique chest views to the routine protocol for skeletal surveys performed for possible physical abuse is recommended.     

Supporting teachers’ technological pedagogical content knowledge of fractions through co-designing a virtual manipulative

This study explores the impact that co-designing a virtual manipulative, Fractions Lab, had on teachers’ professional development. Tapping into an existing community of practice of mathematics specialist teachers, the study identifies how a cooperative enquiry approach utilising workshops and school-based visits challenged 23 competent primary school teachers’ technological, pedagogical and content knowledge of fraction equivalence, addition and subtraction. Verbal and written data from the workshops alongside observations and interviews from the school visits were analysed using the technological, pedagogical and content knowledge (TPACK) framework. The findings show that the assumptions of even experienced teachers were challenged when Fractions Lab was shared as an artefact on which they were asked to co-design and subsequently interact with, using it in subsequent phases of the cooperative inquiry process. Two original aspects of successful co-design of virtual manipulatives through communities of practice are identified and offered to others: (1) careful bootstrapping of the first design iteration that gathers intelligence about the content area and the technological affordances and constraints available; and (2) involvement of highly motivated teachers who perceive themselves as agents of change in the domain area.     

Organization of staff development—strategies and experiences

This article describes a number of staff development organizations, along with their strategies and experiences. The organization of staff development varies greatly and is dependent on the interaction between the formal requirements of the university teaching qualifications, the institutions themselves and their course culture, the size and organization of the teaching units, and the institutions' management strategies and teaching methods. Based on examples from Denmark, Sweden and Belgium, the advantages and disadvantages of a number of these strategies are analysed in order to provide inspiration for future implementation of the various methods.     

Professional training and economic change: Theory,methodology, and case studies

This report specifies theory and methodology to study the relation of professional training programs to large-scale socioeconomic trends. Sensitized by the case example of counselor training at Berkeley, the theoretical argument links increased demand for counselors to a convergence of problems of welfare and/or manpower utilization with capabilities to respond. Time Series Analyses of both Berkeley and of the quite different counseling program at San Francisco State demonstrate the predictive capabilities of the approach. Practical implications and possibilities of further application are discussed.     

Shifting boundaries in Europe and North America: Reflections and synthesis

This article provides a synthesis of the three articles on boundary shifting brought about by the European Economic Community and the U.S.-Canada Free Trade Agreement. It is pointed out that, due to the rapid and dramatic societal changes around the world, much of the discussion in the issue is and must be speculative. The changes being effected through the Common Market and Free Trade Agreements were anticipated and planned, while more recent changes such as the crumbling of the Berlin Wall and political shifts in Eastern and Central Europe were more abrupt and unplanned.The article discusses perceived commonalities and differences in the changes which are occurring in these Western countries, advantages and disadvantages of the shifting boundaries for individuals and societies, and problems and progress in implementing the proposed changes. The author provides a summary of the implications for counseling and guidance and particularly for educational-vocational guidance and the role of the counselor in the new configurations. Among issues highlighted are effects on educational-occupational mobility, coordinated policies for worker recruitment, need for new data-gathering and delivery systems for educational-occupational information, recognition of professional standards, language problems, and improved counseling and guidance services. Finally, questions and gaps related to the new economic arrangements and to guidance and counseling are noted, including attention to the effects of the changes on 1) the role and status of women, 2) effects on racial and ethnic minorities within each culture, and 3) the pace and scope of change.University of Minnesota     

The services provided during a child abuse and/or neglect case investigation and the barriers that exist to service provision

More than one million cases of child abuse and neglect come to attention of child protection agencies each year. During the course of investigating these cases, social workers are charged with protecting the child while assessing whether or not abuse or neglect has actually occurred. Child welfare philosophy also dictates that at the same time the investigation is being conducted, the social worker strives to maintain the family intact, if at all possible. One way to address this dual responsibility of protecting the child while working towards family stability is through the provision of services during the investigation. The purpose of this paper is to identify the services that are provided during the course of a child abuse and/or neglect case investigation. The paper also identifies the barriers that exist both within an agency and within the external community that discourage the provision of services to children and families. The findings of this research show that in the majority of cases services are not provided during the investigation. In those case investigations where services are provided, a much broader range of services are considered for provision than are actually delivered. The research also found that placement is the most frequently provided service; however, only one-third of those children in placement receive any clinical services while in placement. Finally, this study found that the greatest barrier to service provision is a lack of evidence necessary to intervene in the home situation.     

Mathematical education versus critical education

This paper concentrates upon the relationship between mathematical education (ME) and critical education (CE) connected with the Frankfurt School and Critical Theory. To make the discussion as precise as possible a distinction is made between three alternatives in ME: Structuralism, pragmatism, and process-orientation. These alternatives are related to the key terms of CE in order to show the extent to which ME and CE contradict each other. The conclusion is that there does not exist any integration — nor even any close relationship-between ME and CE. Finally, this result is discussed in the light of the following two theses:

1. It is necessary to increase the interaction between ME and CE, if ME is not to degenerate into one of the most important ways of socializing students into the technological society and at the same time destroying the possibilities for developing a critical attitude towards precisely this technological society.
2. It is important for CE to interact with subjects from the technical sciences, and among these ME, if CE is not to be taken over by the technological development and fade away into an unimportant and uncritical educational theory.

     

Presumed Media Influences and Demands for Restrictions: Using Panel Data to Examine the Causal Direction

In line with theoretical approaches, such as the influence of presumed influence approach, many studies have shown that the stronger individuals perceive the media’s influence to be on others, the more the individuals demand restrictions on the media and its influence. However, these studies provided information only about the correlation between the two constructs and did not test the direction of their causal relationship. To close this research gap, a two-wave panel study among German citizens was conducted. The results show that, rather than being the other way around, it is the presumed strength of online media’s political influence on others that affects demands for restrictions. Moreover, the findings indicate that the presumed political influence of online media on others also affects the presumed reach of online media.