On communication among “unequals”

This analysis was stimulated by the problem in international development of communication between development personnel and members of the populations with whom they work. Building on the work of Bateson and the Ardeners, I propose a theoretical framework that incorporates the “inarticulateness of women” (as discussed by Ardener) and a similar phenomenon I have observed in situations of contact between people of unequal status, in general. Three ethnographic examples of the dynamics of communication between “unequals”¹ and the resulting “inarticulateness” are then provided: one between rural and urban dwellers in Iran: one between women and men from two subcultures in rural America; and one among male and female scientists from different countries and different scientific paradigms. I conclude with a set of policy recommendations, that follow from the proposed theory.     

Approaches to Studying of Australian and Overseas Chinese University Students

This article takes up the question of whether the approaches to study adopted by Australian students and overseas Chinese students differ. Participants in the study consisted of 202 first‐year Australian students and 248 first‐year overseas Chinese students drawn from two Australian universities. The students were tested using the Approaches to Studying Inventory (ASI). The data obtained from the two groups were subjected to factor analysis (with orthogonal rotation). For Australian students, a four‐factor structure in studying approaches, which accounted for 55.6% of the total variance, was obtained. The factors were: Meaning Orientation; Non‐Academic Orientation; Anxious‐Rigid Orientation; and Goal Orientation. For the overseas Chinese students, a four‐factor structure in studying approaches which accounted for 52.8% of the total variance was obtained. The factors were: Anxious‐Surface Orientation; Self‐Motivated Reflective Orientation; Efficiency Orientation; and Comprehension Orientation. Although Cattell's (British Journal of Psychology, II, 1949, pp. 134–138) salient similarity sindex indicated some resemblance between the factors obtained for Australian and overseas Chinese students, confirmatory factor analyses failed to confirm a common factor structure in approaches to studying for both groups. It is concluded that the studying approaches of first‐year Australian and overseas Chinese university students are summarized by somewhat different factor structures. Several implications of the research findings are discussed.     

Until somebody hears me: parent voice and advocacy in special educational decision making

When a family finds out their child has a disability, they enter the world of special education which has its own terminology, rules, settings and personnel. In addition to grappling with the meaning of their child's special needs, families are also thrown into the role of principle advocate for their child. The research study reported here presents the findings from focus groups conducted in the United States of America with 27 diverse families on their efforts to obtain the best educational outcomes for their children. In this article, Robyn Hess, Amy Molina and Elizabeth Kozleski bring their collective past experiences, as a school psychologist, bilingual counsellor and special education teacher respectively, to bear on this topic and frame the issue from a systemic perspective. They argue that engaging in conversation with families around their needs, as well as assisting them in their efforts to advocate for their child, is the first step in creating more equal partnerships between parents of children with special needs and educational professionals.     

Child abuse in South Africa: an examination of how child abuse and neglect are defined

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to explore which of 17 categories of child maltreatment South Africans evaluated as most serious and to determine if those working with abuse and neglect evaluated abuse and neglect differently from those who did not. METHOD: A revised version of Giovannoni and Becerra's [Giovannoni, J., & Becerra, R. (1979). Defining child abuse. New York: The Free Press] questionnaire exploring the definition of abuse and neglect was completed by 181 residents of Cape Town, South Africa. The new form had 17 categories of child maltreatment, including 4 categories of societal abuse. Respondents were social workers (n = 57), human service workers (n = 42), laypersons (n = 65), and members of the child protection unit of the South African Police (n = 18). ANOVA was used to compare the groups' responses. When significant differences among groups were found, a Bonferroni post hoc test was run to determine differences between groups. RESULTS: The respondents ranked sexual abuse and child prostitution as most serious and housing and child labor as least serious of the 17 categories. There was a significant difference (p < or = .01) between groups on nine categories. When post hoc tests were run, differences were found for eight categories with laypersons generally evaluating categories as significantly more serious than social workers. CONCLUSIONS: Reasons for the order of the rankings are discussed, but concern remains that differences in the evaluation of child maltreatment will lead to difficulty in implementing a protocol for identifying and responding to incidents of abuse and neglect.