From Communities of Interest to Communities Of Practice: The Role and Impact of Professional Development in Nuclear Security Education

In recent years, nuclear security has gained prominence on the international security agenda. Driven by post 9/11 anxieties and the politicization of fears regarding nuclear terrorism, concerns in this area have spawned a wealth of initiatives, which seek to counter this threat. Principal among these have been efforts to promote nuclear security education and infuse teaching and learning in this sphere with a more holistic understanding of the subject, its relevance and its implications. Against this background, this article sets out the findings of empirical research into the impact of nuclear security ‘train-the-trainer’ professional development courses on the practice of an emerging cadre of nuclear security educators. In particular, the paper explores the value of this model as a means of establishing sustainable communities of practice in the context of nuclear security education.     

媒介素养教学方法和教师培训

由于全球文化急剧变化以及素养在提高个人、社会和文化发展中的作用,如今的素养概念已经扩展为包括数字、视觉和电子媒介以及流行文化在内的一种内涵;这也就提升了媒介素养教育对个人和社会发展的重要意义。开展媒介素养教育可以在正规和非正规教育环境下进行,它将对学生学习动机的激发、师生关系的改善、公民技能的提高产生作用。     

Developmental experiences of child sexual abusers and rapists

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to identify the distinct developmental experiences associated with child sexual abuse and rape. METHOD: For 269 sexual offenders (137 rapists and 132 child sexual abusers), developmental experiences were recorded from a behavioral checklist, a parental-bonding survey, and a sexual history questionnaire. Offender classification was obtained from official records and verified through polygraph examinations. RESULTS: Compared to rapists, child sexual abusers reported more frequent experiences of child sexual abuse (73%), early exposure to pornography (65% before age 10), an earlier onset of masturbation (60% before age 11), and sexual activities with animals (38%). In contrast to child sexual abusers, rapists reported more frequent experiences of physical abuse (68%), parental violence (78%), emotional abuse (70%), and cruelty to animals (68%). Both child sexual abusers and rapists (>93%) reported frequent exposure to violent media during their childhood. Most offenders (94%) described having insecure parental attachment bonds; 76% of rapists reported avoidant parental attachments and 62% of child sexual abusers reported anxious parental attachments. CONCLUSIONS: Findings from this study support the role of specific developmental experiences as etiological factors in differential sexual offending. Child sexual abusers' developmental histories were characterized by heightened sexuality; whereas rapists' childhood histories were more indicative of violence. These findings have implications for the treatment of sexual abusers and the prevention of sexual abuse. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: This study's findings suggest that sexual offenders have been socialized to satisfy human needs of intimacy and sexuality through maladaptive means, which implies that a risk management approach may not be sufficient treatment. Although risk models teach offenders skills to avoid high-risk situations, they fail to address the maladaptive strategies that they may have developed for satisfying needs. Instead, the focus of treatment should be to equip offenders with the knowledge, skills, and opportunities to achieve these needs in an acceptable manner. Thus, this model will provide these individuals with the opportunity to live a healthy life without sexual offending.     

Attachment and the secondary caregiver

Separating from a primary caregiver or parent can cause anxiety and stress for the young child. Although separation anxiety is experienced by all children in varying degrees, for secondary caregivers in child care centers and family day care homes, it poses particular problems.Sandy Osborne is a doctoral candidate, Department of Child and Family Studies, College of Human Ecology, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville. The author thanks Kay Pasley and Jan Allen for their helpful comments.     

Exploring teacher pedagogy,stages of concern and accessibility as determinants of technology adoption

This research examines how the pedagogical orientations of teachers affect technology adoption in the classroom. At the same time, the authors account for the stage of concern that teachers are experiencing regarding the use of the technology, their access to the technology and the level of schooling at which they teach.The authors’ investigation of these factors occurs in the context of a contemporary technology, the interactive whiteboard (IWB), in Australian schools. A structural equation model was estimated using a reflective measure of technology usage with antecedents in the form of pedagogical-oriented beliefs and best–worst scaling derived scores for a teacher’s stage of concern regarding IWBs. Teachers with constructivist-oriented pedagogical beliefs were significantly more likely to use IWBs than transmission-oriented teachers. However, the strongest determinant of usage was whether the technology is immediately accessible or not.     

New Assistant Professors of Counselor Education: Their 1st Year

The author presents the results of an investigation of the experiences of new assistant professors of counselor education. Although most of the participants reported high degrees of stress and anxiety, positive relationships with veteran faculty members seemed to be a mediating factor that was correlated with satisfaction.     

Some orderly nonmonotonicities in the trial-by-trial acquisition of conditioned suppression: Inhibition with reinforcement?

The trial-by-trial acquisition of conditioned suppression was examined under a wide range of conditions. Frequently, the acquisition functions were nonmonotonic. In conditions containing four or more trials in sessions of 2 h or less, suppression, once established, tended to be significantly stronger on the first trial of a session than on one or more subsequent trials. The data from six conditions are presented to exemplify those under which nonmonotonicities did and did not occur. It is suggested that the nonmonotonicities are similar to effects described by Pavlov (1960, Lecture 14), effects which he believed reflected the growth of inhibition despite continuous reinforcement. Interpretations of the results in terms of reactive inhibition, short-term habituation, conditioned inhibition, inhibition of delay, and disinhibition are discussed.     

Quality assurance of joint degree programs from the perspective of quality assurance agencies: experience in East Asia

Joint degree programs have gained popularity in East Asia, due to the growth of transnational higher education in the region since 2000. However, the external quality assurance (QA) and accreditation of joint degree programs is a challenge for QA agencies, as it normally involves the engagement of several institutions and multiple national accreditation procedures. The purpose of this study is to explore current QA approaches to joint degree programs in Europe and East Asia from the perspectives of QA agencies. There are four major findings from the study. First, East Asian countries tend to stipulate national regulations for a joint degree program. Second, an external QA mechanism for joint degree programs has not yet been developed in East Asian nations. Third, the adoption of international accreditation as the popular approach for joint degree programs in business fields in Asia raises the serious issue of national jurisdiction over higher education. Fourth, the European Consortium for Education's (ECA) single accreditation mode is highly recommended by QA agencies.     

Exploring mobile learning in the Third Space

Mobile learning is enabling educators and students to learn in ways not previously possible. The ways that portable, multi-functional mobile devices can untether the learner from formal institutional learning give scope for learning to be conceptualised in an expanded variety of places, times and ways. In this conceptual article the authors articulate this notion by using the metaphor of the Third Space to envision what can be achieved with mobile learning. They outline their use of the metaphor, consider how it extends notions of twenty-first century learning and use a previously established Mobile Pedagogical Framework to provide a context for the discussion. They conclude with implications of learning in the Third Space for teachers and students. These implications suggest that roles of teachers and students and structure of the curriculum need to change to ensure we leverage the potential of mobile learning.     

A Time Lag Analysis of Temporal Relations Between Motivation,Academic Achievement,and Two Cognitive Abilities

Research Findings: The present study employed a time lag design to assess temporal relationships between motivation, academic achievement, and cognitive development. Eighty-one children from 2 preschool programs were measured twice, with an 11-week time lag, on 2 measures of motivation (marble drop task, bean bag toss task), 2 measures of cognitive development (seriation task, oddity principle task), and 2 measures of academic achievement from the Woodcock–Johnson III (Letter–Word Identification Scale, Applied Problems Scale). There were significant correlations between all of these variables. One clear-cut temporal relationship was found: Prior motivation predicted later academic achievement, but not vice versa. There was also some evidence of temporal relations between motivation and cognitive development, and between cognitive development and academic achievement, but the evidence for these relations was not as conclusive. Practice or Policy: It appears that at the preschool level, maintaining children's motivation is paramount. Curricula should be shaped with that primary goal as a high priority, as it appears that it will be followed by academic progress.