Conducting Cross-Cultural Research: Controversy,Cautions, Concerns,and Considerations

In this article, the authors share concerns and considerations for researchers conducting cross-cultural research in gifted education. They contend that researchers should be mindful of the need to consider their own humanness—their beliefs, assumptions, attitudes, values, paradigms—and the limitations of their humanness when working with research participants from racially, culturally, and linguistically diverse backgrounds, especially those backgrounds that differ from their own. Furthermore, the authors assert that research is culture bound and that it is very difficult to conduct research where circumstances, demographics, and context can be ignored, minimized, negated, or in any way trivialized. Examples are presented of racially, culturally, and linguistically responsive researchers.     

Rocky Jones: Case study of a high‐achieving black male's motivation to participate in gifted classes

An increased body of research on the recruitment and retention of Black students in gifted programs provides guidance for educators to understand factors that impact Black male under representation in gifted programs. A common concern among high school educators is that schools cannot keep Black males interested in gifted programs. Even in culturally diverse high schools, gifted Black males often do not want to take advanced level classes because they are accused by peers of “acting White”. This case study reveals that while rare, it is not impossible. This article uses a Participation Motivation Expectancy‐Value Model (PMEVM) to explain the motivation of Rocky Jones, a gifted Black male, and his choice to participate in his school's gifted program. Findings from interview and archival data are reported that inform Rocky's participation choice, and implications are drawn to enhance teachers’ efforts to increase Black males’ motivation and representation in gifted education.     

A three‐year prospective longitudinal cohort study of medical students' attitudes toward anatomy teaching and their career aspirations

Today's medical students are faced with numerous learning needs. Continuously developing curricula have reduced time for basic science subjects such as anatomy. This study aimed to determine the students' views on the relevance of anatomy teaching, anatomical knowledge, and the effect these have on their career choices. A Likert scale questionnaire was distributed to second year medical students [response rate 91% (n = 292/320)]. The same questionnaire was subsequently distributed to the cohort three years later when they were final year students [response rate 37% (n = 146/392)]. Students in both the cohorts of study agreed strongly that clinically correlated anatomical teaching was relevant to clinical practice (92% and 86% of second and final year respondents, respectively) and helped them during their clinical placements (73% and 92%, respectively). Only 28% of the second year and 31% of the final year students agreed that their anatomy teaching prepared them to interpret clinical images (P = 0.269). Only 14% of the final year students felt confident in their knowledge of anatomy. Of the final year students, 30% felt that they had enough opportunity to scrub in the operating room. Nearly half of those students who would consider surgery as a career (19%) think that they will eventually become surgeons (11%). This data suggests that modern anatomy curriculum should focus on clinical correlations and clinical image interpretation. Students would value more opportunities to participate in surgeries. Vertical integration of anatomy teaching throughout the full medical course may be useful. Anat Sci Educ. © 2010 American Association of Anatomists.     

Bruising and hemophilia: accident or child abuse?

Recognition and prompt reporting of suspect child abuse or neglect is necessary to institute programs aimed at preventing further neglect, re-injury or possible death. The families of children with chronic medical conditions, such as hemophilia, may be affected by economic and emotional stresses which may be expressed as abuse or neglect. Because the manifestations of even slight trauma are so common in children with bleeding problems, the physician may not routinely inquire about the cause of injury, delays in seeking medical attention, or accident prevention efforts in the home. Early referral of children with hemophilia to a multidisciplinary team providing medical, psychological, and social care is recommended.     

Qualified Satisfaction: First‐Year Architecture Student Perceptions of Teamwork

Across disciplines, skills associated with collaboration are now ubiquitously considered requisite graduate attributes. Despite decades of studies on the various dimensions of academic teamwork, challenges for both students and staff remain. For this year‐long study at a UK school of architecture, we considered teamwork as a thread woven through the first‐year curriculum, traversing course modules and project types. The primary aim of the study was to evaluate the collective impact of teamwork activities on the incoming cohort of 200+ undergraduate students and how the structuring and coordination of such activities might improve the holistic student experience. Across two rounds of online questionnaires and focus group sessions, student participants articulated the benefits of collaboration for learning, socialisation and professional development. However, resentment towards teamwork increased throughout the year, as frustration with disengaged cohort mates grew, and student sought greater structure and oversight from tutors. On the other hand, when given the chance to reflect on the multidimensional nature of teamwork in focus group discussions, many students adopted a productively nuanced perspective toward the topic. This implies that, whether students like or dislike certain aspect of collaborative projects, opportunities for critical conversation can promote or prompt an appreciation for the educational value of including teamwork projects in curricula. The results of this study should be relevant to educators seeking to improve the implementation and effectiveness of team‐based learning, particularly those in design‐based fields and those in higher and professional education contexts.     

中国文学中的婚丧风俗描写

《红高粱》、《老喜丧》、《红白喜事》等中国现代文学作品，从不同侧面给我们描绘了中国封建婚俗及传统丧葬的生动画面。以《红高粱》为代表的文学作品，一方面揭示了封建买卖婚姻的残酷无情的本质；另一方面也使我们了解了封建制度下人们的价值取迥等文化观念。而以《老喜良》为代表的描绘传统丧葬的文学作品，则使我们不仅了解中国丧俗的一般环节及形式，也使我们看到了老喜丧是悲与喜，生与死的悲喜剧。而这些同样也渗透着中国风俗文化的因素。     

Desert-Based Muslim Religious Education: Mahdara as a Model

As one of the oldest surviving educational religious models in the history of Muslim education, Mahdara remains a poorly studied desert-based religious institution of traditional learning. In its Bedouin context, the Mahdara produced religious scholars no less competent in the mastery of religious Islamic sciences than graduates of other reputable Islamic learning institutions. This article explores the historical development of the Mahdara, its academic program, social system, and contribution to the Mauritanian community while highlighting the major problems modernity poses to it in its struggle to preserve its sociohistorical position in society.     

The Role of Preventive Conservation in Designing King Tutankhamun Galleries in the Grand Egyptian Museum

ABSTRACT

It was decided to display the whole collection of King Tutankhamun in the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM). The collection comprises approx. 5640 objects different in material and state of conservation. The conservation centre in the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM-CC) bears the responsibility of conserving GEM collection, and contributing to the exhibition production processes to ensure the optimal preservation for the collection on display. In this paper, a survey of the collection's materials and condition was undertaken to evaluate the risks and corresponding deterioration occurred in the former location which should be mitigated in the new one. It also reports on the parameters which were fulfilled in the designs of King Tutankhamun galleries to guarantee implementing preventive conservation programmes in order to preserve the collection for future generations.     

Transferability of norms and its implication in cross-cultural gifted education: norming Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test (NNAT) in the Philippine public schools

This is a normative study to investigate the transferability of norms from western-based intelligence tests to Filipino students. More than 2,700 Filipino sixth graders were sampled across the country and administered the Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test (NNAT). Scores were then compared to the US normative sample. The results showed no significant differences in mean scores and the standardized mean difference is small when scaled scores are used in comparison. However, in situations where the test needs to be used for specific portions of the population such as in the context of gifted education, further analysis revealed that the distribution of scores for the Philippine sample differed significantly from the expected values based on the US norms, particularly in the tail ends of the distribution. In these cases, it may not be valid to transfer the US norms directly to Filipino students without any modification.     

The CourseMarker CBA System: Improvements over Ceilidh

This document reports on the results of re-designing and re-implementing the Ceilidh courseware system. It highlights the limitations identified in the thirteen years of Ceilidh's use at the University of Nottingham. It also illustrates how most of these limitations have been resolved by re-designing Ceilidh's architecture and improving various aspects of the marking and administrating processes. The new system, entitled CourseMarker, offers enhanced functionality by adding useful features that have long been needed by Ceilidh's community. The paper concludes with an evaluation of the changes and a brief report on the experience of CourseMarker's use over the last three years. Finally, recent developments and future directions are discussed.