Sustaining technological innovation: The example of videoconferencing in English Schools

The main factors associated with technology integration have been the subject of research for over a decade. However, the conditions which sustain technological developments have been less frequently investigated. This paper explores this issue in the context of the use of videoconferencing in schools in England. The research took a multiple case-study approach by returning to schools with a reputation for demonstrating innovative policy and practice in videoconferencing, which were the subject of an earlier investigation. Analysis of developments in the interim five-year period led to the construction of a five-level typology of change. Further analysis identified critical dimensions associated with the sustainability of videoconferencing. These included technical and structural factors, as well as policy frameworks and personnel status. The perceived usefulness and relevance of videoconferencing as a learning technology emerges as a central determinant of sustainability, with the conclusion that for policymakers and schools, videoconferencing has become an ‘orphan’ technology.     

Non-traditional students in tertiary education: inter-disciplinary collaboration in curriculum and pedagogy in community services education in Australia

Education policy in Australia has accelerated its aim to increase participation of under-represented groups in tertiary education including students who are culturally and linguistically diverse and have low socio-economic status. These students generally have not had prior access to privileged academic discourse, which can further disadvantage them in their participation and progress in tertiary education. In this article, we outline a cross-discipline curriculum initiative and pedagogy that draws on critical literacy and the metaphor of discourse community to integrate language and academic skills into community services qualifications. We argue that this – supports the genuine participation of under-represented (non-traditional) students. It aspires to not only support students’ entry into the new academic terrain, but to enable students to adopt a critical stance to the discourses in which they are learning to participate. This we argue is crucial, when expertise is not just a way of meeting its ostensible purposes, but is also a way of exercising power. Although we report on the application of this initiative to entry level curricula (Diploma), we suggest that it has relevance and application to Bachelor levels in a range of disciplines, both in supporting pedagogy and for transition to Bachelor level study.     

Behaviour,race and inclusion

Abstract

This article argues that because of the practice in the 1960s of placing black children in so-called ‘educational subnormal’ units there is now a reluctance to look at the speci?c needs of African Caribbean children. The post-Warnock politics of integration/inclusion following this period point to the ‘institutional racism’ of schools and white teachers to explain poor exam results. This article argues that in the current political climate which prioritizes ‘inclusion’ we should not patronize the black child. There is a need to position the factors of oppression equally with other factors of underachievement; to re-employ psychological, behavioural and educational tools as well as to deconstruct school processes and teacher attitudes; and to consider psychosocial factors related to underachievement without forgetting the reality of institutional racism. The article illustrates a research project that looks at the pastoral needs of African Caribbean children. It points to these needs as the key variable in unlocking their underachievement at school.     

BROADCAST TELEVISION AS A CAUSE OF AGGRESSION? RECENT FINDINGS FROM A NATURALISTIC STUDY

This sub‐study is part of a longitudinal naturalistic investigation monitoring the social behaviour of young children (3‐8‐year‐olds) before and after the arrival of broadcast television in St Helena, South Atlantic.

Children's free‐play behaviour in first school playgrounds was videotaped in 1994 (pre‐tv), and in 1995 and 1996 (post‐tv), and then coded and analysed by trained observers. Findings showed no significant differences in children's behaviour either across the availability of broadcast television (i.e. CNN) or with the addition of further channels (CNN plus others).     

Why Our Theoretical Models of Integration are Inhibiting Effective Innovation

In education, as in all other fields, grassroots practitioners need people with sharp, creative minds who are able to question accepted ideologies and challenge current practice. Such innovators stimulate argument and collaboration which, in turn, lead to the development of new philosophies and to more enlightened and effective practices.

In this paper it Is argued that in special education, however, the philosophical models of integration which have been presented over the last eight years have often inadvertently inhibited, rather than promoted, the Introduction of more effective learning systems.     

Impact of combining data from multiple instruments on performance of patient-based real-time quality control

IntroductionIt is unclear what is the best strategy for applying patient-based real-time quality control (PBRTQC) algorithm in the presence of multiple instruments. This simulation study compared the error detection capability of applying PBRTQC algorithms for instruments individually and in combination using serum sodium as an example.Materials and methodsFour sets of random serum sodium measurements were generated with differing means and standard deviations to represent four simulated instruments. Moving median with winsorization was selected as the PBRTQC algorithm. The PBRTQC parameters (block size and control limits) were optimized and applied to the four simulated laboratory data sets individually and in combination.ResultsWhen the PBRTQC algorithm were individually optimized and applied to the data of the individual simulated instruments, it was able to detect bias several folds faster than when they were combined. Similarly, the individually applied algorithms had perfect error detection rates across different magnitudes of bias, whereas the error detection rates of the algorithm applied on the combined data missed smaller biases. The performance of the individually applied PBRTQC algorithm performed more consistently among the simulated instruments compared to when the data were combined.DiscussionWhile combining data from different instruments can increase the data stream and hence, increase the speed of error detection, it may widen the control limits and compromising the probability of error detection. The presence of multiple instruments in the data stream may dilute the effect of the error when it only affects a selected instrument.     

Information retrieval in the workplace: A comparison of professional search practices

Legal researchers, recruitment professionals, healthcare information professionals, and patent analysts all undertake work tasks where search forms a core part of their duties. In these instances, the search task is often complex and time-consuming and requires specialist expertise to identify relevant documents and insights within large domain-specific repositories and collections. Several studies have been made investigating the search practices of professionals such as these, but few have attempted to directly compare their professional practices and so it remains unclear to what extent insights and approaches from one domain can be applied to another. In this paper we describe the results of a survey of a purposive sample of 108 legal researchers, 64 recruitment professionals and 107 healthcare information professionals. Their responses are compared with results from a previous survey of 81 patent analysts. The survey investigated their search practices and preferences, the types of functionality they value, and their requirements for future information retrieval systems. The results reveal that these professions share many fundamental needs and face similar challenges. In particular a continuing preference to formulate queries as Boolean expressions, the need to manage, organise and re-use search strategies and results and an ambivalence toward the use of relevance ranking. The results stress the importance of recall and coverage for the healthcare and patent professionals, while precision and recency were more important to the legal and recruitment professionals. The results also highlight the need to ensure that search systems give confidence to the professional searcher and so trust, explainability and accountability remains a significant challenge when developing such systems. The findings suggest that translational research between the different areas could benefit professionals across domains.     

From peripheral to full participation in a blended trade bargaining simulation

This article considers the extent and nature of student participation in a trade bargaining simulation from a community of practice perspective. This third‐year economics module included a blend of online communication (through email, online chats and online discussions) and face‐to‐face meetings, both in smaller bargaining groups and in whole class plenary meetings. Our method of analysis includes the use of Exchange Structure Analysis of text chats and face‐to‐face learning conversations, triangulated by observation, survey and interview data. The focus on community of practice enables us to offer a nuanced interpretation of differences in crude participation data derived from the online chats. Superficially, the data may suggest marginalisation of participants, but Wenger's (1988 ) notion of peripheral participation with a trajectory towards full participation reframes the disparities in terms of an active community of practice. Some members are fully engaged with the practices of trade bargaining from the early stages of the simulation, while others move towards full participation over the duration of the simulation. Our results suggest that the laboratory‐based online text chats did provide opportunities for student participation in the simulation, and that male and female students exhibited different patterns of participation in the chats.     

Gender Differences in Science: An Expertise Perspective

The purpose of this paper is to propose a new approach to research on gender differences in science that uses the work on expertise in science as a framework for understanding gender differences. Because gender differences in achievement and participation in the sciences are largest in physics, the focus of this review is on physics. The nature of expertise is first discussed and a framework that focuses on factors that influence the emergence of expertise in physics is presented. This is used to interpret what is known about gender differences in science, particularly physics. Next, the potential contributions of the research on gender differences to our understanding of expertise are discussed. Using what is learned from these two areas of research, recommendations are made for future research examining gender differences in physics. It is suggested that such an approach be used for other areas of science, such as chemistry, where large gender differences in achievement and participation also exist.