Values, virtues and professional development in education and teaching

This paper addresses conceptual issues concerning values in teaching and the professional education of teachers. Proceeding from rejection of a common (empiricist) account of values as subjective tastes, the paper distinguishes three common (more and less restrictive) concepts or senses of value, here referred to under the labels ‘principled preference’, ‘principled commitment’ and ‘principled disposition’. The paper proceeds to argue that, in light of certain distinctive features of teaching as a profession, the key values of teaching should be regarded as ‘principled dispositions’ (or, in another term, virtues). It is further argued that such professional teacher values are best appreciated under the three aspects of ‘intellectual virtues’, ‘procedural virtues’ and ‘moral virtues’ and the paper concludes with a brief exploration of the implications of this analysis for professional teacher education.     

Towards a dynamic (Schumpeterian) welfare economics

Knowledge plays an increasingly important role in shaping the dynamics of an economy. A static Paretian welfare economics is therefore inadequate, and needs to be supplemented by a dynamic (Schumpeterian) welfare theory. A dynamic welfare economics acknowledges the role of knowledge and communication. As knowledge develops cumulatively in a social environment, knowledge may not be readily diffused or exchanged. Different costs of communication need to be considered, each affecting the creation of new knowledge. Recent developments in Intellectual Property Right (IPR) law are evaluated to determine the extent to which they affect communication costs and thus future economic welfare.     

Athlete and coach perceptions of technology needs for evaluating running performance

Athletes and their support team utilise technology to measure and evaluate technique and athletic performance. Existing techniques for motion and propulsion measurement and analysis include a combination of indirect methods (high-speed video) and direct methods (force plates and pressure systems). These methods are predominantly limited to controlled laboratory environments (in a small area relative to the competition environment), require expert advice and support, and can take significant time to evaluate the data. Consequently, the more advanced measurement techniques are considered to be restricted to specific coaching sessions, or periods in the year leading up to competition, when the time and expertise of further support staff are available. The more widely used, and simple, devices for monitoring ‘performance’ during running include stopwatches, GPS tracking and accelerometer-based systems to count strides. These provide useful information on running duration, distance and velocity but lack detailed information on many key aspects of running technique. In order to begin the process of development of more innovative technologies for routine use by athletes and coaches, a study was required to improve the understanding of athletes’ and coaches’ perception of their requirements from measurement technology. This study outlines a systematic approach to elicit and evaluate their perceptions, and presents the findings from interviews and a questionnaire. The qualitative data are presented as a hierarchical graphical plot (structured relationship model) showing six general dimensions (technique, footwear and surface, environment, performance, injury and cardiovascular) and shows the development of these general dimensions from the interviewee quotations. The questionnaire quantitative data enhances the study by further ranking characteristics that arise from the interviews. A contrast is shown between short and longer distance runner groups, as might be expected. The current technology available to elite runners is briefly reviewed in relation to the 22 characteristics identified as important to measure. The conclusions highlight the need for newer technologies to measure aspects of running style and performance in a portable and integrated manner, with suggestions as to size and weight likely to be acceptable to users for emerging devices.     

Designing Systems for the 90s

For almost 30 years, training designers have tried to develop effective training for automated systems. Even with their best efforts, though, training has been seen as something other than the system itself. Specifically, training has been designed to help minimize the disruption caused by the implementation of the system. In the 1990s, a different effort will be called for. The system itself will have to take on much of the training responsibility—including minimizing disruption. This will require training designers, metamorphosed into full-scale performance technologists, to become part of thesystem design team itself, since their expertise will be crucial to effective system design.