Pedagogic governance: theorising with/after Bernstein

Researchers interested in new modes of social control and regulation through pedagogic means have increasingly drawn on Bernstein’s theories of social control through pedagogic means and the emergence of a totally pedagogised society. This article explores this aspect of the Bernsteinian theoretical project by extrapolating and contrasting Foucault’s and Bernstein’s theories of power knowledge relations, pedagogic discourse and different types of knowledge structures. It elaborates on Bernstein’s theory of the complex division of labour within the field of symbolic control, consisting of agents from different class factions engaged in conflicts and struggles over the production and recontextualisation of different types of scientific knowledge. The article provides two case studies of empirical research to illustrate how Bernstein’s concepts can be used to theorise different modes of pedagogic governance. It demonstrates the possibilities of Bernstein’s later theoretical oeuvre to studies of social reproduction, interruption and change in and through pedagogic relations.     

A Sound Research Base for Beginning Teacher Education: Robust hope,action policy analysis and Top of the Class

This paper focuses on the recommendations of Top of the class, the February 2007 report of an inquiry into teacher education conducted by the Australian House of Representatives Standing Committee on Education and Vocational Training. To do this action policy analysis, it presents Raymond Williams' dictum of “making hope practical” through five interdependent strategies. Then it scrutinises and uses them by exploring the relationship between this report's recommendations and, the deepening and extension of the basis for sound educational research. Critical self‐reflection focuses on rigorously re‐examining what is taken as good educational research. Framing entails identifying the good sense in policies, challenging teacher education stakeholders to collectively advance life‐enhancing agendas. Engaging in research with the real world of winners and losers in education is a third strategy. Assessing the desirability and dangers in current teacher education policies and programs is integral to making decisions about the field's future. Communicating the spirit of teacher education publicly is necessary for constructing the grounds for forward movements. It is argued that these strategies may provide support for new directions in researching productive innovations and policy actions in beginning teacher education.     

International Communication

COMMUNICATIONS IN A CHANGING WORLD (Washington, D.C.: The Media Institute, 1983---two volumes, paper, price not given)

THE ABC OF COPYRIGHT (Paris: Unesco/New York: Unipub, 1981---paper, price not given)

MILITARY PROPAGANDA: PSYCHOLOGICAL WARFARE AND OPERATIONS by Ron D. McLaurin (New York: Praeger, 1982---price not given)

TELECOMMUNICATIONS IN THE YEAR 2000: NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES edited by Indu B. Singh (Norwood, N.J.: Ablex, 1983---$24.95)

THE EDUCATIONAL USE OF MASS MEDIA by Gloria Feliciano, et al. (Washington, D.C.: World Bank, 1981---$5.00, paper)

POWERS OF THE PRESS: TWELVE OF THE WORLD'S INFLUENTIAL NEWSPAPERS by Martin Walker (New York: Pilgrim Press, 1983---price not given)

THE PHONOGRAM IN CULTURAL COMMUNICATION: REPORT ON A RESEARCH PROJECT UNDERTAKEN BY MEDICAULT, edited by K. Blaukopf (New York and Vienna: Springer-Verlag, 1982---$23.60, paper)     

Utilization of Consortium for e-Resources in Agriculture (CeRA) by Faculty of Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (GADVASU)

Consortium for e-Resources in Agriculture (CeRA) provides access to about 2,900 scholarly journals including almost 300 journals in veterinary science and related fields such as dairy science and technology, biotechnology, and fisheries. This article presents the results of a study assessing the utilization of CeRA by faculty of Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (GADVASU), Ludhiana (Punjab), India. Data was collected via questionnaire with a response rate of 95%. Among the factors assessed are user awareness of CeRA, purpose of use, sources of information about consortium, search strategies used to access articles, users’ opinion about usefulness of consortium, and problems faced by them in using CeRA. It concludes with the need for adopting suitable measures for promoting utilization of CeRA.     

Determining the Effectiveness of Digital Reference Services in Malaysian Academic Libraries

The aim of this study is to determine the effectiveness of digital reference services in academic libraries in Malaysia. It focuses on the awareness, usage, users' perception, library's performance, perceived needs, issues, and problems faced by students. The research methodology employed was a case study approach that combined three data collection methods: questionnaires, interviews, and content analysis.     

Serum Paraoxonase (PON1) Activity in North-West Indian Punjabi’s with Acute Myocardial Infarction

Human serum paraoxonase-1 (PON1), an enzyme on HDL prevents oxidation of LDL thereby preventing the development of atherosclerosis. Studies done so far have lead to conflicting results. As studies are lacking in North-West Indian Punjabi’s, a distinct ethnic group with high incidence of coronary artery disease, we determined PONase activity in this population. It has been postulated that sudden lowering of serum PONase may lead to precipitation of acute myocardial infarction. We determined serum PONase activity and lipids in 100 patients each of AMI (within 24 h of onset), stable CAD and 100 age and sex matched healthy controls. These were again determined after 6 weeks in AMI patients. The mean serum PONase activity was lowest in AMI patients (23.26 U/ml) followed by stable CAD patients (102.0 U/ml) where as in controls was highest (179.8 U/ml). In patients with AMI, activity was significantly higher at 6 weeks as compared to that after acute event (49.39 %; p < 0.05). Sudden lowering of serum PONase activity in a population which already has lower activity may be one of the risk factors for development of AMI.