Sport and Civilisation: Violence Mastered? From Civilising Functions to Pacifying Functions

Explaining that it is not possible to divide human activity (political, economic, social, sport, etc.) into different sectors, as they all originate from the same actors, Norbert Elias and Eric Dunning thus came to formulate the central hypothesis of a network which linked the process of pacification of customs, the development of a parliamentary system for society, the state monopoly of violence, the euphemisation of violence in the aristocracy, the genesis of sport and, by recursion, the roles and functions of modern sports in the state control of violence and the learning of self-control. Elias and Dunning contrast modern sports with the ancient games, euphemisation and the persistence of violence, ‘sport’ leisure characteristic of ‘modern’ societies and traditional games in the ‘ancient’ societies, which accompanied the religious calendars and rites of passage. But do they really question society? This paper shows how the problems posed by Elias' theory are, essentially, of three types: first, those linked to the methodology used; second, those related to the limits imposed by the notion of self-constraint; and, finally, those concerning the pacifying function attributed to sport.     

The importance of implementing safe sharps practices in the laboratory setting in Europe

Healthcare workers are at risk of sharps injuries and subsequent infection from more than 40 bloodborne pathogens or species. Hepatitis B Virus (HBV), Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) together account for the vast majority of cases. The Directive 2010/32/EU “Prevention from sharp injuries in the hospital and healthcare sector”, issued to protect workers from these risks, requires an integrated approach to prevention including awareness-raising, education, training, elimination of unnecessary needles, safe procedures for sharps use and disposal, banning of recapping, vaccination, use of personal protective equipment, provision of safety-engineered devices, and appropriate surveillance, monitoring, response and follow-up.As laboratories represent a high-risk setting both in the preanalytical and analytical phase, we reviewed accidents and prevention in this setting in the light of the new legislation.Phlebotomy is the procedure carrying the highest risk of exposure and infection, involved in 30–50% of HIV and HCV cases detected in nationwide systems following accidental blood exposures implemented since the 1990s in Italy and France. In laboratories, problems in the management of sharps containers, recapping, needle disassembly by hand and blood transfer from syringes into tubes were observed and accounted for two-thirds of injuries. These accidents could be reduced through education and monitoring of behaviours, and introduction of medical devices incorporating safety-engineered protection mechanisms with appropriate training. Laboratory staff should be immunized against HBV, and know policies and procedures for the post-exposure management and prophylaxis. The management commitment to safety is crucial to ensure the necessary support to these changes.     

A quest for meta-learning gains in a physics serious game

This paper describes how a short, repeated and structured opportunity to reflect was integrated in the storyline of a serious game in order to stimulate the development of a meta-cognitive skill: the ability to self-assess the degree of confidence in own answers. An empirical validation of the approach, conducted with 28 secondary school pupils, delivers an uncommon pattern: while the cognitive benefits—the acquisition of academic knowledge in optics—are negligible and mixed up, the meta-cognitive gains present a raising tendency. The experiment also demonstrates that reflection does not necessarily hamper the game flow, if certain conditions, discussed in the paper, are met.     

Pink ... with shades of grey: mediating moments of diversity in urban secondary classrooms

In this paper, the authors trace the policy documents and legislation in Canada that have set, over the last twenty years, the context for ‘inclusion’ in Ontario's public schools. The authors then enliven this historical account of multicultural policy innovation by turning to a particular critical episode in a secondary classroom wherein they consider the pedagogical strategies of a teacher in a drama classroom who deftly navigates the unsettled terrain of race and power. Using a provocative monologue set in South Africa's apartheid, the teacher opens up a space for dialogue and whole‐group interaction with her class of Grade 11 (16‐ 17‐year‐old) students. Serving as an illustrative episode from a larger ethnographic study of four school sites (2 Canadian, 2 American), the analysis here, of one teacher's interactions with her students, and the students’ engagement with one another, points to many of the features of drama pedagogy that elucidate the study's broader interests in understanding the problems of social cohesion in richly diverse urban schools. In this discussion, the aims of inclusion and the possibilities of interactive pedagogy are clear, as are their limits, in the charged public space of an urban classroom.     

European Media

Leonard W. Doob, ed. "Ewa Pound Speaking" Radio Speeches of World War II (Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1978—$29.95)

L'Informatisation de la societe, by Simon Nora and Alain Minc (Paris: La Documentation francaise, l978—22FF)

La presse francaise by Pierre Albert (Paris: La documentation francaise, 1978 —18FF)

Dossier H....comme Hersant by Dominique Pons (Paris: Alain Moreau, 1977— 35FF)

Le Monde en miniformat (two volumes for 1977) (Paris: Editions France Expansion, 1978—1500FF)

La Correspondance de presse (13 avenue de l'Opéra, 75001 Paris—24FF per issue/ 4750FF per year for the daily)

La television fait-elle l'élection: une analyse comparative—France, Grande-Bretagne, Belgique by J.G. Blumler, R. Cayrol and G. Thoveron (Paris: Presses de la fondation nationale des sciences politiques, 1978—135FF)

La television et son tlublic, 1974-1977 (Paris: La documentation francaise, l978—25FF)

Le village à l'heure de la télé (Paris: Stock, 1978—35FF)

Corsaires des Ondes: Europel, RTL, RMC c Cie by Jean-Emmanuel and Muriel Ray (Paris: Cerf, 1978—39FF)

Les radios libres by Collectif Radios Libres (Paris: Maspero, l978—14FF)

Les chemins de la persuasion: le mode d'influence des media et de la publicité sur les comportements by Jean-Noel Kapferer (Paris: Gauthier-Villars, 1978— 98FF)

Les spectres de la bande: essai sur la BD by Alain Rey (Paris: Editions de Minuit, l978—39FF)

Actuel par Actuel: Chronique d'un journal et de ses lecteurs, 1970-1975 (Paris: Stock, 1977—32 FF)

Cinq monopoles de l'information by Institut national de l'audiovisuel (Paris: INA, Service des relations exterieures, 1977—price not given)

Irish Broadcasting Review (Radio Telefís Eireann, Dublin 4, Ireland—E4.50 in Ireland and UK; E5.50 in Europe and E10.00 in rest of world ($20.00 in USA)/three times per year)

Bibliography of Austrian Mass Communication Literature 1945-1975 prepared by the Department of Mass Communication, University of Salzburg (Verlag Wolfgang Neugebauer, Box 64, A-5033 Salzburg, Austria—AS180.00/DM28.00/US$14.00)

Fernsehen, Program, Pyogrammanalyse: Auswahlbibliographie 1970-1977 (Television, Program, Program Analysis: Selected Bibliography 1970-1977) by Josef Hackforth et al. (Munich: Verlag Dokumentation Saur KG, Poessenbacher Strasse 2, D-8000 Munich 71, 1978—price not given)

Hörfunk and Fernsehen in der DDR (Radio and Television in the German Democratic Republic by Heide Riedel (Literarischer Verlag Braun, Duennwalder Mauspfad 390, D-5000 Cologne, 1977—DM 20.00/US$10.00 approximately)

Massenmedien Spontan. Die Zuschauer Machen Ihr Programm (Spontanious Mass Media: Viewers Produce Their Own Programs) edited by Rudolf Brun (Fischer Taschenbuch Verlag, Geleitsstrasse 25, D-6000 Frankfurt, 1978—DM6.00/US$3.00)

Kabelcommunikation. Organisation and Programme (Cable Communication: Organization and Programs) edited by Ulrich Paetzold (Verlag Oelschlaeger, Amalienstrasse 81, D-8000 Munich 40, 1978—DM25.00/US$12.50)

Tontraeger in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland (Recording Industry in the Federal Republic of Germany) by Werner Zeppenfeld (Bochum: Studienverlag Dr. N. Brockmeyer, 1978—DM35.00/US$17.50)

Handbuch des Presserechts (Handbook of Press Law) by Martin Loeffler and Reinhart Ricker (Beck'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, Wilhelmstrasse 9, D-8000 Munich 40, 1978—DM80.00/US$40.00)     

Effective peer assessment processes: Research findings and future directions

Despite the popularity of peer assessment (PA), gaps in the literature make it difficult to describe exactly what constitutes effective PA. In a literature review, we divided PA into variables and then investigated their interrelatedness. We found that (a) PA's psychometric qualities are improved by the training and experience of peer assessors; (b) the development of domain-specific skills benefits from PA-based revision; (c) the development of PA skills benefits from training and is related to students' thinking style and academic achievement, and (d) student attitudes towards PA are positively influenced by training and experience. We conclude with recommendations for future research.     

勾勒关键能力,打造优质生活——OECD关键能力框架概述

关键能力是个人实现自我、终身发展、融入主流社会和充分就业所必需的知识、技能及态度之集合,是一种通用能力或横向能力,从而使得每个人具有追求完美人生的热忱,以积极公民的身份参与社会进步的本领和在劳动力市场获得充分就业的表现。关键能力框架的核心是"个体的自我认识能力",表明其心智成熟、道德完善,勇于为自我学习和行动负责。     

Needs of thermodynamic properties measurements and modeling in the frame of new regulations on refrigerants

In 1987, the Montreal Protocol prohibited the worldwide use and production of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) and hydro fluorocarbons (HFCs) were proposed as alternative refrigerants. Unfortunately, HFCs have non negligible global warning potential and therefore new refrigerants must be proposed or old refrigerants must be used associated with HFC. Accurate experimental thermodynamic data and predictive techniques are required for better under-standing of the performance of the newly proposed refrigerants. In this communication, experimental techniques based on either analytic or synthetic methods are first described. Data are reported. Then two newly developed predictive models based on thermodynamic approach with the isofugacity criterion and artificial neural network method are presented. The results can provide better evaluation of refrigerants, especially with the aim of studying global warning effects.