"What do you think about genetic medicine?" Facilitating sociable public discourse on developments in the new genetics

An important aspect of any meaningful public discussion about developments in gene technology is the provision of opportunities for interested publics to engage in sociable public discourse with other lay people and with experts. This article reports on a series of peer group conversations conducted in late 1996 and early 1997 with sixteen community groups in Perth, Western Australia, interested in gene therapy technology. With the case of cystic fibrosis as a particular focus, and using background resource material as a stimulus for discussion, the participating groups explored a range of value issues arising from the new genetic medicine. This more discursive context enabled participants to express a number of background or life-world concerns about genetic medicine, concerns that are often obscured by the dominant biomedical and bioethical discourses.     

The Effect of Two Handwriting Approaches,D’Nealian and Sunform,on Kindergartners’ Letter Formations

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of two handwriting approaches, D’Nealian and Sunform, on kindergartners’ letter formations. Forty-one participants received D’Nealian handwriting instruction as the control group; 133 kindergartners were instructed in Sunform as the experimental approach. Pre-post tests at the beginning and end of school year asked kindergarten students to write the letters of the alphabet from memory. The letter formations were scored on a 4-point rubric for directionality and integration. The results showed the Sunform group had significantly higher scores on all but three letters of the alphabet. The D’Nealian students had considerably lower scores on missing or extra strokes, distortions and open letters. The findings of this study support the value of using an integrated, meaningful curriculum that appeals to young children and that supports motor development by requiring students to cross the midline to form counter-clockwise circles and diagonal lines. Implications for future research are included.     

Genetic Influences Can Protect Against Unresponsive Parenting in the Prediction of Child Social Competence

Although social competence in children has been linked to the quality of parenting, prior research has typically not accounted for genetic similarities between parents and children, or for interactions between environmental (i.e., parental) and genetic influences. In this article, the possibility of a Gene x Environment (G × E) interaction in the prediction of social competence in school‐age children is evaluated. Using a longitudinal, multimethod data set from a sample of children adopted at birth (N = 361), a significant interaction was found between birth parent sociability and sensitive, responsive adoptive parenting when predicting child social competence at school entry (age 6), even when controlling for potential confounds. An analysis of the interaction revealed that genetic strengths can buffer the effects of unresponsive parenting.     

Reflections on Deaf Education: Perspectives of Deaf Senior Citizens

Parents with deaf children face many challenges in making educational choices, developing language and a sense of belonging. Other key aspects of life including concept development and social competency are also critical decision points faced by parents. Developing language, whether it is through spoken or signed modalities, is of utmost importance during the formative years and for many families with deaf children, there are no prior experiences with deafness, American Sign Language, Deaf culture, or the deaf community. This study aims to understand the educational and familial experiences of older deaf citizens by examining the meaning of being deaf and members of biological and cultural families, and the concern for education of young deaf children as constructed by deaf senior citizens from both deaf and hearing families. For the purpose of obtaining both childhood and educational experiences of older deaf citizens and examining what advice they would offer to families of today with deaf children, a qualitative design was implemented in which 13 participants participated in focus group and individual interviews. Themes that emerged from the data include, but are not limited to, community-based learning, the value of communication, involvement with other deaf individuals, importance of family communication and signing, sibling involvement and including deaf children as true members of a family. One recommendation made by the deaf senior adults was that families with deaf children engage with deaf seniors more frequently as a valuable resource.     

Report to the President on the Use of Technology to Strengthen K–12 Education in the United States: Findings Related to Research and Evaluation

The Panel on Educational Technology was organized in April 1995 under the auspices of the President's Committee of Advisers on Science and Technology (PCAST) to provide advice to the President on matters related to the application of information technologies to K–12 education in the United States. Its findings and recommendations were set forth in March 1997 in the Report to the President on the Use of Technology to Strengthen K–12 Education in the United States. This report was based on a review of the research literature and on written submissions and oral briefings from a number of academic and industrial researchers, practicing educators, software developers, governmental agencies, and professional and industry organizations involved in various ways with the application of technology to education. Its most important finding is that a large-scale program of rigorous, systematic research on education in general and educational technology in particular will ultimately prove necessary to ensure both the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of technology use within our nation's K–12 schools. Finding that less than 0.1 percent of our nation's expenditures for elementary and secondary education are currently invested to determine which educational techniques actually work, and to find ways to improve them—an extremely low level relative to comparable ratios within the private sector—the Panel recommended that this figure be increased over a period of several years to at least 0.5 percent, and sustained at that level on an ongoing basis. Further, because no one state, municipality, or private firm could hope to capture more than a small fraction of the benefits associated with a significant advance in our understanding of how best to educate K–12 students, the Panel concluded that such funding will have to be provided largely at the federal level in order to avoid a systematic underinvestment (attributable to a classical form of economic externality) relative to the level that would be optimal for the nation as a whole. This paper originally appeared as Section 8 of the report.     

School-linked and school-based health services: A renewed call for collaboration between school psychologists and medical professionals

Health care and education reform provide opportunities to build systems that promote rather than retard collaboration between school psychologists and medical professionals. School-linked and school-based health services (SLSBHS) are a family of approaches that provide medical, social, and mental health services to students through school settings. These services have potential to provide more than acute care or first-aid services. SLSBHS provide medical care to uninsured children, students with chronic medical needs, at-risk children, and the overall school population. However, there are usually not enough funds to hire new staff members in most school districts. Expanding the roles of current school staff, promoting interdisciplinary collaboration, and implementing creative fiscal strategies are necessary to develop SLSBHS. Interdisciplinary collaboration may be the largest hurdle to developing SLSBHS. As such, school psychologists and medical professionals may need to rethink their professional roles and develop new techniques of interdisciplinary consultation to fulfill the potential of SLSBHS.     

The experiences of high performance women coaches: A case study of two Regional Sport Organisations

The purpose of this study was to examine the experiences of high performance female coaches and their managers. These experiences were examined through an analysis of the organisational values that related to the management of high performance women coaches. Specifically, organisational values were identified as powerful discourses that were key to framing coaches’ and managers’ organisational experiences, and also through which managers and coaches influence those experiences. The research utilised a case study approach of two Regional Sport Organisations in New Zealand. Commonalities and contradictions experienced by coaches and their managers were analysed. Additionally, analysis across the two organisations was undertaken. It was found that coaches and their managers do not just reflect their organisational values. Rather, they are at times active in constructing them. In order to consider and facilitate change in the management of high performance coaches, there is a need to consider this process of the creation of organisational values.     

“It was all ‘smile for Dunedin!”’: Event Volunteer Experiences at the 2006 New Zealand Masters Games

The increasing reliance on volunteers by sport events has led to interest in this aspect of volunteering. The purpose of this research was to develop and utilise a conceptual framework based on the critical paradigm to examine multiple meanings associated one aspect of the sport event volunteer experience, volunteer training and associated learning. Using the critical tools of de-naturalisation, anti-performativity, and reflexivity, the study considered this aspect of volunteering from both volunteer and co-ordinator standpoints. Qualitative research methods were undertaken to examine training and learning experiences of volunteers at the ACC ThinkSafe. Sixteen volunteers were interviewed in four focus groups. The volunteer co-ordination team were interviewed in a fifth focus group. Co-ordinators’ and volunteers experiences of generic training, the need for role related training, and informal learning opportunities were analysed. It was found that, in order for learning to be an integral part of the volunteer experience, training needs to be re-conceptualised to explicitly include learning. Future research is discussed, calling for further utilisation of this framework to ascertain its usefulness in examining sport event volunteers’ experiences.