Role-play Simulation at Monash

This paper describes the development of a type of ‘executive game’ the purpose of which is to give students of civil engineering some impression of the wider context of the design of a building project in which the client, architect, contractor, regulatory authorities, and community interest groups may all play a part. The students are divided into groups of six, with a ‘co-ordinator’ whose role is to provide impetus, resolve deadlocks, and give advice as needed. In a conventional structural design course, good results have been obtained by preparing students for the game with 3 hours of lectures and a set of notes regarding their roles. The use of practising engineers as coordinators has been found to be extremely valuable.     

Issues in Language Training: an Australian Study of the Language Needs of Engineers

SOMMAIRE

Combined courses in engineering and languages were recently established at Monash University, Australia. Academics, translators, and practising engineers were consulted about the nature of the courses, the requirements of industry, and likely demand for graduates. Their attitudes and opinions are discussed below with resulting questions concerning policy. Topics raised included: the place of English as a lingua franca; the relative importance to Australia of Asian and European languages; the importance of a knowledge of the culture of other countries; whether it is necessary (or possible usefully) to study technical vocabulary at undergraduate level; and whether language teaching should occur before or after entering practice.

Des cours de génie et de langues combinés ont ete recemment crees a l'université de Monash, en Australie. Une enquéte a été menée auprès d'universitaires, traducteurs, et ingénieurs exercants, sur I'essence de ces cours, les exigences de I'industrie et la demande probable de licenciés. Leurs positions et opinions sont examinées ci-dessous ainsi que les questions soulevées quant a la ligne d'action. Les traits suivants sont mis en question: la position de I'anglais en tant que lingua franca'; l'importance relative des langues asiatiques et européennespour l'Australie; l'importance de la connaissance d'autres cultures; la nécessité (et peut-etre le success) d'apprendre le vocabulaire technique avant la licence; l'enseignment de la langue avant ou aprés l'entree en exercice.     

An inclusive higher education? Gay and bisexual male teachers and the cultural politics of sexuality

Both the Dearing Report and the UK government's recent Green Paper on lifelong learning—The Learning Age—have made explicit references to an inclusive system of higher education and its contribution to a more inclusive society. This paper begins by examining the understandings of inclusivity displayed in The Learning Age and discusses the limitations of discourses that restrict the inclusion debate to matters of access. It argues that inclusivity rests on not only access but also the experience of higher education and it points to the need for both structural and cultural change. The paper then presents acase study of gay and bisexual male higher education teachers that draws on in-depth interview-based material from a UK study. It explores how inclusive higher education is with respect to gay and bisexual men and considers structural inequalities that remain, for example, in relation to equal opportunity policies and pension entitlements. The paper also considers the cultural practices of the gay and bisexual male teachers, for example, their engagement in cultural production through teaching and research and their attempts to wrestle control over identity construction in day-to-day interactions. The paper concludes by considering how a relational understanding of difference might offer possibilities for the diverse ‘voices’ of different groups to be reconciled with a collective view of what constitutes the ‘higher education community’ as a whole.