POLICY STRATEGIES FOR THE CAREER DEVELOPMENT OF WOMEN AT EUROPEAN UNIVERSITIES

Intended as an introduction and overview, this article previews the other contributions to the topic and places them in a general introductory context. The basic question is why women, who are not currently confronted with legal or overt discrimination with regard to entering and even thriving in academic careers, are still underrepresented in the academic world in Europe, particularly in the upper echelons of academic governance and power. Several possible explanations are given, in particular the failure of women to be prepared from an early age to be competitive in ways which boys are taught to take for granted, and their failure, not so much to engage in networking, but to penetrate the networks which count, most or all of which are in fact male dominated. Among the strategies which women may use to gain both presence and power in the academic world, the use of women's studies programmes is ruled out as being ultimately counterproductive. Likewise doubt is cast on the long‐term effectiveness of affirmative action programmes. Only remedies specific to the individual conditions of each country will be really helpful in aiding women to be more numerous in higher education, particularly in positions of power. However, in all the countries in question, women must be socialized so as to be willing to adopt behaviours conducive to academic success, and they must bring to bear the full resources of the social protection and welfare systems, all of which in the different countries of the Europe Region favour not only the progress of women, but the rational use of human resources.     

Psychosocial correlates of child abuse potential in multiply disadvantaged adolescent mothers

OBJECTIVE: This study had two aims: First to examine psychosocial correlates of child maltreatment risk, and second to assess the validity of the CAP Inventory (Milner, 1986) with multiply disadvantaged teenage mothers. METHOD: Participants were 75 adolescent mothers who were wards of the Illinois child protection system. Mothers (aged 14-18) and infants participated in home-based psychosocial assessment of personal and parenting functioning. Group comparisons examined differences for mothers with elevated versus normal versus invalid CAP scores due to faking good. RESULTS: Findings indicated that abuse risk groups differed on emotional distress, social support satisfaction, reading achievement, and years of education, but not on parenting beliefs or quality of child stimulation. Differences favored the normal over the elevated risk group in all significant comparisons, whereas mothers with elevated faking good differed from normals only in lower reading achievement. Multiple regression analysis highlighted emotional distress, support dissatisfaction, and low achievement as significant predictors of greater abuse risk. CONCLUSIONS: Despite sharing multiple disadvantages, adolescent wards are a heterogeneous group who show different levels of psychosocial functioning corresponding to levels of child maltreatment risk. The findings provide support for the concurrent validity and clinical applicability of the CAP Inventory with disadvantaged teenage mothers.     

Essential competencies for teaching students with hearing loss and additional disabilities

The purpose of this national study was to establish an initial database of the essential competencies needed for working with students who are deaf or hard of hearing with additional disabilities. Surveys were sent to program supervisors across the United States; each supervisor was asked to give the survey to a professional on his or her staff who worked with students who were deaf or hard of hearing with additional disabilities. Respondents indicated that there were 67 specific competencies needed for working with this diverse population of students. A list of the specific competencies and a rationale for providing more in-depth training for teachers is provided.     

The development of an effective response to the abuse of children in out-of-home care

The placement of children in foster or residential care does not ensure that children will be safe from abuse or neglect. The incidence of out-of-home maltreatment, especially sexual exploitation and abuse, has given rise to new community expectations and legislation which has placed the protection of children in alternate care squarely in the hands of the child protective system. These investigations differ in purpose and scope from familial investigations, and the current protective system is without adequate preparation, policy, and procedures to perform them. This paper discusses the differences in familial and out-of-home care investigations in relation to identification and reporting, assessing risk factors in the initial report, evidence gathering, essential components of the investigation, levels of culpability and corrective action approaches. The authors suggest that specialized investigation units may be more suited to these investigations than traditional child protective services.     

Facilitating Understanding of Movements in Dynamic Visualizations: an Embodied Perspective

Learners studying mechanical or technical processes via dynamic visualizations often fail to build an accurate mental representation of the system’s movements. Based on embodied theories of cognition assuming that action, perception, and cognition are closely intertwined, this paper proposes that the learning effectiveness of dynamic visualizations could be enhanced by grounding the movements of the presentation in people’s own bodily experiences during learning. We discuss recent research on embodied cognition and provide specific strategies for how the body can be used to ground movements during the learning process: (1) making or observing gestures, (2) manipulating and interacting with objects, (3) using body metaphors, and (4) using eye movements as retrieval cues. Implications for the design of dynamic visualizations as well as directions for future research are presented.     

Curiosity, interest and engagement in technology-pervasive learning environments: a new research agenda

This paper identifies the need for developing new ways to study curiosity in the context of today’s pervasive technologies and unprecedented information access. Curiosity is defined in this paper in a way which incorporates the concomitant constructs of interest and engagement. A theoretical model for curiosity, interest and engagement in new media technology-pervasive learning environments is advanced, taking into consideration personal, situational and contextual factors as influencing variables. While the path associated with curiosity, interest, and engagement during learning and research has remained essentially the same, how individuals tackle research and information-seeking tasks and factors which sustain such efforts have changed. Learning modalities for promoting this theoretical model are discussed leading to a series of recommendations for future research. This article offers a multi-lens perspective on curiosity and suggests a multi-method research agenda for validating such a perspective.     

Incorporating Service-Learning, Technology, and Research Supportive Teaching Techniques into the University Chemistry Classroom

Technology was integrated into service-learning activities to create an interactive teaching method for undergraduate students at a large research institution. Chemistry students at the University of Central Florida partnered with high school students at Crooms Academy of Information Technology in interactive service learning projects. The projects allowed UCF students to teach newly acquired content knowledge and build upon course lecture and lab exercises. Activities utilized the web-conferencing tool Adobe Connect Pro to enable interaction with high school students, many of whom have limited access to supplemental educational opportunities due to low socioeconomic status. Seventy chemistry I students created lessons to clarify high school students’ misconceptions through the use of refutational texts. In addition, 21 UCF students enrolled in the chemistry II laboratory course acted as virtual lab partners with Crooms students in an interactive guided inquiry experiment focused on chemical kinetics. An overview of project’s design, implementation, and assessments are detailed in the case study and serve as a model for future community partnerships. Emerging technologies are emphasized as well as a suggested set of best practices for future projects.