The Gender Wars,Academic Freedom and Education

Philosophical arguments regarding academic freedom can sometimes appear removed from the real conflicts playing out in contemporary universities. This paper focusses on a set of issues at the front line of these conflicts, namely, questions regarding sex, gender and gender identity. We document the ways in which the work of academics has been affected by political activism around these questions and, drawing on our respective disciplinary expertise as a sociologist and a philosopher, elucidate the costs of curtailing discussion on fundamental demographic and conceptual categories. We discuss some philosophical work that addresses the conceptual distinction between academic freedom and free speech and explore how these notions are intertwined in significant ways in universities. Our discussion elucidates and emphasises the educational costs of curtailing academic freedom.     

An ecological approach to the on-line assessment of problem-solving paths: Principles and applications

In this paper, we propose a theoretical framework for designing on-line situated assessment tools for multimedia instructional systems. Based on an ecological psychology approach to situated learning, a graph theoretic methodology is applied to monitor students' performance (solution paths) throughout the learning activity. Deviation of the student's path from the target (expert) path generates indicators which can function as alerts to the student and to the instructor. The information collected in the dribble files and presented visually enables the instructor to identify problems quickly and intervene appropriately. The feasibility of the methodology is explored in case studies describing three instructional systems that teach (1) critical thinking and problem-solving skills, (2) principles of hemodynamic monitoring and treatment, and (3) orthodontic treatment, respectively.     

The benefits of resource discovery for publishers: a librarian's view

A core goal of librarians is to maximize usage of the content to which their libraries subscribe. Webscale or resource discovery systems offer a single search box for library users to access subscribed content. This article examines usage data at the University of Huddersfield to show how resource discovery has helped to increase the usage of publisher content that has been made available to discovery vendors, and considers the implications for publishers who are yet to do this. The article concludes that resource discovery systems have effectively levelled the playing field, allowing small to medium‐sized publishers to make content discoverable to users, and encourages publishers who do not have their content indexed in resource discovery systems to speak to discovery service vendors in order to do so at the earliest opportunity.     

'For the Sake of the Children' as the Worth of the Teacher? The Gendered Discourses of the New Zealand National Kindergarten Teachers' Employment Negotiations

Within the texts from the 1992 National Kindergarten Teachers' Collective Employment Contract Negotiations, using Foucault's interpretation of 'discourse', dominant discourses were identified. Two of these discourses illustrate the gendered nature of the position of kindergarten teachers in New Zealand, which I have called 'Children First' and 'For the Sake of the Children'. These discourses can be seen to be used tactically to affect the outcomes of the negotiations, and have 'their' view accepted as 'reality'. Each sited teachers in a powerless position for negotiating wages and working conditions, but presented different possibilities outside of the negotiating setting. This paper addresses these two discourses, which most clearly illustrated the gendered nature of the position of New Zealand kindergarten teachers.     

Effects of Counselor Action Skills on Cognition

The authors explore the effects of counseling action skills on cognitive processing by female participants in an analog study. Reflection of feeling was found to elicit defensiveness.     

Effect of Simulation on Counselor Training

The major purpose of this investigation was to develop a program for teaching a specific counselor verbal skill and to examine the effect of simulation methods within the program. The program consisted of model, practice, and test phases. High and low fidelity methods were used within each phase. Sixty-four counselor trainees were randomly assigned to the 16 treatment groups. The low fidelity composite treatment was the least effective. Results are discussed in terms of training and future research.     

Effects of Helping Skills on Attitudes Toward Psychological Counseling

This study was undertaken to examine the relationship between acquisition of counseling skills and trainee attitude towards psychological counseling. Results are discussed within the context of a mediational approach to counselor development.     

Availability and Representation of Women in Counselor Education with Strategies for Recruitment,Selection, and Advancement

In this article the progress toward increasing representation and improving the status of women in counselor education and higher education in general is reported. Strategies and action steps for recruiting, selecting, and advancing female faculty members are also presented. These approaches can be used by counselor education departments or individuals interested in cultivating and maintaining an environment that is conducive to obtaining maximum potential of female faculty members.