Asperger Syndrome and the English curriculum: addressing the challenges

A major criterion for the diagnosis of Asperger syndrome is an impairment of the imagination. This article focuses on the specific difficulties that students with Asperger syndrome have with the imaginative content of the English curriculum. It examines the problems with reading and writing imaginatively of a group of students with AS in a secondary school mainstream setting. Various strategies and interventions are considered and discussed which could aid their understanding and learning in relation to the imaginative element of the English curriculum. While acknowledging that this is an area of real difficulty for these students, recommendations include: treating students with AS as individuals; using a small group setting; providing support through structured frameworks.

Developing students’ ability to engage critically with science in the news: identifying elements of the ‘media awareness’ dimension

Worldwide, science education reform movements are stressing the need to promote ‘scienti?c literacy’ among young people. Increasingly, this is taken to include empowering students to engage critically with science-related news reporting. Despite this requirement now featuring in statutory curricula throughout the UK, there has, to date, been a dearth of research-informed advice to assist science teachers as they identify appropriate instructional objectives in this regard and design relevant learning activities through which these might be achieved. In this study, prominent science communication
scholars, science journalists, science educators and media educators were interviewed to determine what knowledge, skills and habits of mind they judged valuable for individuals reading science-related news stories. Teachers of science and of English from nine secondary schools in Northern Ireland addressed the same issue. A striking – and signi?cant – ?nding of the study was the very substantial number of statements of knowledge, skill and disposition o?ered by participants that relate to ‘media awareness’, an issue largely overlooked in the science education literature. The school-focused phase of the research suggests that cross-curricular approaches involving teachers of science collaborating with those of English/media education or media studies may best serve to address this important curricular goal.

Gender differences in the role of emotional intelligence during the primary-secondary school transition

The relationship between components of emotional intelligence (EI) (interpersonal
ability, intrapersonal ability, adaptability and stress management) and academic
performance in English, maths and science was examined in a sample of 86 children
(49 males and 37 females) aged 11–12 years during the primary–secondary school
transition period. Results indicated that for both males and females, intrapersonal
ability had little relationship with academic achievement, while adaptability had the
strongest relationship with achievement in all subjects. Gender differences were particularly
pronounced for science, for which stronger relationships were observed with all
EI components for males. In addition, apparent only for males was a negative
relationship between stress management and science. These findings offer support for
the current inclusion of a personal and emotional element in the primary school curriculum,
and indicate that such training is likely to help males more than females to make
a successful transition from primary to secondary school.

Responsive homes of old Cairo: Learning from the past, feeding in the future

By investigating the social dynamics of home in one of the enduring communities of Cairo, this paper reveals the way ordinary people construct and consume their private and public domains on a daily basis. It reveals what is central and what is marginal in the cognitive idea of home. This paper adopts an interdisciplinary strategy of investigation, utilizing sociological and anthropological data to read and visit spatial practices in the home. Building on historical as well as contemporary accounts of residents and families, the concept of home is envisioned as a spectrum of social spheres that is liberated from the physical determinants of space, hence revealing a new domain of part-time spaces and dynamic spatiality. The emergent idea of home intertwines work, domesticity, recreation and hospitality in interplay of space-activity-time relationships. Homes of old Cairo have proved to be responsive to continuous change, and have evolved dynamic forms of the temporal settings required for accommodation of emerging home-based professional activities such as hospitality, home-workers, and care-homes.

“An Examination of the Key Factor of Influence In the Development Process of Credit Union Industries,”

The aim of this paper is to analyse credit union industries within a development framework. Explicit consideration is given to credit union industries in four countries – Great Britain, Ireland, New Zealand and the United States. It is argued that in terms of a developmental typology the credit union industry in Great Britain is at a nascent stage of development, the industries in Ireland and New Zealand are at a transition stage while the US credit union industry is mature in nature. In progression between stages the analysis considers the influence of factors such as situational leadership, the complexion of trade associations, professionalisation, regulatory and legislative initiatives and technology. The analysis concluded that while there was a substantial commonality of experience, there were also significant differences in the impact of these factors. This consequently encouraged the recognition of the existence of ‘a variety of the species’ in respect of credit union development.

Encouraging and equipping students to engage critically with science in the news: what can we learn from the literature?

Many educational reforms have as one of their key goals the promotion of scientific literacy and they encourage engagement with science in the news as one aspect of this. The research indicates teachers using the news do so for a variety of reasons, sometimes with tangential links to the promotion of scientific literacy. Demonstrating the relevance of science to the world beyond the classroom or making links to socio-scientific issues and promoting discussion on ethical dilemmas are all seen as potential reasons for engaging with science–related news. However, media related issues are often not addressed. Increasingly the need for a more comprehensive approach, including, for example, teaching about media awareness in the context of science reporting, is highlighted. The steady growth of literature describing the use of science-related news along with research studies charting students’ responses to science news media has stimulated discussion and study of pedagogical issues and prompted this review. Key literature relevant to students’ engagement with science-related news reports has been contextualised and reviewed to identify core issues for teachers, teacher educators and curriculum planners. These are listed under the headings of curriculum, pedagogy and assessment, the implications are considered and directions for further research suggested.

Preparing for the future:Challenges and opportunities for management and leadership skills

The development of effective leaders is essential for all healthcare professions and increasingly is becoming a key focus for the UK dental profession. There is comparatively little research about dental leadership in a UK context and the paper below should begin to help to redress the balance and to highlight areas for future consideration.
The aim of the study was to explore dental leaders’ perceptions of the current position of leadership in the dental profession and used a qualitative key informant study to do this. Three broad emergent themes are described and discussed - characteristics and behaviours of dental leaders; challenges for dental leaders; education and training for dental leadership. The findings show that whilst recognising that a lack of focus on leadership skills has caused problems in the past, current dental leaders are prepared to lead the profession forward. They view education at all levels as vital to this process and education for leadership at undergraduate level is perceived as an important way forward.

Understanding leadership in local churches

A sociological examination of the concept of leadership and its application to understanding social interactions and power relations in local churches, based upon ethnographic investigation into London Methodist churches.

Occupational stress in the chef profession

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to consider the occupational stress experienced by chefs and the moderating influence of coping behaviour and locus of control on stress outcomes. Design/methodology/approach – A total of 40 working chefs were surveyed. They were asked to complete an occupational stress questionnaire, the General Health Questionnaire. Differences were
sought between gender and locus of control and stress measures, and correlations were carried out between key variables. Findings – The reported stress was markedly higher than in previous research. Excessive workload,
feeling undervalued and communication issues were common and bullying and threats of violence were present for some. Unexpectedly, locus of control was unable to predict stress experiences. Explanations were offered, such as the possibility that those who perceive they have a strong sense of control may believe that this, paradoxically, affords them the opportunity to engage in unhealthy behaviours. Research limitations/implications – Limitations of the research include the influence of the wider environment, specifically the history of political violence in the province, and its possible effect on stress outcomes. However, this may be negated by the many positive effects peace has brought over the last decade. In drawing conclusions it is important to note the limitations of the sample size and the self-reporting nature of survey responses. Further research could usefully incorporate well-being as well as stress measures, including physiological ones. It would be worth exploring further how one’s sense of control affects perceptions of stress and, in turn, the coping behaviours engaged in. Practical implications – Practical implications include the need for managers and head chefs to provide more feedback to employees, to validate their good work and to foster a supportive working environment. Norms in the working environment endorsing aggressive behaviour must be challenged.
Staff appraisals should consider the need to have work that involves variety and challenge, especially where changes involve increases in workload. Originality/value – This paper identifies some important ingredients to reduce distress and it will be of value to chefs and other kitchen staff and, more broadly, to those involved in people management.

Towards improving the co-ordination of supportive cancer care services in the community

In this paper an evaluation approach to assess the co-ordination of supportive community cancer care is presented. The aim of the study was to identify current gaps in co-ordination of services in a selected region in the province of Ontario, Canada, determine how consistent these gaps were across the province of Ontario, and develop service design considerations for improving the co-ordination of supportive cancer care services in the province of Ontario. The study addressed services required by two populations - clients who had been recently diagnosed and those in the palliative stages of cancer. The evaluation was theory-driven and incorporated evidence from three methods: a systematic literature review, a community case study and a provincial scan. The results revealed the absence of a formal supportive cancer care system and a complex community care system. Supportive cancer care was shown to be delivered by a range of generalist programs that lacked specialisation in addressing the unique needs of cancer clients. In addition, there was no clear evidence of leadership for co-ordinating supportive cancer care, where client care was most often provided by multiple programs at any given point in time. The study generated recommendations to improve co-ordination of supportive cancer care at both the administrative as well as direct care level. © 2004 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Serving Multiple Masters: Exploring HRD in the Context of Third Sector Partnerships for Public Service Delivery

Organisations in the Non-Profit and Voluntary (NPV) sector increasingly face challenging and uncertain times with an increasing shift from public grant funding towards contract funding. As a result many of these changes employees in such organisations have often found themselves working more closely under contract with colleagues in public sector organisations in order to provide public services. Using a multiple case study methodology and in-depth interviewing of a range of stakeholders form two large Northern Irish based Non Profit Organisations in the social care sector, the purpose of this research was to
investigate HRD and people management issues and how a turbulent environment can affect how organisations approach HRD strategy and implementation.

The research identifies the importance placed upon NPOs adopting HRD strategies and addressing the development of unique and specialised skills in order to claw back power within the relationships they serve with statutory funding bodies. However this research also notes that the manner in which HRD and its associated issues are considered within NPOs can have an impact on the loyalty and commitment of the workforce which serves them. What is of concern is that the context for the delivery of public services under contract is putting increasing strain on NPOs and this has been felt markedly by their respective workforces, and unless strong values-led leadership and managerial practice is in
place in NPOs, the voluntary-centred ethos of those who work in the sector may be significantly damaged.