Two perspectives on the language of special needs computing: towards a shared view

This paper reviews and examines the language used in literature that describes the educational and therapeutic use of microcomputers with people who have special needs. In the language of special needs computing two perspectives are identified. One perspective focuses on the microcomputer technology while the other focuses on the microcomputer user. While the language of both perspectives acknowledges the value of microcomputers, each perspective moves towards an acknowledgement that microcomputer use needs to be placed in an environmental context. This move in both language sets reflects an increasing focus on the potential barriers to microcomputer use. <br/

E-learning accessibility practices within higher education: a review

The 2001 Special Educational Needs and Disability Act (SENDA) made it an offence for educational institutions to discriminate against a disabled person by treating him or her less favourably than others for a reason relating to their disability. The Act covers all aspects of student services, including provision and use of electronic materials and resources. Learning technologists have therefore been charged with the responsibility of ensuring that electronic teaching materials can be accessed by disabled students. In an attempt to explore how learning technologists are developing practices to produce accessible electronic materials this paper will present a review of current accessibility practice. The review will focus on what key professionals (academics, researchers, educational developers and staff developers) within the learning technology field are saying and doing about making electronic materials and resources accessible to disabled students. Key issues that may influence the "accessibility" practices of learning technologists are highlighted; the importance of these issues for developing an understanding of "accessibility" practices is discussed and implications for future research are identifie

From the voice of a ‘Socratic Gadfly’: a call for more academic activism in the researching of disability in postsecondary education

In this article I use the lens of voices and silences to frame my review of research in the field of disability and postsecondary education. I argue that we need to view research in this field as a necessarily political act that seeks to turn voices of silence into voices of change. Researchers therefore need to re-think their role in order to understand how they can use and direct their political voices. In order to persuade researchers to heed my call for more academic activism I draw on the arguments of Allan (2010) and adopt the role of a ‘socratic gadfly’ to identify six political areas of research where I argue that voices and silences need more critical examination. In discussing these six areas I hope to illuminate the implications for ‘genuinely investigative’ research in the future

Struggling over procedures and other interventions: a comment on David Graeber’s “Anthropology and the rise of the professional-managerial class"

Special section meditation on David Graeber's Anthropology and the rise of the professional-managerial clas

Proposed U.S.-South Korea Free Trade Agreement and Potential Employment Effects: Analysis of Studies

[Excerpt] Similar to other trade agreements, the proposed U.S.-South Korea Free Trade Agreement(KORUS-FTA) has attracted both supporters and detractors, primarily over the impact the agreement could have on employment in the economy. Supporters argue that the agreement could create as many as 280,000 jobs in the economy. Others, however, argue that the agreement could lead to an overall loss of up to 159,000 jobs in various sectors of the economy. Still others contend that the United States stands to lose exports, employment, and extended economic opportunities if it fails to sign a trade agreement, while the European Union and other nations are lining up to finalize similar agreements with South Korea. Estimating the economic impact of trade agreements, however, is a daunting task, due to a lack of data and important theoretical and practical matters associated with generating results from economic models. In addition, such estimates provide an incomplete accounting of the total economic effects of trade agreements. This report assesses the results of a number of models that are being used to generate estimates of the effect of the KORUS FTA on employment. These studies were chosen specifically because they estimate (or can be used to estimate) data on employment effects of the trade agreement. All economic models incorporate various assumptions that are necessary in order for the model to generate results. Invariably, these approaches determine, to some extent, the results that are generated and, therefore, limit their representation of the real world economy. Currently, the various models produce widely disparate estimates of the number of jobs affected by the trade agreement, reflecting the various assumptions that are used in the models and differences in the approaches

Molecular Hydrogen emission from disks in the eta Chamaeleontis cluster

Disks in the 6 Myr old cluster eta Chamaeleontis were searched for emission from hot H2. Around the M3 star ECHAJ0843.3-7905 we detect circumstellar gas orbiting at ~2 AU. If the gas is UV-excited, the ro-vibrational line traces a hot gas layer supported by a disk of mass ~0.03Msolar, similar to the minimum mass solar nebula. Such a gas reservoir at 6 Myr would promote the formation and inwards migration of gas giant planets.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS. 9 page

Exploring the feasibility of international collaboration and relationship building through a virtual partnership scheme

International collaboration is an under-studied component of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL). This study sheds light on the process of international collaboration by illustrating an exploratory approach to the process of forming and maintaining collaborative partnerships. Participants in this study were put into pairs (each one comprised of one individual from the University of Glasgow and another from the University of Wisconsin System) and asked to participate in email correspondence over the course of one year. The text of participants’ emails was pooled and analyzed through a general inductive approach using NVivo software. The study, though small in nature, helps to illustrate and further understand international collaborative relationships. We offer suggestions for future international collaborations and discuss the implications of emphasizing such partnerships within SoTL

Resilience in Family Members of Persons with Serious Mental Illness

This integrative review summarizes current research on resilience in adult family members who have a relative with a diagnosed mental disorder that is considered serious. Within the context of resilience theory, studies identifying risk/vulnerability and positive/protective factors in family members are summarized, and studies examining seven indicators of resilience, including acceptance, hardiness, hope, mastery, self-efficacy, sense of coherence, and resourcefulness, are described. Implications for clinical practice and recommendations for future research are presented

The impact of demographic change on U. S. labor markets

According to the U. S. Census Bureau projections, the United States will face dramatic demographic changes over the next one hundred years. Indeed, the country will be entering largely uncharted territory. In the twenty-first century, the population is expected to grow more slowly than ever before over an extended period. The population will also age rapidly, with the share of the population over 65 climbing to a succession of new record highs. Finally, the United States will once again become a nation of immigrants. Over the past decade, the wave of new immigrants has already neared proportions last seen in the early 1900s at the end of the Great Migrations. And this inflow is projected to persist throughout the coming century, with new immigrants and the children of those immigrants contributing well over half of the increase in the U. S. population. Because the source of this inflow has shifted from Europe to Latin America and Asia, this new wave will change the voice and face of America forever.Demography ; Economic conditions ; Labor market

Seismic shifts: the economic impact of demographic change: an overview

Most economic developments are hard to predict. Considerable uncertainty surrounds forecasts for output growth, inflation, and unemployment a year from now, for instance. But demographic developments are different in this respect. Although demographic surprises abound, the major trends build slowly, and the broad contours of medium-term outcomes become discernible well in advance.Demography ; Economic conditions