Exploring the relationship between our learning,E-learning and HRD: E-Learn 2005 conference report

Abstract

This report provides a personal reflection on the E-Learn Conference held in Vancouver, Canada, in October 2005. First, I provide a brief review of previous conference reports and then share my experiences of this particular conference, focusing on technical, social, pedagogical and cultural aspects.     

Developmental stability and leadership effectiveness

Developmental stability is the degree to which we can withstand environmental or genetic stressors during development. Fluctuating asymmetry (FA), concerns the extent to which the right and left side of the body is asymmetrical and is one way to measure developmental stability. Two studies were carried out that examined both the predictive value of leader FA with leadership behaviors and its role in facilitating group performance. The first study examined the hypothesis that a leader's FA is correlated with scores on the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ). The results revealed individuals with a more asymmetrical morphology scored higher on the transformational, but not transactional, dimensions of leadership behavior. A second study examined the hypothesis that asymmetrical morphology and leadership effectiveness would share a positive relationship. In this study participants who led a business game exercise, revealed a positive relationship between FA and self-reported well-being and task satisfaction. Importantly, there was also a positive correlation between the leader's FA score and group performance. The role that developmental stability may play in leadership effectiveness is discussed in the wider context of evolutionary psychology.     

Promoting rights or avoiding litigation? The introduction of the human rights act 1998 into adult social care in England

Rights to social care in England have traditionally been highly restricted. By placing positive obligations on social care agencies and practitioners to make provision for vulnerable adults, the incorporation of the European Convention on Human Rights into UK law through the Human Rights Act 1998 promised to extend their reach. Yet transforming a set of largely procedural rights into something more substantive requires the active intervention of social care practitioners. This article firstly examines the fit between human rights and the policy and operational contexts of social care before exploring the views of social workers included in a recent interview study. Whilst the findings point to a willingness on the part of some to advocate on behalf of vulnerable adults, they also highlight the extent to which individualistic beliefs about dependency and responsibility reinforce the dominant construction of citizenship rights under the current government as contingent upon the fulfilment of responsibilities. Treating the Human Rights Act as a weapon of litigation, the article concludes, simply reinforces defensive practice. Progressive change is best supported by fostering a human rights culture in social care which, in turn, depends upon challenging social workers’ assumptions about the nature of dependency, responsibility and rights.     

大班幼儿数学区域活动中专注力现状及特点分析

专注力是幼儿重要的学习品质,幼儿在数学活动中的投入程度会影响其早期数学经验的习得。以数学区域为媒介,运用观察法对60名幼儿独自与合作活动中专注力的思考、伴随语言、抗干扰与注意分散行为进行统计,并结合访谈法收集质性资料。研究发现：幼儿专注力总体表现较好;存在显著性别差异,女孩伴随语言能力均高于男孩,男孩专注的消极行为则多于女孩;情境差异中,独自活动产生更多与材料互动的思考行为,共同操作时有声语言的频次更高。