Concepts of Europe in Intercultural Teacher Education and Training

At a time when teacher education is under close scrutiny across Europe, this article attempt to examine some of the intercultural elements within this key area of education. A principle focus is the conceptualisation of terms such as Europe and European where the argument is made that the use of such terms is deeply ideological and deserves close scrutiny. Following a brief examination of the crucial position of migration in Europe and the social policies consequent upon it, the article end with an account of practice in an English teacher training institution that attempts to utilise some of the conceptual frameworks outlined in this article.     

The dangers posed by saddle points,and other problems,when using central composite designs

This paper discusses two problems, which can occur when using central composite designs (CCDs), that are not generally covered in the literature but can lead to wrong decisions-and therefore incorrect models-if they are ignored. Most industrialbased experimental designs are sequential. This usually involves running as few initial tests as possible, while getting enough information as is needed to provide a reasonable approximation to reality (the screening stage). The CCD design strategy generally requires the running of a full or fractional factorial design (the cube or hypercube) with one or more additional centre points. The cube is augmented, if deemed necessary, by additional experiments known as star-points. The major problems highlighted here concern the decision to run the star points or not. If the difference between the average response at the centre of the design and the average of the cube results is significant, there is probably a need for one or more quadratic terms in the predictive model. If not, then a simpler model that includes only main effects and interactions is usually considered sufficient. This test for 'curvature' in a main effect will often fail if the design space contains or surrounds a saddle-point. Such a point may disguise the need for a quadratic term. This paper describes the occurrence of a real saddle-point from an industrial project and how this was overcome. The second problem occurs because the cube and star point portions of a CCD are sometimes run as orthogonal blocks. Indeed, theory would suggest that this is the correct procedure. However in the industrial context, where minimizing the total number of tests is at a premium, this can lead to designs with star points a long way from the cube. In such a situation, were the curvature test to be found non-significant, we could end with a model that predicted well within the cube portion of the design space but that would be unreliable in the balance of the total area of investigation. The paper discusses just such a design, one that disguised the real need for a quadratic term.     

Views,events, and debates

Welcome to Gender and Development's Views, Events and Debates section. We'd like to invite readers to respond to any of the views expressed in this section, to contact us with reports of events, and to suggest debates on important contemporary issues of relevance to the journal's core concern: to strengthen and support development which supports women's empowerment and gender equality as goals. We'd also like to invite you to send us your feedback on Gender and Development, and suggestions for future issues, to: jporter@oxfam.org.uk     

Blog power: Examining the effects of practitioner blog use on power in public relations

While blogs are not yet a standard public relations tool, practitioners use blogs to enhance their power within their organizations. Using an online survey of public relations practitioners, this pilot test examined the relationship between power and blog use. Three factored categorizations of blog use among practitioners emerged: routine information and research, interactive blog communication, and issues identification. Results showed differences based on power, between blog users and non-users, owner-practitioners and non-owners, among others.     

Does Brief Bradycardia at the Onset of Arm‐Restraint Predict Infants’ Emotional Reactivity During Restraint?

Using electrocardiogram data with 78 six‐month‐old infants, this study examined the presence or absence of brief orienting bradycardia during the onset of maternal arm‐restraint and subsequent differences between infants on behavioral organization during restraint. Results showed that 45 of the infants exhibited brief episodes of bradycardia at the onset of arm‐restraint. Group comparisons showed infants exhibiting bradycardia to have greater emotional reactivity during the arm‐restraint protocol, which included a shorter latency to cry, decreased orientation toward mother, increased escape attempts during restraint, greater intensity of crying, and longer duration of crying than non‐bradycardiac infants. These findings suggest that bradycardia at the outset of a mild perturbation episode may signal infants’ attention to the emotional content of novel dyadic interactions and the disruption of expectancies in ongoing interactions, leading them to become distressed more quickly, turn their attention away from mom, and attempt to escape the restraint with greater vigor.     

Figuring out whether they can be trusted: older widows' intentions relative to hired non-professional home-care helpers

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe the experience of older women relative to trusting hired non-professional home-care helpers. Open-ended interviews were done about the home-care experience with 25 women over three years, and 14 women (age 80-93) shared data about hiring and trusting helpers. The women perceived risks to personal safety that adversely influenced willingness to seek new helpers. After hiring a helper, the women were still trying to discern whether the helper could be trusted. Primary-care providers should enable older women to recognize and reduce the risk of having helpers and to monitor helpers' behavior, as well as assessing the psychosocial status of women who have such helpers.