(2000). From Privileges to Rights: People Labeled with Psychiatric Disabilities Speak for Themselves. This report is based upon testimony submitted by mental health professionals; lawyers; advocates; people with psychiatric disabilities and their families at the National Council of Disability (NCD) hearing about the problems of those with psychiatric disabilities. Many reported of routine use and overuse of psychiatric drugs, often administered against a person's will. Such testimony pointed to the fact that people with psychiatric disabilities are systematically and routinely deprived of their rights and treated as less than full citizens or full human beings. Based on the testimony, the NCD concluded that the manner in which American society treats people with psychiatric problems constitutes a national emergency. Their recommendations all follow the same principle that people with psychiatric disabilities are first of all citizens who have the right to expect that they will be treated according to the principles of law that apply to all other citizens. Recommendations address the… [PDF]
(1985). Brief of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada to the Sub-Committee on Equality Rights. The economic, human, and social impacts of mandatory retirement are addressed in a brief presented by the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC) to the Subcommittee on Equality Rights. There is a possibility that the coming into force of equality rights may remove mandatory retirement. It has been estimated that by 1989 removal of mandatory retirement would result in approximately 300 fewer new faculty being recruited and an increase in operating costs due to the retention of higher salaried faculty. Concerns of AUCC include: in the absence of mandatory retirement, the lack of career opportunities for young and promising scholars will be further aggravated; already limited financial resources for universities will be further drained either by the retention of a more expensive professoriate or by the costs of alternatives to mandatory retirement; in the absence of mandatory retirement policies, the human practices of institutional loyalty that allow termination of… [PDF]
(2005). Staff Investment Pays Dividends in Maryland District. Education Week, v24 n44 p1, 16 Aug. In the past few years, Viers Mill Elementary School's home-grown leadership team has overseen a striking rise in test scores, especially among its substantial minority population. The school, located in Montgomery County, Maryland, exemplifies the district's strategy of using its human-resources operations as a lever to improve student achievement, particularly in its less-affluent neighborhoods. As districts nationwide seek ways to ensure a sound education for all children, Montgomery County has drawn notice for its unusual concentration on human resources. The 139,000-student district spends 3 percent of its annual budget–or $50 million a year–on recruiting and developing its people. The approach appears to be yielding dividends. Test scores are rising across the county, and performance gaps between students of various racial and ethnic groups are narrowing. That's because, experts say, investing in choosing the right people and providing them with the right kind of training… [Direct]
(1992). One-Minute Readings: Issues in Science, Technology, and Society. Many people feel that the purpose of an education is to prepare students for life outside of school. To help reach this desire it has been suggested that students be allowed to experience and confront issues that they will experience later in their lives. This book confronts students with major issues in science that in many instances have created societal problems that science cannot answer. Some of the topics covered are: (1) general biology (animal rights, definition of life, patenting plants and animals, animal rights); (2) environmental issues (world population explosion, pesticide pollution); (3) destruction of species (destruction of tropical forests); (4) bioethics (human gene manipulation, organ transplants); (5) waste (underground toxic wastes, radioactive waste disposal); (6) pollution (acid rain, oil pollution; pesticide pollution); (7) natural resources (petroleum depletion); (8) mechanics (Newton's Law and the existence of God); (9) heat, light, and sound; (10)…
(1967). RELATIVE THEORY OF GOOD IN "BRAVE NEW WORLD" AND "1984.". ONE METHOD OF INTERESTING THE AVERAGE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT IN QUESTIONING INTELLIGENTLY THE NATURE OF GOOD IS THROUGH THE STUDY OF HUXLEY'S "BRAVE NEW WORLD" AND ORWELL'S "1984." IN BOTH OF THESE NEGATIVE UTOPIAS THE LOSS OF MAN'S HUMANITY, INDIVIDUALITY, AND RIGHT TO REASON THE NATURE OF GOOD ARE THE VERY QUALITIES WHICH MAKE HIM "EXCELLENT," AND WHICH ARE NECESSARY FOR A "GOOD" SOCIETY WHERE STABILITY IS THE PARAMOUNT VIRTURE, DISEASE AND POVERTY ARE ERADICATED THROUGH THE APPLICATION OF SCIENCE, AND MAN IS NEVER FACED WITH MAKING THOSE AGONIZING CHOICES WHICH WRENCH HIS PSYCHE. THE YOUNG READER, AFTER STUDYING THE TWO NOVELS AND BEING FRIGHTENED BY WHAT HE RECOGNIZES AS A POSSIBLE FUTURE REALITY–GIVEN THE COURSE OF HUMAN HISTORY, MAN'S NATURE, AND THE RISE OF SCIENCE–COMES TO STAND WITH THE SAVAGE OF "BRAVE NEW WORLD." HE REALIZES THAT IT IS THE RIGHT TO QUESTION THE NATURE OF GOOD AND EVIL IN A FREE SOCIETY WHICH PRESERVES MAN'S… [PDF]
(1997). People and the Arctic: A Prospectus for Research on the Human Dimensions of the Arctic System (HARC) for the National Science Foundation Arctic System Science Program. The U.S. Global Change Research Program was established in 1990 to develop scientific projections of anticipated impacts of the changing biosphere on humans and social systems. As part of this program, the National Science Foundation created the Arctic System Science Program (ARCSS). This document describes the ARCSS Human Dimensions of the Arctic System (HARC) initiative to consider how humans interact with physical and biological environmental change in the Arctic. HARC cuts across traditional social, biological, and physical science disciplines; employs varied methodologies; collects data across a broad range of time and spatial scales; and involves local people and communities in research design and implementation. Five fundamental research questions address the impacts of human activity on arctic and global systems; types and sources of global change in the Arctic; effects of global changes on human societies in the Arctic; alternative approaches to current and future problems;… [PDF]
(2007). The Wage Premium on Tertiary Education: New Estimates for 21 OECD Countries Countries. OECD Economics Department Working Papers, No. 589. OECD Publishing (NJ1) This paper presents cross-section estimates of gross hourly wage premia on tertiary education. They are based on a unified framework for 21 OECD countries from the 1990s to the early 2000s and use international household surveys to maximise international comparability. The results of the "augmented" Mincerian wage equations point to an average hourly gross wage premium on completed tertiary education of 55% in 2001 (country-gender average), translating into a premium of close to 11% per annum of tertiary education. Wage premia display little variation over time but huge cross-country variation: at 6% they are lowest in Greece and Spain (men and women) as well as in Austria and Italy (women) while reaching 14%-18% in Hungary, Portugal, and in most Anglo-Saxon countries. Given that the wage premium is the single most important driver of private returns to education, the results presented here have potentially important implications for policies that aim at increasing… [Direct]
(2007). Visual Category-Selectivity for Faces, Places and Objects Emerges along Different Developmental Trajectories. Developmental Science, v10 n4 pF15-F30 Jul. The organization of category-selective regions in ventral visual cortex is well characterized in human adults. We investigated a crucial, previously unaddressed, question about how this organization emerges developmentally. We contrasted the developmental trajectories for face-, object-, and place-selective activation in the ventral visual cortex in children, adolescents, and adults. Although children demonstrated adult-like organization in object- and place-related cortex, as a group they failed to show consistent face-selective activation in classical face regions. The lack of a consistent neural signature for faces was attributable to (1) reduced face-selectivity and extent of activation within the regions that will become the FFA, OFA, and STS in adults, and (2) smaller volumes and considerable variability in the locus of face-selective activation in individual children. In contrast, adolescents showed an adult-like pattern of face-selective activation, although it was more… [Direct]
(2007). Personnel Pitfalls in Cyberworld. School Administrator, v64 n9 p22-24 Oct. In May 2006 administrators in the Austin, Texas, Independent School District learned that Tamara Hoover, an art teacher at Austin High School, was the subject of several explicit photographs that had been posted on Flickr, a public photograph-sharing website. Purportedly these photographs were posted on Flickr by the teacher's partner without her knowledge or permission. Last August she agreed to resign in exchange for a payment of $14,850. The case garnered national attention and generated a heated debate about the privacy rights of educators and the role of the Internet in the employment process. This article reports on the Hoover case which demonstrates the personnel pitfalls that arise in cyberspace. As the Internet becomes ubiquitous, situations involving school personnel like Hoover will surely multiply. Unfortunately, much like students, school district employees sometimes demonstrate lapses in judgment that force administrators to regulate Internet conduct. Complicating the… [Direct]
(1990). Project Wild and the Dominant Western Paradigm: A Content Analysis Utilizing Deep Ecology. Environmental educators utilize activity guides as a primary method of diffusing environmental education material into educational settings. The most popular environmental education activity guide in use today is Project WILD. Project WILD has come under fire by various groups, especially animal rights groups. Accordingly, a content analysis study was undertaken to determine if the guide exhibits a predominantly anthropocentric versus biocentric bias. Anthropocentric perspective, linked to the "Dominant Western Paradigm," sees humans as separate and superior with respect to non-human nature. It provides other species value only as a "resource" to other humans, exhibits a strong confidence in science and technology, and has been implicated as a source of environmentally destructive attitudes. A biocentric perspective, linked to the "New Environmental Paradigm," places humans within the context of nature, extends "intrinsic value" to other… [PDF]
(1975). Interaction of Experiential and Neurological Factors in the Patterning of Human Abilities: The Question of Sex Differences in 'Right Hemisphere' Skills. Sex differences in cerebral organization and functioning, and the apparent superiority of males in spatial ability are examined in this paper. Attention is given to several kinds of cognitive and perceptual tasks in which sex differences in spatial ability have been shown to exist; among these are tasks involving: (1) recall and detection of shapes, (2) geometry and mathematics, (3) directional sense, (4) Piagetian skills and (5) the game of chess. A neurological model for sex differences in spatial ability is discussed, which suggests that some brains are further specialized (lateralized) for spatial analysis than others, and that these \further specialized\ brains are more frequently male than female. Medical research with war veterans who have suffered brain injuries, data from anatomical and clinical studies and results of testing of normal individuals are cited to suggest that the left hemisphere of the brain seems primarily organized for verbal function, the right hemisphere… [PDF]
(2001). Human Resources Administration in Education: A Management Approach. Sixth Edition. This book reflects the changing aspects of school human-resources management. Current concerns include the impact of new laws related to disabilities, civil rights, family and medical leave, and the testing of school bus drivers for alcohol and controlled substances. Also examined are human resources' responsibilities to military reservists and National Guard units entering active duty. The new concerns of sexual harassment and issues related to HIV and AIDS are assessed. Collective bargaining, workplace health risks, workers' compensation, fringe benefits, and managed-care medical insurance are explored. Accountability to taxpayers and the passing of tax-levy elections are considered. New in this edition are a job description for a director of risk management, an enhanced discussion of risk management, and more content on the use of technology. Chapter 1 establishes the rationale and organizational structure of human-resources administration. Chapters 2 through 5 are concerned with…
(1977). Research Involving Children: Appendix to Report and Recommendations. The appendix contains papers, reports, and other materials that were reviewed by the National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research during its deliberations on research involving children. Entries include the following titles and authors: \Research Involving Children\ (Survey Research Center); \Law of Informed Consent in Human Experimentation–Children\ (G. Annas, et al.); \The Ethics of Non-Therapeutic Clinical Research on Children\ and \Proxy Consent in the Medical Context–The Infant as Person\ (W. Bartholome); \The Competence and Freedom of Children to Make Choices Regarding Participation in Biomedical and Behavioral Research\ (L. Ferguson); \Rights, Duties, and Experimentation on Children–A Critical Response to Worsfold and Bartholome\ (S. Hauerwas); \Children and the Institutionalized Mentally Infirm\ (H. Foster and C. Kyukendall); \Resolution and Recommendations of the Workshop on Children\, \Responsibility in Investigations on…
(1986). Sexuality and Mental Retardation [including]"Ethical Issues Concerning Mentally Handicapped Persons.". The paper documents two presentations made during a pre-congress course of the Ninth World Congress of the International League of Societies for Persons with Mental Handicaps. The course, titled "Sexuality and Mental Retardation," was held in August 1986. Part I discusses the topic's theoretical aspects, such as moral perceptions of sexuality, the possibilities opened up by normalization, and prejudices and misjudgments made concerning mentally retarded individuals' sexuality. Part II of the first presentation reports on the development of relationships between West German institutionalized men and women when the concept of mixed-sex living was introduced. Suggestions for sexuality education programs for the mentally handicapped focus on body image, appropriate behavior, puberty, pregnancy, and childbirth. Sample instructional materials accompany the paper. The second presentation, included in an appendix, consists of a paper by A. Gudalefsky titled "Ethical Issues…
(2010). Recognizing and Utilizing Queer Pedagogy: A Call for Teacher Education to Reconsider the Knowledge Base on Sexual Orientation for Teacher Education Programs. Multicultural Education, v18 n1 p2-9 Fall. In order to teach effectively in hyper-diverse contexts, if effective teaching is considered to be the creation of knowledge, the transmission of ideas, and the \growing\ of human beings intellectually, morally and socially, educators at all levels, but particularly those who are new to the field, must be well-versed in multiculturalism and diversity. They must also be unafraid to immerse themselves in the world as it concurrently unfolds and evolves around them. Educators must also accept their role as mentors who help to define reality for those they are educating, and they must commit to redefining that reality as dictated by demands for social justice and equity. To ignore these continually emerging requirements means that educators will quickly become outdated and ineffective at best, and damaging and socially unjust at worst, neither of which are acceptable outcomes for those who are truly committed to the profession. This article aims to supplement and update Knowledge Base… [PDF] [Direct]