The Politics and Economics of Computer-Aided Careers Guidance Systems

The impact of computer-aided careers guidance systems is strongly influenced not only by technical and professional issues but also by political and economic ones. The development of the main North American systems, and of the UK PROSPECT system, is examined. The roles of government, of the private sector, and of guidance professionals, in relation to the future of such systems are discussed, particularly in relation to guidance in Europe.     

Computer-Aided Careers Guidance: An Investigation Involving an Artificial System

Customer satisfaction with the occupational suggestions provided by computer-aided guidance systems is uniformly high. User satisfaction and reactions to an artificial system, and two conventional and profile-matching system, were compared. The results suggested that user satisfaction is influenced by several factors which are largely unrelated to the quality or novelty of the occupational suggestions received. The project also raises several issues regarding the validity of profile-matching in comparison to other less-complex databank-reduction procedures.     

The Moral Careers of Militia Group Participants: A Case Study

This article is a case study examining the moral careers of members of a constitutional militia group in a Deep South state. Data for this study were gathered through participant observation and interviews with members at meetings, gun shows, shooting ranges, and other activities engaged in by members of this group. This research focuses on how group participants come to identify themselves as members. A typology of true believers, verbal converts, and fellow travelers was developed based on levels of involvement, the potential for violence is discussed, and the findings are framed within the sociological literature.     

The Systems Approach: A Technique for Establishing Counseling and Guidance Programs

Schools and agencies are under increasing pressure to demonstrate program effectiveness and be accountable in terms of cost to the consumer. Systems methodology, developed for use in other fields, may have the potential for program development in counseling. This article discusses some of the ways in which systems technology may be directly employed in a counseling setting.     

Guidance and Guidance Systems in Secondary Schools: The Teacher's Views

The reorientation of school guidance to involve teachers in career guidance was the premise for this study. The objectives were to assess the attitudes of secondary vocational teachers toward the importance and adequacy of school guidance systems. Some 248 teachers were sent an instrument listing 19 guidance activities. Two scales of five options were used for importance and adequacy. A 75% response rate was achieved. Overall, the teachers believe that career guidance is an important function; however, they have an unfavorable disposition toward the adequacy of school guidance systems in providing students with career guidance.     

Case Report: A Systems Approach to Genetic Counseling for Albinism

A systems approach to family therapy assumes that a person and his/her problems do not operate in a social vacuum but instead are imbedded in a social context. This context includes fairly small social systems such as a nuclear family and larger social systems such as school systems and cultural beliefs. A case of a girl with albinism born to a couple from India will be used to discuss how a systems approach might be useful in a genetic counseling setting.     

Option Choice and Careers Guidance: Gender and Computing in Secondary Schools

Gender differences in the take-up of computing subjects in secondary schools are examined. The findings are presented of a research project which included an investigation of the option schemes and careers guidance given to pupils in eight secondary schools. The findings indicate that schools tend not to take any form of positive action to encourage the take-up of computing subjects by female pupils, and that careers guidance personnel take the view that sex-stereotyped choices of optional subjects and careers are overwhelmingly determined by agencies other than schools.     

Pathways to Careers: A Videotape Review

Pathways to Careers produced by the Pennsylvania Occupational Information Coordinating Committee (POICC), Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry; Harrisburg, PA. 1994, 60 minutes, $15.00. A “Career Development Awareness Guide” accompanies the video.     

The New Careers: A Book Review

Book reviewed in this article: The New Careers: Indiuiduat Action & Economic Change by Michael B. Arthur, Ken‐ Inkson. and Judith K. Pringle     

The Formal Systems Response to Violence Against Women in India: A Cultural Lens

Violence against women (VAW) has become an increasingly salient issue in India, with women at risk for different forms of gendered violence. While there may be universal elements in the international phenomenon of violence against women, it is a complex, multifaceted phenomenon that takes shape in a particular sociocultural context. The current study employs a narrative framework to systematically examine how culture is expressed in the formal systems response and women's help‐seeking in two metropolitan cities in India. Specifically, we sought to understand, among formal system responders (a) what characterizes the dominant cultural narratives on violence against women in India; and (b) how these are reflected in community narratives of formal responders. Interviews were conducted with formal responders working in different types of local agencies (e.g., police, health centers, and non‐governmental agencies). The paper illustrates the major themes that emerged from participants’ narratives describing the multilevel influences that shape the formal system response to violence against women and women's help‐seeking efforts. The implications of these findings for effective response and directions for future research are summarized.     

Student Response to a Collective Penalty for Reported Cheating: A Case Study

An instructor's decision to drop an exam score and to assign a penalty to all class members because no one was willing to identify students who allegedly cheated is described, including how the class members felt about the incident. For the most part, students held the cheaters responsible for their penalties. The instructor received only slightly lower student evaluations, as compared to the 2 other courses she taught that year.     

A Religious Diversity Tale: A Multi-Faith Case Study

This article examines the creation of a network of diverse religious leadership in a Midwest suburb where the intersection of religion and national pride fomented a community-wide conflict. Activated during a heated controversy over displaying a Christmas tree in a public school, the Network became a laboratory for testing viable strategies for community healing. The case of a Jewish student suspended for fighting when taunted for not singing Christmas Carols became a catalyst for debating what is religious, what is secular, and what is culturally American. The interaction of the key players is noted; educators, religious leaders, students and their families, particularly the mothers who regularly interacted across religious boundaries. The article describes the Network's experiment with deploying resources that accommodated diverse experiences of religion and patriotism, historically and culturally, within an American context.     

The Careers Service and Schools: A Changing Relationship

The changing relationship between the Careers Service and schools is examined. From a base-point in the 1960s and early 1970s, the implications of the changing context are explored: notably the much greater difficulties which young people have experienced in entering the labour market, the advent of new transition programmes, and the political pressures associated with the economic recession and the growth in unemployment. The effects of these changes on careers education in schools, and on the activities of the Careers Service, are described, as are their implications for the relationship between the Careers Service and schools. Finally, a typology for defining this changing relationship is outlined as a basis for further research.     

Technology Affects Careers: A Proposal for the Year 2000

Technology has caused changes that created gaps in the careers of many individuals. A proposal is suggested to develop a counseling system for individuals to begin at the formative years of their careers.     

Under Pressure to Change: The Professional Identity of Careers Officers

The professional identity of careers officers is no longer secure. Their role as independent providers of vocational guidance has been challenged and they have been urged to accord employers and placement a higher priority in their work. The resistance to such proposed changes encountered during a study of careers officers in Midtown appeared to be motivated more by a genuine concern for vulnerable clients than simple professional inertia or calculated self-interest. Any imposition of change could prove counter-productive and provoke a serious dislocation in the provision of vocational guidance.     

Diversity and Epistemic Marginalisation: The Case of Inclusive Education

Studies in Philosophy and Education - In the literature on inclusion and inclusive education there is a frequent conflation of (1) inclusion of diverse people, or people in all their diversity, (2)...