Search

The increasingly diverse nature of the student population entering higher education is placing new demands on institutions at the tertiary level. Widening access implies a broader range of student ‘problems‘. Moreover, research suggests that appropriate student support may serve to increase student retention and completion rates (e.g. Rickinson, 1998). In response to the changing needs of students within our department and in recognition of our duty of care with respect to enabling students to perform to the best of their ability, a model of pastoral care was designed and established. The model aimed to provide a comprehensive system of care which dealt with the range of problems with which students present. This paper reports our evaluation of the system one year after its implementation. The findings suggest that staff as well as students evaluated the system very positively. All groups recommended that the system be implemented within other departments.

The theory of symbolic racism contends that white resistance to social policies such as affirmative action is rooted in prejudiced attitudes towards black people, and represents a more sophisticated form of racism than traditional or rednecked racism. However, the notion of symbolic racism has been severely criticized on theoretical and empirical grounds. The present study sought to clarify the nature of the empirical relationship between symbolic and traditional racism. The Subtle Racism Scale (Duckitt, 1991) and Heaven and Moerdyk's adaptation of Ray's anti-black scale were administered to 150 school-children. The findings revealed no significant difference in mean scores obtained on the measures of symbolic and traditional racism. A series of factor analyses consistently yielded four factors, accounting for 54% of the variance, suggesting that racism involves hitherto unaccounted for components in addition to traditional and subtle expressions of racial prejudice.

The construction of gender and gender interactions is examined through the discourse of men's only groups. Two discourses are identified: Gender as Social Norm and Gender as Natural. These discourse can be seen, through rhetorical strategies, to construct gender in ways that are problematic for women. Of particular concern is the finding that the discourses and explanations used to construct gender generally are the same as those used to explain, and justify, gender aggression. This finding and some of it's implications are discussed.

Forty people living with multiple sclerosis and/or their families were interviewed to assess their knowledge of, use of, needs for, and attitudes towards support groups. The majority of participants were both misinformed about their illness and ignorant of resources available to them, resulting in much stress and anxiety. It is felt that information–both about their disease condition and of support structures–needs systematically to be available and accessible to patients on diagnosis, and is a necessary component for empowerment.

In this paper issues relating to the social construction of mental retardation are raised. The writings of a group of six people, diagnosed as moderately mentally retarded, are used to highlight several areas of debate. It is argued that labelling people as mentally retarded, particularly those deemed mildly or moderately retarded, is not necessarily of benefit to those individuals. Furthermore, this process establishes and perpetuates the notion that people so-called are incapable of acting in their own best interests. The work of the six people used in this paper challenges these notions, and suggests that many people who are labelled as mentally retarded are aware of their needs and are able to express these coherently.