...oday's technology is already producing a marked shift in the way we think and behave, particularly among the young. I mustn't, however, be too censorious, because what I'm talking about is pleasure. For some, pleasure means wine, women and song; for others, more recently, sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll; and for millions today, endless hours at the computer console. But whatever your particular variety of pleasure (and energetic sport needs to be added to the list), it's long been accepted that 'pure' pleasure - that is to say, activity during which you truly "let yourself go" - was part of the diverse portfolio of normal human life. Until now, that is. Now, coinciding with the moment when technology and pharmaceutical companies are finding ever more ways to have a direct influence on the human brain, pleasure is becoming the sole be-all and end-all of many lives, especially among the young. We could be raising a hedonistic generation who live only in the thrill of the computer-generated moment, and are in distinct danger of detaching themselves from what the rest of us would consider the real world. This is a trend that worries me profoundly. For as any alcoholic or drug addict will tell you, nobody can be trapped in the moment of pleasure forever. Sooner or later, you have to come down. I'm certainly not saying all video games are addictive (as yet, there is not enough research to back that up), and I genuinely welcome the new generation of "brain-training" computer...
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...How can I as an educator and Professional Development Manager working with teachers, support and enhance the learning and achievement of pupils in a whole school improvement process? Submitted by Michael Anthony Bosher For The Degree of Doctor of Philosophy of the University of Bath 2001 May 2002 Vol 1.1 Copyright ‘Attention is drawn to the fact that copyright of this thesis rests with the author. This copy of the thesis has been supplied on condition that anyone who consults it is understood to recognise that its copyright rests with its author and that no quotation from the thesis and no information derived from it may be published without the prior written consent of the author’. This thesis may be made available for consultation within the University Library and may be photocopied or lent to other libraries for the purposes of consultation. …………………………… Contents Tables and Figures 2 Acknowledgements 3 Abstract 4 Preface 5 Introduction 13 Chapter 1 A Cultural Context 18 Chapter 2 An Autobiography 25 Chapter 3 Methodology 40 Chapter 4 The School's Action Research Cycles 89 Chapter 5 School Effectiveness and School Improvement 107 Chapter 6 Vignette 1 Alan Shelton a Teacher 'Par Excellence' 120 Chapter 7 Some More Vignettes 158 Chapter 8 A Personal Development Review 184 Chapter 9 The Circle is Completed 190 References ...
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