The Worrisome State of Legal Literacy among Teachers and Administrators
Globally, societies are becoming more litigious. As one consequence, educators are developing an increased sensitivity to the legal context that shapes their professional work. While this trend is being led by the United States, its effects are felt in Canada and elsewhere. Accordingly, there has been an observed increase in the fear of litigation amongst educators, which, in turn, impacts their educational practices. This paper argues, however, that this fear is borne more of a lack of legal knowledge amongst educators than it is of the actual prospects of being involved in a lawsuit. It also suggests possible means by which this lack can be overcome which would also serve as a corrective to educators’ misplaced fears.
A Statistical Analysis of Trends in Education-Related Litigation Since 1960
In the past decade, educators have become increasingly aware of the effect of litigation on educational policy, budgeting, and staffing. This study analyzed rates of change in education-related litigation from 1960 to 1986. It found that litigation climbed steeply until 1977 (compared with the growth in number of educators, however, the growth in litigation was modest), but decreased in the last decade. The study also compared litigation growth rates in law, medicine, and civil service with those in education.
An intelligent control system for ventilators.
This study reports on a ventilator system that consists of several intelligent modules for controlling ventilator operation. These modules are software programs in two controllers. One controller is a personal computer used for diagnoses, determining settings and checking the effects of settings. The other controller is a single-chip microprocessor in a ventilator that controls the ventilator's settings in accordance with the computer settings. After setting up the system, an artificial lung model simulating a patient's lung is used to test the system. The result of test run indicated that it always responds to a patient's lung condition in a stable manner. Thus, the proposed system with its intelligent modules may assist clinicians in caring for patients and managing ventilator operation.