Where has all the hilarity gone -- and, with it, the ethics of the dark? In this article, I engage with our metaphysical entities of darkness (in Maori, Te Po) and nothingness (Te Kore). Undermining and re-declaring (only to un-declare once again) are more than just pleasurable exercise for my own indigenous group -- Maori; they are ethical…

The purpose of this qualitative study is to provide answers to the research question, "What teacher characteristics do London upper Secondary school students value?" Using convenient or opportunity sampling, 51 Grade 12 and 13 students ages 16-18 in a south-west London secondary school were interviewed using a face-to-face method. The…

Critical policy analysis examining how powerful actors use educational policies to reproduce unequal social structures presents many challenges. These challenges are amplified by the politics of spectacle, where duplicity comes to dominate how educational policies are conceptualized, presented to the public, and subsequently enacted. The pursuit…

This paper discusses a project that used comedy workshops to explore the humour of autistic teenagers, focusing the discussion around three traits often -- and negatively -- associated with autism. The paper will then point to ways of rethinking these traits, and argue that doing so opens up a space for considering the aesthetics of comedy on the…

This study investigates the role of character strengths in peer relationships among early adolescents. A sample of students (N = 339; [X bar] age = 12.84 years, 53.1% female) nominated friends in the classroom and completed assessments of character strengths, the desirability and importance of character strengths in a friend, and friendship…

In this article I explore the pedagogical value of Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari's philosophical concepts for helping make an "event" of thought, with a view towards fostering deep learning in Chinese students' learning theory and criticism in a second language. Paying attention to the qualitative role of bodies, humour and…

This article draws on interactional pragmatics and a cross-cultural approach (UK, France, Spain) to investigate the negotiation of individual and group identities in two different speech events, parliamentary debates and editorial meetings. The cross-cultural examination of the use of linguistic resources for signalling "social role,…

"Chronicle of Higher Education" presents an abundant source of news and information for college and university faculty members and administrators. This March 5, 2004 issue of "Chronicle of Higher Education" includes the following articles: (1) "Good Policies on Student Vaccination can Inoculate College Against Risk"…