Reading, Writing and Reasoning

Gavin Fairbairn is Professor of Ethics and Language at Leeds Metropolitan University and was formerly Professor of Education at Liverpool Hope University College, to which he moved from a Chair of Professional Development in Nursing and Midwifery at the University of Glamorgan. Prior to that he worked for many years in teacher education in Wales, following a career in social work and special education. He has published extensively in education, and in applied philosophy and ethics, where he has a special interest in the ethical issues that arise in the caring professions. He has acted as a reviewer for a number of journals for many years, and as an advisor to publishers he has reviewed numerous book proposals about both educational and ethical topics. His books include (with David Canter) Becoming an Author: a guide to academics and other professionals and Contemplating Suicide: the language and ethics of self harm. His most recent book with Susan Fairbairn, Writing Your Abstract: a guide for would-be conference presenters, was published in 2005. Christopher Winch is Professor of Education at Nene College, Northampton. He has published widely in philosophy, linguistics and education. He is the author (with Robert Solomon) of Calculating and Computing for Social Science and Arts Students, also published by the Open University Press, Language, Ability and Educational Achievement (Routledge 1990) and Quality and Education (Blackwell 1996).