Embedding values through global education in social sciences pre-service teacher education : linking the head and heart

This chapter aims to situate values education as a core component of social science pre-service teacher education. In particular, it reflects on an experiment in embedding a values laden Global Education perspective in a fourth year social science curriculum method unit. This unit was designed and taught by the researcher on the assumption that beginning social science teachers need to be empowered with pedagogical skills and new dispositions to deal with value laden emerging global and regional concerns in their secondary school classrooms. Moreover, it was assumed that when pre-service teachers engage in dynamic and interactive learning experiences in their curriculum unit, they commence the process of ‘capacity building’ those skills which prepare them for their own lifelong professional learning. This approach to values education also aimed at providing pre-service teachers with opportunities to ‘create deep understandings of teaching and learning’ (Barnes, 1989, p. 17) by reflecting on the ways in which ‘pedagogy can be transformative’ (Lovat and Toomey, 2011 add page no from Chapter One). It was assumed that this tertiary experience would foster the sine qua non of teaching – a commitment to students and their learning. Central to fostering new ‘dispositions’ through this approach, was the belief in the power of pedagogy to make the difference in enhancing student participation and learning. In this sense, this experiment in values education in secondary social science pre-service teacher education aligns with the Troika metaphor for a paradigm change, articulated by Lovat and Toomey (2009) in Chapter One.

The old face of 'new' social networks : the republic of letters as a virtual community

This paper explores the idea of virtual participation through the historical example of the republic of letters in early modern Europe (circa 1500-1800). By reflecting on the construction of virtuality in a historical context, and more specifically in a pre-digital environment, this paper calls attention to accusations of technological determinism in ongoing research concerning the affordances of the Internet and related media of communication. It argues that ‘the virtual’ is not synonymous with ‘the digital’ and suggests that, in order to articulate what is novel about modern technologies, we must first understand the social interactions underpinning the relationships which are facilitated through those technologies. By analysing the construction of virtuality in a pre-digital environment, this paper thus offers a baseline from which scholars might consider what is different about the modes of interaction and communication being engaged in via modern media.

China's Creative Industries : Copyright, Social Network Markets and the Business of Culture in a Digital Age

China’s Creative Industries explores the role of new technologies, globalization and higher levels of connectivity in re-defining relationships between ‘producers’ and ‘consumers’ in 21st century China. The evolution of new business models, the impact of state regulation, the rise of entrepreneurial consumers and the role of intellectual property rights are traced through China’s film, music and fashion industries. The book argues that social network markets, consumer entrepreneurship and business model evolution are driving forces in the production and commercialization of cultural commodities. In doing so it raises important questions about copyright’s role in the business of culture, particularly in a digital age.

Fashion as consumer entrepreneurship : emergent risk culture, social network markets, and the launch of Vogue in China

China has a reputation as an economy based on utility: the large-scale manufacture of low-priced goods. But useful values like functionality, fitness for purpose and efficiency are only part of the story. More important are what Veblen called ‘honorific’ values, arguably the driving force of development, change and value in any economy. To understand the Chinese economy therefore, it is not sufficient to point to its utilitarian aspect. Honorific status-competition is a more fundamental driver than utilitarian cost-competition. We argue that ‘social network markets’ are the expression of these honorific values, relationships and connections that structure and coordinate individual choices. This paper explores how such markets are developing in China in the area of fashion and fashion media. These, we argue, are an expression of ‘risk culture’ for high-end entrepreneurial consumers and producers alike, providing a stimulus to dynamic innovation in the arena of personal taste and comportment, as part of an international cultural system based on constant change. We examine the launch of Vogue China in 2005, and China’s reception as a fashion player among the international editions of Vogue, as an expression of a ‘decisive moment’ in the integration of China into an international social network market based on honorific values.

Loneliness and classroom participation in adolescents with learning disabilities : a social cognitive view

Students with learning disabilities (LD) often experience significant feelings of loneliness. There is some evidence to suggest that these feelings of loneliness may be related to social difficulties that are linked to their learning disability. Adolescents experience more loneliness than any other age group, primarily because this is a time of identity formation and self-evaluation. Therefore, adolescents with learning disabilities are highly likely to experience the negative feelings of loneliness. Many areas of educational research have highlighted the impact of negative feelings on learning. This begs the question, =are adolescents with learning disabilities doubly disadvantaged in regard to their learning?‘ That is, if their learning experience is already problematic, does loneliness exacerbate these learning difficulties? This thesis reveals the findings of a doctoral project which examined this complicated relationship between loneliness and classroom participation using a social cognitive framework. In this multiple case-study design, narratives were constructed using classroom observations and interviews which were conducted with 4 adolescent students (2 girls and 2 boys, from years 9-12) who were identified as likely to be experiencing learning disabilities. Discussion is provided on the method used to identify students with learning disabilities and the related controversy of using disability labels. A key aspect of the design was that it allowed the students to relate their school experiences and have their stories told. The design included an ethnographic element in its focus on the interactions of the students within the school as a culture and elements of narrative inquiry were used, particularly in reporting the results. The narratives revealed all participants experienced problematic social networks. Further, an alarmingly high level of bullying was discovered. Participants reported that when they were feeling rejected or were missing a valued other they had little cognitive energy for learning and did not want to be in school. Absenteeism amongst the group was high, but this was also true for the rest of the school population. A number of relationships emerged from the narratives using social cognitive theory. These relationships highlighted the impact of cognitive, behavioural and environmental factors in the school experience of lonely students with learning disabilities. This approach reflects the social model of disability that frames the research.

Designed biodegradable hydrogel structures prepared by stereolithography using poly(ethylene glycol)/poly(D,L-lactide)-based resins

Designed three-dimensional biodegradable poly(ethylene glycol)/poly(D,L-lactide) hydrogel structures were prepared for the first time by stereolithography at high resolutions. A photopolymerisable aqueous resin comprising PDLLA-PEG-PDLLA-based macromer, visible light photo-initiator, dye and inhibitor in DMSO/water was used to build the structures. Porous and non-porous hydrogels with well-defined architectures and good mechanical properties were prepared. Porous hydrogel structures with a gyroid pore network architecture showed narrow pore size distributions, excellent pore interconnectivity and good mechanical properties. The structures showed good cell seeding characteristics, and human mesenchymal stem cells adhered and proliferated well on these materials.

Young children’s active citizenship : storytelling, stories, and social actions

This thesis inquires into possibilities for young children‘s active citizenship as provoked through a practice of social justice storytelling with one Preparatory1 class of children aged five to six years. The inquiry was practitioner-research, through a living educational theory approach cultivating an interrelational view of existing with others in evolving processes of creation. Ideas of young children‘s active citizenship were provoked and explored through storytelling, by a storytelling teacher-researcher, a Prep class of children and their teacher. The three major foci of the study were practice, narrative and action. A series of storytelling workshops with a Prep class was the practice that was investigated. Each workshop began with a story that made issues of social justice visible, followed by critical discussion of the story, and small group activities to further explore the story. The focus on narrative was based on the idea of story as a way knowing. Stories were used to explore social justice issues with young children. Metanarratives of children and citizenship were seen to influence possibilities for young children‘s active citizenship. Stories were purposefully shared to provoke and promote young children‘s active citizenship through social actions. It was these actions that were the third focus of the study. Through action research, a social justice storytelling practice and the children‘s responses to the stories were reflected on both in action and after. These reflections informed and shaped storytelling practice. Learning in a practice of social justice storytelling is explained through living theories of social justice storytelling as pedagogy. Data of the children‘s participation in the study were analysed to identify influences and possibilities for young children‘s active citizenship creating a living theory of possibilities for young children‘s active citizenship.

Three-dimensional hydrogen-bonded structures in the guanidinium salts of the monocyclic dicarboxylic acids rac-trans-cyclohexane-1,2-dicarboxylic acid (2:1, anhydrous), isophthalic acid (1:1, monohydrate) and terephthalic acid (2:1, trihydrate).

The structures of bis(guanidinium)rac-trans-cyclohexane-1,2-dicarboxylate, 2(CH6N3+) C8H10O4- (I), guanidinium 3-carboxybenzoate monohydrate CH6N3+ C8H5O4- . H2O (II) and bis(guanidinium) benzene-1,4-dicarboxylate trihydrate, 2(CH6N3+) C8H4O4^2- . 3H2O (III) have been determined and the hydrogen bonding in each examined. All three compounds form three-dimensional hydrogen-bonded framework structures. In anhydrous (I), both guanidinium cations give classic cyclic R2/2(8) N--H...O,O'(carboxyl) and asymmetric cyclic R1/2(6) hydrogen-bonding interactions while one cation gives an unusual enlarged cyclic interaction with O acceptors of separate ortho-related carboxyl groups [graph set R2/2(11)]. Cations and anions also associate across inversion centres giving cyclic R2/4(8) motifs. In the 1:1 guanidinium salt (II), the cation gives two separate cyclic R1/2(6) interactions, one with a carboxyl O-acceptor, the other with the water molecule of solvation. The structure is unusual in that both carboxyl groups give short inter-anion O...H...O contacts, one across a crystallographic inversion centre [2.483(2)\%A], the other about a two-fold axis of rotation [2.462(2)\%A] with a half-occupancy hydrogen delocalized on the symmetry element in each. The water molecule links the cation--anion ribbon structures into a three-dimensional framework. In (III), the repeating molecular unit comprises a benzene-1,4-dicarboxylate dianion which lies across a crystallographic inversion centre, two guanidinium cations and two water molecules of solvation (each set related by two-fold rotational symmetry), and a single water molecule which lies on a two-fold axis. Each guanidinium cation gives three types of cyclic interactions with the dianions: one R^1^~2~(6), the others R2/3(8) and R3/3(10) (both of these involving the water molecules), giving a three-dimensional structure through bridges down the b cell direction. The water molecule at the general site also forms an unusual cyclic R2/2(4) homodimeric association across an inversion centre [O--H...O, 2.875(2)\%A]. The work described here provides further examples of the common cyclic guanidinium cation...carboxylate anion hydrogen-bonding associations as well as featuring other less common cyclic motifs.

Project-based organisations : overcoming lack of trust and social networks within small and medium project teams

In sustainable development projects, as well as other types of projects, knowledge transfer is important for the organisations managing the project. Nevertheless, knowledge transfer among employees does not happen automatically and it has been found that the lack of social networks and the lack of trust among employees are the major barriers to effective knowledge transfer. Social network analysis has been recognised as a very important tool for improving knowledge transfer in the project environment. Transfer of knowledge is more effective where it depends heavily on social networks and informal dialogue. Based on the theory of social capital, social capital consists of two parts: conduits network and resource exchange network. This research studies the relationships among performance, the resource exchange network (such as the knowledge network) and the relationship network (such as strong ties network, energy network, and trust network) at the individual and project levels. The aim of this chapter is to present an approach to overcoming the lack of social networks and lack of trust to improve knowledge transfer within project-based organisations. This is to be done by identifying the optimum structure of relationship networks and knowledge networks within small and medium projects. The optimal structure of the relationship networks and knowledge networks is measured using two dimensions: intra-project and inter-project. This chapter also outlines an extensive literature review in the areas of social capital, knowledge management and project management, and presents the conceptual model of the research approach.

Research for Action : Networking University and Community for Social Responsibility (Workshop)

This workshop brings together people from a diverse range of disciplines to discuss how academic researchers and community practitioners and activists can work together to explore the use of information and communication technologies, social media, augmented reality, and other forms of network technologies for research and action in pursuit of social responsibility. The aim is to connect people with ideas, ideas with research projects, and harness new media to further inquiry into socially just outcomes in our community.

Self-narratives of children : using digital journals

This paper takes the position that children are at risk of being marginalised when research methods are not tailored to their requirements. In particular, children who are negotiating early adolescence are presented as an ideal group for involvement with narrative research approaches that attempt to be flexible and creative. With the premise that the need to juggle multiple realities within complex societal structures is challenging and isolating for such children, narrative methods offer a promising mode of access to their individual realities. Children's own self-narratives in the form of email journal entries are proposed as research tools that can help to minimise issues arising from resistance to adults and problems of shared vocabulary that may occur using more traditional methods. Digital journaling, as a means of capturing self-narratives, can provide a convenient space for young people to generate and share their own personal accounts of their lives and their experiences that can also serve to inform others. Guidelines are offered for how to manage a journaling project that is not reliant on children's physical presence within school settings. Digital journals are thus described as multi-function mechanisms that can support personal growth as well as promote shared understandings and social fairness between adults and children.

Is providing micro-credit social responsible?

Micro-finance, which includes micro-credit as one it its services, has become big business with a range of models – from those that operate on a strictly business basis to those who come from a philanthropic base, through Non Government organisations (NGOs). Success is often measured by the numbers involved and the repayment rates – which are very high, largely because of the lending models used. The purpose of this paper is to identify whether the means used to deliver micro-credit services to the poor are socially responsible. This paper will explore the range of models currently used and propose a model that addresses some of the social responsibility issues that appear to plague delivery. The model is being developed in Beira, the second largest city in Mozambique. Mozambique exhibits many of the characteristics found in other African countries, so the model, if successful, may have implications for other poor African nations.

Properties of porous structures prepared by stereolithography using a polylactide resin

Rapid prototyping techniques such as stereolithography allow for building designed tissue engineering scaffolds with high accuracy. In this work, a stereolithography resin based on poly(D,L-lactide) was developed. Biodegradable scaffolds with varying porosity were built from this resin. The scaffolds were analysed by μCT-scanning and compression testing. The porous structures showed excellent mechanical properties in the range of trabecular bone.

Solid freeform fabrication of hydrogel structures and cell encapsulation

We aim to fabricate computer-controlled hydrogel structures containing viable encapsulated cells to overcome the low seeding densities which are inherent to most pre-fabricated scaffold systems.