Virtual learning communities beyond the classroom: perceptions of tertiary Chinese language and non-language learners

As class contact times are reduced as a result of fiscal restraints in the modern tertiary sector, language instructors are placed in the position of having to find new ways to provide experience and continuity in language learning. Extending 'learning communities'—sites of learner knowledge exchange, exposure to diverse learning styles and strategies, and mutual support—beyond the classroom is one solution to maintaining successful linguistic competencies amongst learners. This, however, can conflict with the diverse extra-curricular commitments faced by tertiary students. The flexibility of web-based learning platforms provides one means of overcoming these obstacles. This study investigates learner perceptions of the use of the WebCT platform's computer medicated communication (CMC) tools as a means of extending the community of learning in tertiary Chinese language and non-language courses. Learner responses to Likert and open-ended questionnaires show that flexibility and reduction of negative affect are seen as significant benefits to 'virtual' interaction and communication, although responses are notably stronger in the non-language compared with the language cohort. While both learner cohorts acknowledge positive learning outcomes, CMC is not seen to consistently further interpersonal rapport beyond that established in the classroom. Maintaining a balance between web-based and classroom learning emerges as a concern, especially amongst language learners. [Author abstract, ed]

What have we done wrong? The responsibilities of the rich

This paper surveys hostile reactions to claims that the I I September attacks were understandable in terms of the actions of the west towards poor parts of the world and the rich countries' own public commitments to democracy and affluence at home. The paper argues that domestic resentment is likely to continue to foment because concerted institution-building commensurate with the rich countries' material capacities has been neglected. Much responsibility for the global discontent can be attributed to policies advocated by the west and imposed on both rich and poor countries alike by policy-elites within the rich countries. Intellectuals have a role in re-activating the sorts of high-minded state-building and policy-making capacities that preoccupied them in the immediate post-1945 period.

Physical activity as a dimension of family life for lower primary school children

While questions of children's engagement in physical activity are being widely debated, little is known about how physical activity is valued and managed within families. This paper reports on qualitative data from a multi-method study on lower primary aged children. The focus of the broader study was to determine the relationships between young children's physical activity patterns, skills, and recreational interests, and their families' location, income, commitment to physical activity, and other responsibilities. Drawing on interviews with 12 purposively selected families, it was found that physical activity was highly valued across different family contexts, that children's engagement was shaped by their interests, friendships, and safety, and that issues such as income, family configuration, parental work commitments, and transport were potential barriers to further engagement.

Healthy waterways: Healthy catchments - An integrated research/management program to understand and reduce impacts of sediments and nutrients on waterways in Queensland, Australia

The Moreton Bay Waterways and Catchments Partnership, now branded the Healthy Waterways Partnership, has built on the experience of the past 15 years here in South East Queensland (SEQ). It focuses on water quality and the ecosystem health of our freshwater, estuarine and marine systems through the implementation of actions by individual partners and the collective oversight of a regional work program that assists partners to prioritise their investments and address emerging issues. This regional program includes monitoring, reporting, marketing and communication, development of decision support tools, research that is directed to problem solving, and maintaining extensive consultative and engagement arrangements. The Partnership has produced information-based outcomes which have led to significant cost savings in the protection of water quality and ecosystem resources by its stakeholders. This has been achieved by: – providing a clear focus for management actions that has ownership of governments, industry and community; – targeted scientific research to address issues requiring appropriate management actions; – management actions based on a sound understanding of the waterways and rigorous public consultation; and, – development and implementation of a strategy that incorporates commitments from all levels of stakeholders. While focusing on our waterways, the Partnership’s approach includes addressing catchment management issues particularly relating to the management of diffuse pollution sources in both urban and rural landscapes as well as point source loads. We are now working with other stakeholders to develop a framework for integrated water management that will link water quality and water quantity goals and priorities.

Is economic philosophy a subject worth teaching?

Economic philosophy is anything but a part of the mainstream diet in the course of an economics education. Yet there are those – including occasional Nobel prizewinners – who argue that an understanding of economic philosophy is absolutely fundamental to an understanding of economics, of why economists disagree and of why “economic rationalists” are often derided by those from other professional backgrounds. The argument put in this paper is that many social science debates hinge more on the values or social philosophy implicitly involved than on technical matters of economic 'science', and that a nuanced understanding of economics requires that each school of thought be traced back to its foundations in terms of its implicit economic philosophy a prioris.