Mental tactility: the ascendance of writing in online management education

A qualitative study of online management education and the role of writing as an indicative measure of thinking and learning. Established educational models, such as Dale's Cone of Experience, are expanded and redeveloped to illustrate the central role of writing as a critical thinking process which appears to be increasing, rather than decreasing, with the advent of online multimedia technology. In an environment of increasing reliance on audiovisual stimulus in online education, the authors contend that tertiary educators may witness an ascendance or re-emergence of writing as central to the academic experience. This may be both supply and demand driven. Drawing on a study of two undergraduate units in the Bachelor of Commerce and applying hermeneutics to develop challenging insights, the authors present a case for educators to remain conversant with the art of teaching writing, and to promote writing to improve educational outcomes.

Sveta Bogorodica (The Church of the Holy Mother), Zavoj, Macedonia : writing about an insignificant vernacular building

Sveta Bogorodica (Church of the Holy Mother), Zavoj, is a small church built in 1934 in a village in the Republic of Macedonia. It presented a quintessential architectural division between a richly ornamented interior and a pure white formal exterior. The paper will examine the question of tradition in relation to architecture. What of the formal Byzantine architectural tradition is inherited in this folk vernacular church building? Secondly, tradition as an inherited liturgical ritual and ceremony. How are these two forms of tradition autonomous or intertwined, and how the question about transcendence in architecture pursued in the 2005 paper on Hagia Sofia might be understood within the parameters offered by this church building, will be explored in the paper .

Dissecting obesogenic behaviours: the development and application of a test battery for targeting prescription for weight loss

There are limited practical tools to help clinicians or public health workers manage obesity in their patients. We have previously developed a scanning technique for diagnosing environments leading to obesity (Analysis Grid for Environments/Elements Leading to Obesity). Here we describe the development of a tool for identifying behaviours in an individual most likely to lead to obesity. A questionnaire battery of five tests called the DAB-Q (Diet, Activity and Behaviour Questionnaire) was developed, piloted and internally validated with overweight women from a commercial weight loss programme. Outcome from the tests, which are available free on the Internet, provides clinicians with a simple, effective and time-saving tool for ranking foods, drinks and activities likely to be most effectively targeted for weight loss in an individual. This is based on total scores derived from measures of frequency, potential for change and potency of each item as a potential contributor to overweight.

This story wants to be danced : creative writing, dance, convergence and confluence

I suggest ways the discipline of dance can enrich and challenge the discipline of creative writing. I focus particularly on improvisation in dance, relating this to creative writing pedagogy, classroom structure and activities. Much possibility exists in utilising moments when creative arts disciplines touch. How might creative writers and creative writing courses use such fusions? I draw on material theory and briefly upon transformative and collaborative education theories in my exploration of these ideas.

Writing, digital culture and English curriculum

In their out-of-school lives, young people are immersed in rich and complex digital worlds, characterised by image and multimodality. Computer games in particular present young people with specific narrative genres and textual forms: contexts in which meaning is constructed interactively and drawing explicitly on a wide range of design elements including sound, image, gesture, symbol, colour and so on. As English curriculum seeks to address the changing nature of literacy, challenges are raised, particularly with respect to the ways in which multimodal texts might be incorporated alongside print based forms of literacy. Questions focus both on the ways in which such texts might be created, studied and assessed, and on the implications of the introduction of such texts for print based literacies. This paper explores intersections between writing and computer games within the English classroom, from a number of junior secondary examples. In particular it considers tensions that arise when young people use writing to recreate or respond to multimodal forms. It explores ways in which writing is stretched and challenged by enterprises such as these, ways in which students utilise and adapt print based modes to represent multimodal forms of narrative, and how teachers and curriculum might respond. Consideration is given to the challenges posed to teaching and assessment by bringing writing to bear as the medium of analysis of, and response to, multimodal texts.

A case for blended and collaborative learning as strategies for teaching editing and publishing within a postgraduate writing program

Several recent studies have called for the breakdown of' arbitrary distinctions between virtual and "face-to-face" classrooms' (Comeaux & McKenna-Byington 2003: 348; see also McDonald 2002; Rosset, Douglis & Frazee 2003; Morse 2003). In 2004 the Professional and Creative Writing discipline at Deakin University added Editing and Publishing (which had previously been available as on-campus-only units at our institution) to an established list of online postgraduate writing units taught via the auspices of the new (to our university) WebCT technology. This paper describes and evaluates our experience of challenging the 'arbitrary distinctions' between our two cohorts of students by incorporating blended and collaborative learning strategies into our course via two specific projects.

Pectinase production by solid fermentation from Aspergillus niger by a new prescription experiment

The Ordos Plateau in China is covered with up to 300,000 ha of peashrub (Caragana) which is the dominant natural vegetation and ideal for fodder production. To exploit peashrub fodder, it is crucially important to optimize the culture conditions, especially culture substrate to produce pectinase complex. In this study, a new prescription process was developed. The process, based on a uniform experimental design, first optimizes the solid substrate and second, after incubation, applies two different temperature treatments (30 °C for the first 30 h and 23°C for the second 42 h) in the fermentation process. A multivariate regression analysis is applied to a number of independent variables (water, wheat bran, rice dextrose, ammonium sulfate, and Tween 80) to develop a predictive model of pectinase activity. A second-degree polynomial model is developed which accounts for an excellent proportion of the explained variation (R² = 97:7%). Using unconstrained mathematical programming, an optimized substrate prescription for pectinase production is subsequently developed. The mathematical analysis revealed that the optimal formula for pectinase production from Aspergillus niger by solid fermentation under the conditions of natural aeration, natural substrate pH (about 6.5), and environmental humidity of 60% is rice dextrose 8%, wheat bran 24%, ammonium sulfate ((NH₄)₂SO₄) 6%, and water 61%. Tween 80 was found to have a negative effect on the production of pectinase in solid substrate. With this substrate prescription, pectinase produced by solid fermentation of A. niger reached 36.3 IU/(g DM). Goats fed on the pectinase complex obtain an incremental increase of 0:47 kg day^-1 during the initial 25 days of feeding, which is a very promising new feeding prospect for the local peashrub. It is concluded that the new formula may be very useful for the sustainable development of arid and semiarid pastures such as those of the Ordos Plateau.

Evolution and everging trends of university writing groups

Writing groups have developed in universities to assist academics to publish. Knowledge of these groups and their successes and challenges is valuable, and informs the wider academic writing community. However there is a paucity of research in this support area. This article will discuss writing groups from two other universities and report on the evolution of our writing group over a three-year period. It will then compare the characteristics of the three in terms of publishing acumen, collegiality, leadership and affect, and discuss emerging trends.

Being made redundant: from 'the writing on the wall' to 'a bolt from the blue' - 'being disposed of' as a human tragedy

This paper focuses on the experience of being made redundant. A qualitative study conducted in Australia involved phenomenological, in-depth interviews with middle- and senior-level executives. Ten respondents were interviewed about their experiences of being made redundant. What is evident from their stories is a clear passage of "being disposed of" differing only in whether their fate was evident prior to their disposal - "the writing on the wall" - or whether it was a complete shock - "a bolt from the blue". Ultimately, whether respondents knew what was coming or not, the process was often shocking, hurtful, humiliating, and harsh. Many respondents reported going through the process of being made redundant more than once. All believed it could have been handled better.