Motivation, self-assessment and tacit knowledge in e-learning context selection

Formal consideration of the links between students' Motivation, Self-Assessment abilities and Tacit Knowledge is shown in this paper to provide a useful model (MSATK) for planning postgraduate, Web-based education. The design of effective e-Learning courses requires a Learning Framework that emphasizes contextanalysis within knowledge-mediated processes. Contextual analysis ensures that self-assessment will be effective in complex domains that rely on Web sources of experiential knowledge, usually accessible as Professional practice models that employ diagnostic tools for scenario simulation processes. Demographic trends now facing Japan and Western countries, and the knowledge management support requirements of global e-Learning initiatives are challenging the value of current selfassessment processes. Building a Culture of Critique is highly desirable, but the lack of an Learning Framework that reflects student ownership of their learning process has obscured the need for tools to correctly interpret domain contexts, or for student freedom to drive the need for modified scenarios. The value of a Learning Framework that links motivation, tacit knowledge, selfassessment practice and contextual analysis is examined in this paper with consequential implications for Web support.

GCC market scope and competitiveness

This chapter provides an overview of the recent trends and emerging patterns in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) consumer market and business environment. The chapter starts by assessing the potential consumer market size of the GCC by analysing emerging demographic trends. Then, the chapter provides an overview of emerging economic sectors with future growth opportunities. This is followed by an analysis of the international competitiveness of the GCC and its member states.

Conserving koalas: A review of the contrasting regional trends, outlooks and policy challenges

The koala (Phascolarctos cinereus), one of the world's most iconic faunal species, was recently listed under Australian government legislation as vulnerable in the northern states of Queensland and New South Wales and in the Australian Capital Territory, but not in the southern states of Victoria and South Australia. This review synthesises empirical evidence of regional koala population trends, their conservation outlook, and associated policy challenges. Population declines are common in the northern half of the koala's range, where habitat loss, hotter droughts, disease, dog attacks and vehicle collisions are the major threats. In contrast, some southern populations are locally overabundant and are now subject to managed declines. The koala presents the problem of managing a wide-ranging species that now primarily occurs in human-modified landscapes, some of which are rapidly urbanising or subject to large-scale agricultural and mining developments. Climate change is a major threat to both northern and southern populations. The implementation of policy to conserve remaining koala habitat and restore degraded habitat is critical to the success of koala conservation strategies, but habitat conservation alone will not resolve the issues of koala conservation. There needs to be concerted effort to reduce the incidence of dog attack and road-related mortality, disease prevalence and severity, and take into account new threats of climate change and mining. Many of the complex conservation and policy challenges identified here have broader significance for other species whose population trends, and the nature of the threatening processes, vary from region to region, and through time.

The associations of vegetable consumption with food mavenism, personal values, food knowledge and demographic factors

Background: Poor dietary choices, in particular low consumption of fruits and vegetables are associated with the prevalence of diet related diseases. Ways to increase consumption are urgently required. This paper examines the associations of demographic, psychographic and food knowledge variables with reported vegetable consumption. Methods: An online questionnaire was administered in late 2012 to a national sample 2146 Australians who were selected to represent the Australian population in terms of age, sex, education and location of residence. It was divided into sections which assessed food knowledge, food involvement, food mavenism, personal values and personality factors, demographic characteristics and reported consumption of 13 vegetables and the total number of servings of vegetables per day. Principal components analyses of the individual vegetable consumption ratings derived three forms of vegetable consumption scores. These and total serving per day were used as dependent variables in a structural equation model to identify pathways between them and their likely antecedents. Major findings: Three types of vegetable consumption were formed:. Salad vegetables (onion, tomato and lettuce);. Dinner vegetables (carrot, peas and beans); and 'Green' vegetables (cabbage, spinach broccoli and cauliflower). Food mavenism, food knowledge, food involvement and equality-universalist values mediated the relationships between demographics and conscientiousness and the vegetable consumption variables. Conclusions: The three types of vegetable consumption and total servings per day were associated with different antecedent pathways. The mediating roles of food mavenism, food knowledge, food involvement and equality-universalist values may present opportunities for health promotion and the horticultural industry to increase population vegetable intake. Further research is required to test these associations via experimental and longitudinal studies and qualitative investigation of the meaning and place of the three forms of vegetable consumption in people's daily lives is recommended.

Well-being and menopause: an investigation of purpose in life, self-acceptance and social role in premenopausal, perimenopausal and postmenopausal women

Objectives: Many studies have investigated anxiety and depression during the menopausal transition. However, there is little understanding of positive aspects of well-being among menopausal women. This paper reports on two studies which investigated how menopausal stage and age accounted for how women felt about their purpose in life, self-acceptance and social role. Method: In Study One, 304 women from a community sample completed structured questionnaires which included questions relating to demographic background and two subscales of the Psychological Well-being Inventory: purpose in life and self-acceptance. In Study Two, 203 participants from Study One returned a follow-up structured questionnaire related to purpose in life and social role. Results: Study One found that the effects of age group and menopausal group could not be separated: All women felt they would be more positive about these well-being measures in the future than they had been in the past and at present. Study Two found that women who were perimenopausal and postmenopausal did not feel as positive about their role/s in life as premenopausal women, regardless of their age. Conclusions: The results suggest that the menopause may indicate to women that their role/purpose in life is changing. It is important that any understanding of the menopause incorporate psychosocial aspects of women''s lives. Further longitudinal studies are needed to explore well-being factors and the menopause.

The early detection of postpartum depression: midwives and nurses trial a checklist

Objective: To evaluate the use of a standard pen-and-paper test versus the use of a checklist for the early identification of women at risk of postpartum depression and to investigate the experiences of nurses in using the checklist.

Design: A prospective cohort design using repeated measures.

Setting: The booking-in prenatal clinic at a regional hospital in Victoria, Australia, and the community-based postpartum maternal and child health service.

Participants: 107 pregnant women over 20 years of age.

Main Measures: Postpartum Depression Prediction Inventory (PDPI), Postpartum Depression Screening Scale (PDSS), Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), demographic questionnaire, and data on the outcome from the midwives and nurses.

Results: The PDPI identified 45% of the women at risk of depression during pregnancy and 30% postpartum. The PDSS and EPDS both identified the same 8 women (10%), who scored highly for depression at the 8-week postpartum health visit. Nurses provided 80% of the women with anticipatory guidance on postpartum depression in the prenatal period and 46% of women at the 8-week postpartum health visit. Nurse counseling or anticipatory guidance was provided for 60% of the women in the prenatal period.

Conclusion: The PDPI was found to be a valuable checklist by many nurses involved in this research, particularly as a way of initiating open discussion with women about postpartum depression. It correlated strongly with both the PDSS and the EPDS, suggesting that it is useful as an inventory to identify women at risk of postpartum depression.

Selection, exclusion and assimilation: the project lambert of 1931 on the reform of French immigration policy

The unemployment crisis of 1926-7 focused attention onto the question of immigration. Historians of this period have generally focused on the crisis of public policy and popular antipathies towards foreigners; more recently historians have become attuned to voices of racism. Less attention has been paid to attempts to redress the policy weaknesses through a new legislative regime on immigration. This paper reviews one such proposal, made by Charles Lambert, a deputy from the Rhone, in 1931. Instrumental in a revision of the naturalization law in 1927 to encourage the assimilation of foreigners through the acquisition of French citizenship, Lambert proposed a comprehensive statute on immigration to select “desirable” foreigners and exclude the “undesirables” to promote the assimilation of the “better” elements. The paper argues that his rationale betrays a profound fear of mounting French weakness in the face of economic and demographic decline, and grave anxieties for the future health of the French nation.

Adolescent and parental perceptions of interparental conflict

Research indicates adolescent adjustment problems are associated with high levels of interparental conflict. This study examined parents’ and adolescents’ perceptions of interparental conflict and the relationship of these perceptions to adolescent adjustment through a survey of adolescent secondary students and their parents. Sixty-two adolescents and 62 parents participated in the study. Adolescents completed three self-report measures of psychological adjustment, a demographic questionnaire and the Consensus and Cohesion subscales of the Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS). Parents completed the same subscales of the DAS and a demographic questionnaire. There were no significant differences between the levels of interparental conflict perceived by adolescents and parents. However, adolescent perceptions of interparental conflict were a better predictor of adolescent psychological adjustment when compared to parental perceptions of conflict. The results of this study emphasise the importance of adolescent perceptions of interparental conflict, and provide support for both parental and adolescent reports of family functioning to be taken into account in future clinical studies.

Managing change without sacrificing quality: music teaching and learning at South African tertiary institutions

After the jubilation of the first democratic election in 1994, South African educational settings were faced with the challenge to rethink curriculum, content and delivery as part of its nation building process. Education continues to be a major player in stimulating wider change in society and is one arena where change may be readily facilitated. Changing the style and practice of teacher education programs remains a key feature in the transformation process. Twelve years on, curriculum, has undergone reform in terms of Outcomes Based Education (OBE)? Revised National Curriculum Statement (RNCS) of 2002, accordingly, universities continue to prepare teachers for multicultural classrooms. Universities are now challenged to manage increased student intake (quantity) for teacher education programs without having to sacrifice quality for teacher education. This article focuses only on The University of Pretoria, a city university previously known as a traditional Afrikaans university situated in the greater Johannesburg area in South Africa. Through interview data with two music educators at this university, I present some of the current trends and challenges that tertiary music educators face in preparing music teachers in South Africa. This article also outlines a paradigm shift in the curriculum and argues for a holistic music education, one that endorses most of the major cultures and musics in South Africa. The question I pose is how then do we effectively manage change at tertiary level without sacrificing quality when preparing future music teachers to meet the needs and challenges of the curriculum and society.

`All things to all people`: indigenous teachers in the Australian teaching profession

This paper reports on the findings of a four-year study that seeks to understand the experiences and career pathways of Indigenous teachers in Australia. We present data obtained from in-depth interviews with current and former teachers in order to provide a qualitative account of what lies behind demographic trends in Indigenous teacher recruitment and retention in Australia. The paper highlights the expectations of school and wider communities that Indigenous teachers will be 'all things to all people' and will fill a number of complex and sometimes conflicting roles within and beyond classrooms. We speculate that these expectations contribute to their decisions to resign from the school system to work elsewhere. We also introduce and problematise the notion of the Indigenous teacher as a category in the consciousness of teachers, administrators and other participants in the discourses of Australian schooling.
We conclude by arguing the need for non-Indigenous student-teachers to be better prepared to work alongside Indigenous colleagues and to take more active roles in the implementation of policy and initiatives around Indigenous education. The paper also raises implications for the recruitment and retention of Indigenous teachers.

The relationship between quality of life and perceived body weight an dieting history in Dutch men and women

OBJECTIVES: (1) To study the relationship between quality of life (QoL) and measured and perceived weight and dieting history in Dutch men and women; (2) to assess the effect of weight loss over a 5 y period on QoL.

DESIGN: A cross-sectional study, in a sub-sample longitudinal over 5 y.

SUBJECTS: A total of 2155 men and 2446 women, aged 20-59 and recruited from the general population from three towns in The Netherlands.

MEASUREMENTS: Body weight, height, self-administered questionnaire including questions concerning demographic variables and weight loss practices as part of the Dutch Monitoring project on Risk Factors for Chronic Disease (MORGEN). The Rand-36 questionnaire was used as the QoL measure.

RESULTS: In men, measured overweight (body mass index, BMI>25 kg=m2) was not associated with any dimension of QoL after adjustment for age, educational level and perceived overweight. Perceived overweight was related to reduced scores for general health and vitality. This relationship was independent of measured obesity. A history of repeated weight loss was associated with reduced scores for role functioning due to both physical and emotional problems. In women, measured overweight was significantly associated with lower scores for five out of eight QoL dimensions and perceived overweight with three: general health, vitality and physical functioning. A history of frequent weight loss was related to significantly reduced scores in six dimensions. However, only with history of frequent weight loss, and uniquely in women, was there a significant reduction in
scores on mental health and limited emotional role functioning. Measured and perceived overweight and frequent weight loss were all related to reduced scores for physical functioning. Longitudinal data indicate that in older women weight gain of 10% body weight or more was associated with a significant deterioration in QoL.

CONCLUSIONS: When looking at measures of QoL in relation to overweight it is important to separate the effects of perception of weight status and history of weight loss. We observed that the latter two factors were associated with reduced scores on several dimensions of QoL, particularly in women. These associations were observed to be independent of body weight. International Journal of Obesity (2001) 25, 1386 – 1392

Teacher attitudes and perceptions of primary school music education at independent schools in South Africa

As South Africa enters the new millennium and is currently in its second term of democracy, the question remains: is outcomes-based education preliminary the way forward for learners in South Africa. The new education system recognises the importance of arts education and specifically music education at the primary school level. This article focuses on music education at independent schools in Gauteng, South Africa. The reporting of this article is based on the author's doctoral thesis entitled "Outcomes-based music education in the foundation phase at independent schools in Gauteng, South Africa". The principal form of research was a questionnaire sent to music teachers at primary schools registered with the Independent Schools Council (ISC). The purpose of the questionnaires was to contribute to a study on teachers' perceptions, attitudes and opinions regarding music education and outcomes-based education. The questionnaire was divided into three main sections, namely: personal and professional details, outcomes-based education and general information. Both open and closed types of questions were employed. The questionnaire yielded both ambivalent views about the change of the education system as well as the inclusion of music as an area of learning within "Arts and Culture". It also identified current teaching trends and exposed areas of weakness that call for attention.

Of great love and immense hate: the ambivalence of the other in a local/global school

In recent times, and in times of insurgent globalisation, modern notions of identity and with them, conceptions of essential and primordially defined difference seem to have fallen apart. Identity is understood as post-modern, a ‘moveable feast’ of ever-in-process, negotiated differences. The examination of the material and conceptual terms and conditions that position these logics otherwise suggests that these arguments remain tied within conceptions of ourselves made through the ambivalent conceptions of others. In this paper, I trace these paradoxical relations as they are represented in a particular local Melbourne school at each end of a decade and at a time of increasing demographic change and global transformation. Teachers and parents understood and defined their identities and the identities of others in ways that were increasingly fragmented, changing and complex. Beneath these changing patterns, they continued to define others as different and as not us in ways that were ambivalent and extreme. These negotiations took place differently in recent years as the definitions of essential notions of identity changed and became more complex to define. Nevertheless, they continued as ambivalent stories of otherness that transversed the tortuous spectrum between orientalism and nativism speculated upon in post-colonial writings.

New forms of organising : changing structures, processes and boundaries in a public sector institution

Globalisation, deregulation, privatisation, and advances in communications technologies have intensified competition and impacted on the structures, processes and boundaries that define organisations. Increased competition at both the local and global level calls for increased responsiveness and flexibility, and continuous improvement and innovation. As organisations endeavour to become more attentive and responsive to environmental trends, and customer needs and expectations, they are experimenting with different forms of organising. This has included flattening structures, devolving decision-making responsibility and encouraging greater collaboration and knowledge transfer across functional areas.

The William Angliss Institute of TAFE operates in the post-secondary sector which has experienced significant changes over the past decade as a result of: wide-ranging public sector reforms imposed by successive governments; budgetary cutbacks; accountability and performance improvement pressures; increased national and international competition, industrial relations changes and more demanding, sophisticated customers. This paper draws on the INNFORM Study's three organisational design dimensions of structure, process, and boundaries to examine the nature and degree of change that has taken place at the Institute. Case study findings indicate that while William Angliss has implemetted changes across the three design dimensions, the depth and breadth of these vary and this has impacted on overall performance outcomes. Its experience suggests that even when an organisation adopts a systemic approach and implements changes simultaneously across structure, process and boundaries, optimal performance benefits will not accrue unless these elemental changes are mutually reinforcing and complementary. It also suggests that improvement to processes, particularly communications and human resources practices must be an overarching consideration, as complementary change across all three design dimensions depends ultimately on the contribution and commitment organisational members are prepared to make.

Longitudinal changes in dietary patterns during adult life

Despite the growing interest in dietary patterns, there have been few longitudinal investigations. The objective of the present study was to extend an earlier method of dietary pattern assessment to longitudinal binary data and to assess changes in patterns over time and in relation to socio-demographic covariates. A prospective national cohort of 1265 participants completed a 5 d food diary at three time-points during their adult life (at age 36 years in 1982, 43 years in 1989 and 53 years in 1999). Factor analysis identified three dietary patterns for women (fruit, vegetables and dairy; ethnic foods and alcohol; meat, potatoes and sweet foods) and two patterns in men (ethnic foods and alcohol; mixed). Trends in dietary pattern scores were calculated using random effects models. Marked changes were found in scores for all patterns between 1989 and 1999, with only the meat, potatoes and sweet foods pattern in women recording a decline. In a multiple variable model that included the three time-points, socio-demographic variables and BMI time-dependent covariates, both non-manual social class and higher education level were also strongly associated with the consumption of more items from the ethnic foods and alcohol pattern and the mixed pattern for men (P<0[middle dot]0001) and the fruit, vegetables and dairy pattern and the ethnic foods and alcohol pattern for women (P<0[middle dot]01). In conclusion, longitudinal changes in dietary patterns and across socio-economic groups can assist with targeting public health initiatives by identifying stages during adult life when interventions to improve diet would be most beneficial to health.