Breath and the truths of youth at risk : allegory and the social scientific imagination

The ways that we have invented for knowing young people are governmentalised. This governmentalisation produces powerful incentives to conform to the rule-bound and institutionalised knowledge practices that institutions, government departments, corporations, and NGOs understand as being capable of telling truths about young people and about risk. I argue that knowledge practices in the social sciences should trouble what counts as truth, as evidence, and the ways in which these truths can be produced.

These interests will be examined through a discussion of the ways in which Tim Winton's novel Breath can be read as an allegorical tale about the terror of being ordinary: and of the teenage years as being a time in a life in which the fear of being ordinary compels Winton's key characters to seek out, sometimes stumble upon that which promises to make their's a life less ordinary. Here risk is something that breathes energy and purpose into lifeworlds that are dominated by the institutionalised ordinariness of family, school, and work. As an allegorical tale told from the vantage point of hindsight, Breath unsettles what it is that the social sciences can tell us about youth (as becoming) and risk (as mitigated by prudential foresight).

Has equity's time come for VET? Observations and principles for equity policy and practice in Australian education

Equity has a long history in education. When compulsory schooling was first introduced in industrialising nations in the mid 1800s, many advocates saw it as a way of improving the circumstances of the poorest and most disadvantaged in their communities. But access to schooling did not prove to be the great equaliser that some had hoped. Instead, it became central in the reproduction of social and economic inequalities (Bourdieu & Passeron 1977). High academic achievement became highly correlated with high socioeconomic status, and vice versa (Teese & Polesel 2003). In Australia, the Karmel Report (1973) proved to be a watershed moment in naming the equity problem in schooling and, among other things, gave rise to the Disadvantaged Schools Program (DSP): an attempt to level the playing field albeit by ‘running twice as hard’ (Connell at al. 1991). Almost two decades later, A Fair Chance for All (1990) signalled official concern for equity in Australian higher education. While access to university was not to be universal, it was to be equitable; all social groups in the Australian population were to be proportionally represented among its university students. Today, Australia is still grappling with the inequities in its schooling and higher education systems, highlighted by renewed interest by governments to address the issues. Although not of the same order of magnitude, there now appears to be an emerging policy agenda around equity in VET. Has equity’s time come for VET? This paper canvasses the history of equity in Australian schooling and higher education, with a view to drawing out principles to inform a rejuvenated equity agenda in vocational education and training.

Case study of e-learning experts in Malaysia : impact of social capital and social networks

This paper examines the experiences of selected academics pioneering e-learning in Malaysian tertiary institutions. It begins with an overview of the broad factors shaping the Malaysian educational environment and then proceeds to examine the experience of individual teachers and e-learning programs. It takes an in-depth qualitative approach to engaging with this case study material drawing heavily on semi-structured interviews with key actors.
Conversations with several respondents suggested that the social networks of mentor relations found in the Malaysian case studies might be aptly described as ‘bamboo networks’. Bamboo, which happens to be plentiful in the Malaysian peninsula where these case studies are based, spreads from clump to clump through a series of underground connections involving a mature clump of bamboo sending out a subterranean runner, often over very long distances that then emerge into the open as a new bamboo clump.
All of those interviewed reported that they have found it difficult to find a support base in their first years of pioneering online developments. Consequently, they tended to fall back on their peer networks linked to the institutions at which they had studied. Prominent individuals championing e-learning in the institutions where they teach tend to form small groups for information sharing and networking. They do look to their management for tacit ‘permission’ rather than direct encouragement. Consequently, the active promotion of e-learning in Malaysia can be described as being ‘middle-down’ rather than ‘top-down’ in nature. That is to say, it is mid-level teachers that inspire those below them to join in the development of e-learning programs. They are internally driven and strongly motivated. In time, their activity should produce new generations of locally developed e-learning experts but this has yet to take place in a substantial fashion. This study shows that both men and women ‘academic guanxi’, or peer networks, play a key role in the adoption of online technologies. Key early adopters become change-agents by inspiring a small network of their peers and via their guanxi networks. It was also discovered that motivation is not simply an individual matter but is also about groups and peer networks or communities of exchange and encouragement. In the development of e-learning in Malaysia, there is very little activity that is not linked to small clusters of developers who are tied into wider networks through personal contacts.
Like clumping bamboo, whilst the local clusters tend to be easily seen, the longer-range ‘subterranean’ personal connections are generally not nearly so immediately obvious. These connections are often the product of previous mentoring relationships, including the relationships between influential teachers and their former postgraduate students. These relationships tend to work like bamboo runners: they run off in multiple directions, subterranean and unseen and then throw up new clumps that then send out fresh runners of their own.

A framework for elearning with social media using DRM

This paper provides a proposal for personal e-learning system (PELS) architecture in the context of social network environment. The main objective of PELS is to develop individual skills on a specific subject and share resources with peers. Our system architecture defines organization and management of personal learning environment that aids in creating, verifying and sharing learning artifacts and making money at the same time. We also focus on in our research one of the most interesting arenas in digital content or document management called Digital Right Management (DRAM) and its application to eLearning.

Attack vector analysis and privacy-preserving social network data publishing

This paper addresses the problem of privacy-preserving data publishing for social network. Research on protecting the privacy of individuals and the confidentiality of data in social network has recently been receiving increasing attention. Privacy is an important issue when one wants to make use of data that involves individuals' sensitive information, especially in a time when data collection is becoming easier and sophisticated data mining techniques are becoming more efficient. In this paper, we discuss various privacy attack vectors on social networks. We present algorithms that sanitize data to make it safe for release while preserving useful information, and discuss ways of analyzing the sanitized data. This study provides a summary of the current state-of-the-art, based on which we expect to see advances in social networks data publishing for years to come.

Characteristics of utility cyclists in Queensland, Australia : an examination of the associations between individual, social and environmental factors and utility cycling

Background: Initiatives to promote utility cycling in countries like Australia and the US, which have low rates of utility cycling, may be more effective if they first target recreational cyclists. This study aimed to describe patterns of utility cycling and examine its correlates, among cyclists in Queensland, Australia.

Methods: An online survey was administered to adult members of a state-based cycling community and advocacy group (n=1813). The survey asked about demographic characteristics and cycling behavior, motivators and constraints. Utility cycling patterns were described, and logistic regression modeling was used to examine associations between utility cycling and other variables.

Results: Forty-seven percent of respondents reported utility cycling: most did so to commute (86%). Most journeys (83%) were >5 km. Being male, younger, employed full-time, or university-educated increased the likelihood of utility cycling (p<0.05). Perceiving cycling to be a cheap or a convenient form of transport were associated with utility cycling (p<0.05).

Conclusions: The moderate rate of utility cycling among recreational cyclists highlights a potential to promote utility cycling among this group. To increase utility cycling, strategies should target female and older recreational cyclists and focus on making cycling a cheap and convenient mode of transport.

Using vignettes to evaluate the outcomes of student learning : data from the evaluation of the new social work degree in England

This paper reports the use of vignettes as a methodology to analyse the extent to which the new social work degree programmes enabled students to develop their analytical and reflective capabilities. Two vignettes, which focused on children and families and adult social care respectively, were developed for the study. Students were asked to respond in writing, from the perspective of a social worker, to a standard set of questions at the beginning (T1) and end of their degree programme (T2). Considering the responses to all questions across the two vignettes, a series of scales was developed to measure the key themes which had been identified by qualitative analysis. These included ‘Attention to process of relationships’ and ‘Social/structural/political awareness’. Responses were also rated as ‘descriptive’, ‘analytic’ or ‘reflective’.

Students from six universities in England participated. From an original sample of 222 students, it was possible to match 79 T1 and T2 responses. Analysis of variance demonstrated statistically significant increases in nine of the 11 themes and increases in ratings for analysis and reflection.

In conclusion, vignettes can be used to produce both qualitative and quantitative data in respect of changes in students’ acquisition of knowledge and skills over time.

The mutual obligation policy in Australia : the rhetoric and reasoning of recent social security policy

Since 1997, the Australian Federal Liberal Government has introduced policies which have sought to reduce rates of unemployment, particularly long-term unemployment. The policy, known as Mutual Obligation, increased the expectations on unemployed people in return for their social security payment. At the same time, previous labour market programmes and government assistance schemes were scrapped or privatised. This article explores the justification of the term 'Mutual Obligation' by examining both the language and the underlying principles of the policy. By defining the problem of unemployment in terms of flaws in the previous social security system, the stage is set for the government to introduce policies which remedy those flaws by emphasising self- reliance in favour of government assistance. Further, by invoking notions of fairness and mutuality, the article argues that the term 'Mutual Obligation' masks both the extent and the strength of the obligations imposed on unemployed people.

A cross-sectional study of the individual, social, and built environmental correlates of pedometer based physical activity among elementary school children

Background: Children who participate in regular physical activity obtain health benefits. Preliminary pedometerbased cut-points representing sufficient levels of physical activity among youth have been established; however limited evidence regarding correlates of achieving these cut-points exists. The purpose of this study was to identify correlates of pedometer-based cut-points among elementary school-aged children.
Method: A cross-section of children in grades 5-7 (10-12 years of age) were randomly selected from the most (n = 13) and least (n = 12) ‘walkable’ public elementary schools (Perth, Western Australia), stratified by socioeconomic status. Children (n = 1480; response rate = 56.6%) and parents (n = 1332; response rate = 88.8%) completed a survey, and steps were collected from children using pedometers. Pedometer data were categorized to reflect the sex-specific pedometer-based cut-points of ≥15000 steps/day for boys and ≥12000 steps/day for girls. Associations between socio-demographic characteristics, sedentary and active leisure-time behavior, independent mobility, active transportation and built environmental variables - collected from the child and parent surveys - and meeting pedometer-based cut-points were estimated (odds ratios: OR) using generalized estimating equations.
Results: Overall 927 children participated in all components of the study and provided complete data. On average, children took 11407 ± 3136 steps/day (boys: 12270 ± 3350 vs. girls: 10681 ± 2745 steps/day; p < 0.001) and 25.9% (boys: 19.1 vs. girls: 31.6%; p < 0.001) achieved the pedometer-based cut-points. After adjusting for all other variables and school clustering, meeting the pedometer-based cut-points was negatively associated (p < 0.05) with being male (OR = 0.42), parent self-reported number of different destinations in the neighborhood (OR 0.93), and a friend’s (OR 0.62) or relative’s (OR 0.44, boys only) house being at least a 10-minute walk from home. Achieving the pedometer-based cut-points was positively associated with participating in screen-time < 2 hours/day (OR 1.88), not being driven to school (OR 1.48), attending a school located in a high SES neighborhood (OR 1.33), the average number of steps among children within the respondent’s grade (for each 500 step/day increase: OR 1.29), and living further than a 10-minute walk from a relative’s house (OR 1.69, girls only).
Conclusions: Comprehensive multi-level interventions that reduce screen-time, encourage active travel to/from school and foster a physically active classroom culture might encourage more physical activity among children.

Individual, social, and physical environment factors associated with electronic media use among children : sedentary behavior at home

Background: Individual, home social and physical environment correlates of electronic media (EM) use among children were examined and pattern of differences on school and weekend days.
Methods: Youth (n = 298) aged 11 to 12 years self-reported time spent using EM (TV, video/DVD, computer use, and electronic games) on a typical school and a weekend day, each dichotomized at the median to indicate heavy and light EM users. Anthropometric measurements were taken. Logistic regression examined correlates of EM use.
Results: In total, 87% of participants exceeded electronic media use recommendations of ≤ 2 hrs/day. Watching TV during breakfast (OR = 3.17) and after school (OR = 2.07), watching TV with mother (OR = 1.96), no rule(s) limiting time for computer game usage (OR = 2.30), having multiple (OR = 2.99) EM devices in the bedroom and BMI (OR = 1.15) were associated with higher odds of being heavy EM user on a school day. Boys (OR = 2.35) and participants who usually watched TV at midday (OR = 2.91) and late at night (OR = 2.04) had higher odds of being a heavy EM user on the weekend.
Conclusions: Efforts to modify children’s EM use should focus on a mix of intervention strategies that address patterns and reinforcement of TV viewing, household rules limiting screen time, and the presence of EM devices in the child’s bedroom.

Individual, social, and physical environmental correlates of physical activity among young women at risk of depression

Background : A number of factors have been identified as important correlates of physical activity (PA) among young women. Young women at risk of depression have a greater likelihood of being physically inactive and it is unknown whether correlates differ for women at risk and not at risk of depression.

Methods : A sample of 451 women aged 18-35 years self-reported leisure-time PA, enjoyment of and self-efficacy for walking and vigorous PA, barriers, social support, access to sporting/leisure facilities and access to sporting equipment in the home. Depression risk was assessed using the General Health Questionnaire (cut point ≥5). Logistic regression analyses examined differences in PA correlates among women at risk and not at risk of depression.

Results : Self-efficacy for vigorous PA was statistically different between groups in predicting odds for meeting PA recommendations but odds ratios were similar across groups. No other significant interactions between correlates and depressive symptoms were identified.

Conclusions : The findings suggest few differences in the individual, social and physical environmental correlates of PA among young women who are and are not at risk of depression. Further research is needed to confirm the existence of any PA correlates specific to this high-risk target group.

Sensing and using social context

We present online algorithms to extract social context: Social spheres are labeled locations of significance, represented as convex hulls extracted from GPS traces. Colocation is determined from Bluetooth and GPS to extract social rhythms, patterns in time, duration, place, and people corresponding to real-world activities. Social ties are formulated from proximity and shared spheres and rhythms. Quantitative evaluation is performed for 10+ million samples over 45 man-months. Applications are presented with assessment of perceived utility: Socio-Graph, a video and photo browser with filters for social metadata, and Jive, a blog browser that uses rhythms to discover similarity between entries automatically.

The effect of social defeat on tyrosine hydroxylase phosphorylation in the rat brain and adrenal gland

Tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), the rate-limiting enzyme in catecholamine biosynthesis, is regulated acutely by protein phosphorylation and chronically by protein synthesis. No studies have systematically investigated the phosphorylation of these sites in vivo in response to stressors. We specifically investigated the phosphorylation of TH occurring within the first 24 h in response to the social defeat stress in the rat adrenal, the locus coeruleus, substantia nigra and ventral tegmental area. Five groups were investigated; home cage control (HCC), two groups that underwent social defeat (SD+) which were sacrificed either 10 min or 24 h after the end of the protocol and two groups that were put into the cage without the resident being present (SD−) which were sacrificed at time points identical to the SD+. We found at 10 min there were significant increases in serine 40 and 31 phosphorylation levels in the locus coeruleus in SD+ compared to HCC and increases in serine 40 phosphorylation levels in the substantia nigra in SD+ compared to SD−. We found at 24 h there were significant increases in serine 19 phosphorylation levels in the ventral tegmental area in SD+ compared to HCC and decreases in serine 40 phosphorylation levels in the adrenal in SD+ compared to SD−. These findings suggest that the regulation of TH phosphorylation in different catecholamine-producing cells varies considerably and is dependent on both the nature of the stressor and the time at which the response is analysed.

Computable social patterns from sparse sensor data

We present a computational framework to automatically discover high-order temporal social patterns from very noisy and sparse location data. We introduce the concept of social footprint and present a method to construct a codebook, enabling the transformation of raw sensor data into a collection of social pages. Each page captures social activities of a user over regular time period, and represented as a sequence of encoded footprints. Computable patterns are then defined as repeated structures found in these sequences. To do so, we appeal to modeling tools in document analysis and propose a Latent Social theme Dirichlet Allocation (LSDA) model - a version of the Ngram topic model in [6] with extra modeling of personal context. This model can be viewed as a Bayesian clustering method, jointly discovering temporal collocation of footprints and exploiting statistical strength across social pages, to automatically discovery high-order patterns. Alternatively, it can be viewed as a dimensionality reduction method where the reduced latent space can be interpreted as the hidden social 'theme' - a more abstract perception of user's daily activities. Applying this framework to a real-world noisy dataset collected over 1.5 years, we show that many useful and interesting patterns can be computed. Interpretable social themes can also be deduced from the discovered patterns.

Eventscapes : visualizing events over time with emotive facets

The scale and dynamicity of social media, and interaction between traditional news sources and online communities, has created challenges to information retrieval approaches. Users may have no clear information need or be unable to express it in the appropriate idiom, requiring instead to be oriented in an unfamiliar domain, to explore and learn. We present a novel data-driven visualization, termed Eventscape, that combines time, visual media, mood, and controversy. Formative evaluation highlights the value of emotive facets for rapid evaluation of mixed news and social media topics, and a role for such visualizations as pre-cursors to deeper search. Copyright 2011 ACM.