Playing their part: the role of physical activity and sport in sustaining the health and well being of small rural communities

It is widely recognised that the health of rural Australians is poor in comparison with their urban counterparts. Similarly, the role played by physical activity in maintaining health has been well researched and is well documented. However, little appears to have been published in recent years about the links between physical activity and health in rural communities. The objective of this article was to begin to address that gap. To achieve this, the article drew on research conducted in two small rural communities in Victoria Australia, and highlighted the role that physical activity and sport played in sustaining the health and wellbeing of individuals and communities in rural areas. Taking the World Health Organisation's definition of health (a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease) as its measure, the paper highlighted the many ways in which physical activity and sport in rural communities contribute to physical health, mental wellbeing and social cohesiveness. Based this finding, the authors suggest that physical activity and sport make a significant contribution to the health and wellbeing of rural people and their communities and suggest that further research is necessary to better define this apparent contribution.

Mickey and Barbie and Strawberry Shortcake: children playing in promotional webs

Many children in 'western' societies experience their circumstances through the ideas, stories, characters and values embodied in a narrow range of games, toys, videos, movies, etc. produced by a small group of companies - based mainly in the USA. These companies deploy their huge economic and cultural resources in integrated marketing strategies that can make it hard for children to avoid encountering brand name goods and services designed and marketed specifically to entice them. These marketing strategies can also make it hard for adults to deal with children's fascination with brand name goods. This article tracks the development of the complex organizational, legal and economic corporate relationships at the heart of integrated marketing strategies and explains how they can affect children's experiences of their world. It asks whether the current narrow range of entertainment products and services for children reflects the social and cultural diversity of contemporary societies and asks how to create equally attractive alternatives.

Challenging notions of gendered game play: teenagers playing `The Sims`

This paper challenges notions of gendered game playing practice implicit in much research into young women's involvement with the computer gaming culture. It draws on a study of Australian teenagers playing The Sims Deluxe as part of an English curriculum unit and insights from feminist media studies to explore relationships between gender and game playing practices. Departing from a reliance on predetermined notions of “gender”, “domestic space”, and “successful game play”, it conceptualizes The Sims as a game in which the boundaries between gender and domestic space are disturbed. It argues that observing students' constructions of gender and domestic space through the act of game play itself provides a more productive insight into the gendered dimensions of game play for educators wishing to work computer games such as The Sims into curriculum development.

An exploration of massively multiplayer online role playing games : their application to public relations education and possible future public relations practice

Social communication technologies present exciting and challenging opportunities for public relations professionals. Although not new the latest online attraction grabbing the attention of educators and companies around the globe are the virtual worlds known as Massively-Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs). This paper will examine MMORPGs - in particular Second Life - and consider their potential as an educational medium and relevance to the practice of public relations. The paper argues that MMORPGs slwuld be taken seriously by educators and public relations professionals alike and not simply be treated as online entertainment.

Children's perspectives on mathematics and game playing

This paper reports on data collected from a larger study investigating the effect of game playing on students' mathematical learning and motivation. The study was conducted in three schools with 240 students participating in four different treatment groups. This paper reports some of the results of interviews with students to gather data on their attitudes towards mathematics and game playing. The interview data collected from a sample of students in the· three game playing groups pertaining to attitudes are presented and discussed below.

Interaction between playing golf and HRT on vertebral bone properties in post-menopausal women measured by QCT

Summary We investigated the effect of playing regular golf and HRT on lumbar and thoracic vertebral bone parameters (measured by QCT) in 72 post-menopausal women. The main finding of this study was that there was positive interaction between golf and HRT on vertebral body CSA and BMC at the thoracic 12 and lumbar 2 vertebra but not the third and seventh thoracic vertebras.

Introduction Identifying specific exercises that load the spine sufficiently to be osteogenic is an important component of primary osteoporosis prevention. The aim of this study was to determine if in postmenopausal women regular participation in golf resulted in greater paravertebral muscle mass and improved vertebral bone strength.

Methods Forty-seven postmenopausal women who played golf regularly were compared to 25 controls. Bone parameters at the mid-vertebral body were determined by QCT at spinal levels T3, T7, T12 and L2 (cross-sectional area (CSA), total volumetric BMD (vBMD), trabecular vBMD of the central 50% of total CSA, BMC and cortical rim thickness). At T7 and L2, CSA of trunk muscles was determined.

Results There was a positive interaction between golf and HRT for vertebral CSA and BMC at T12 and L2, but not at T3 or T7 (p ranging < 0.02 to 0.07). Current HRT use was associated with a 10–15% greater total and trabecular vBMD at all measured vertebral levels. Paravertebral muscle CSA did not differ between groups. Vertebral CSA was the bone parameter significantly related to muscle CSA.

Conclusion These findings provide preliminary evidence that playing golf may improve lower spine bone strength in postmenopausal women who are using HRT.

Playing with time: history and the extended present

In this paper we consider how the concept of time is developed in schools. We argue that the teaching and learning of history (despite the emergence of the new history in the 1970s) is still taught and learnt with a temporal bias and it is often positioned in the past. So too, history/SOSE1 student-teachers are exposed to temporal bias in their tertiary education (as is evidenced in ‘Arts Faculty’ history courses). We suggest that there needs to be greater connectedness and balance between the dimensions of time in the teaching of SOSE with specific reference to the teaching of history and futures perspectives. We offer a new conceptualisation of history which we refer to as ‘history as the extended present’ this conceptualisation positions history in multiple temporal domains (the past, present and possible, probable and preferable futures) and emphasises the relevance of teaching and learning history to students life worlds.

Playing a critical role: experiential learning resources and analytical media studies in higher education

This article compares two Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) used in the Faculty of Arts, Deakin University Australia, and investigates the relationships between technology, pedagogy and key issues in the teaching and practice of public relations, in a media studies context. The online role-play ‘Save Wallaby Forest’ and the e-simulation ‘PRessure Point! Getting Framed (GF), in their different ways, afford learning  environments with capabilities that present public relations and media students with opportunities to discover a critical consciousness, break out of naturalised world-views, and explore alternative approaches to organisational communication. Furthermore, they present students with complex ethical issues to investigate based around the idea that media industries are powerful discursive producers and reproducers of social norms, values and beliefs which in turn shape notions of identity and influence the formation of public opinion in society (Fairclough 1999; Habermas 1995). This article explores the intersections and differences between these distinct ICTs in their relationships to a constructivist learning approach and ethical questions about how public relations both produces and reproduces world views through practice. This interacting nexus – between technology, pedagogy and theme – is significant because “what happens in the learning process” relates to the learning outcome and therefore has the potential to develop holistic reflexivity in studies of public relations (Laurillard 2003, p.42).

Learning = playing: Interactive learning with game-based design principles

This paper explores the rapid escalation of demand for information in both complex and convergent forms of accessible technology. The authors contend that this growth creates a concomitant demand for a highly skilled information technology workforce. To ensure the preservation and continued development of this workforce, education of the information technology professional is increasingly acknowledged as one of the primary challenges
confronting educators and educational institutions. Many institutions have sought solutions to this educational conundrum in populist concepts of e-learning

Doing literacy online : teaching, learning and playing in an electronic world

The essays in this volume provide an international perspective on persistent and emerging questions related to the use of online technologies for teaching and learning. They demonstrate that online literacy practices can be understood only when they are examined within their social, political, economic, cultural, and historical contexts.