Comprehension as social and intellectual practice : rebuilding curriculum in low socioeconomic and cultural minority schools

This article reframes the concept of comprehension as a social and intellectual practice. It reviews current approaches to reading instruction for linguistically and culturally diverse and low socioeconomic students, noting an emphasis on comprehension as autonomous skills. The Four Resources model (Freebody & Luke, 1990) is used to make the case for the integration of comprehension instruction with an emphasis on student cultural and community knowledge, and substantive intellectual and sociocultural content in elementary school curricula. Illustrations are drawn from research underway on the teaching of literacy in primary schools in low SES communities.

On importer trust and commitment : a comparative study of two developing countries

Purpose: Relationship trust and commitment are two key dimensions of international exchanges. Both have been extensively investigated from an exporter (as opposed to importer) perspective in developed country (as opposed to developing country) contexts. To address these gaps, this study aims to develop a model of antecedents and outcomes of importer trust and commitment in two developing countries.---------- Design/methodology: The authors test the proposed model using data from Chile and Bangladesh. Hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling (SEM).---------- Findings: SEM analysis revealed that most of the hypotheses were supported in both the Bangladeshi and Chilean context. The findings of this study also suggest that the effects of importer transaction-specific investments on importer commitment are distinct in the Bangladeshi context. Practical implications: Practically, these results show that trust and commitment are essential for enhancing importer relationship performance in developing countries. Importer trust in a foreign supplier is effective when suppliers are competent and provide relatively superior facilities, as opposed to opportunistic proclivity. Importer commitment to a foreign supplier is stronger when importers perceive that the foreign supplier is not opportunistic, but is knowledgeable and experienced with the importer market, and they perceive that it is an advantage importing from that supplier. Cultural similarity between importers and foreign suppliers improves importer trust in both countries. However, importer commitment in Chile increases with importer transaction-specific investment, but this is not found to be the case in Bangladesh.---------- Originality/value: This study contributes to the importer-exporter exchange relationship literature by testing a model of antecedents and outcomes of importer trust and commitment. The tested model is one of few that considers developing country contexts and incorporates two novel antecedents of trust and commitment: importer knowledge and experience, and supplier resource competency.

Entering the era of post production the role visual effects will play in documentary

Creating an acceptance of Visual Effects (VFX) as an effective non-fiction communication tool has the potential to significantly boost return on investment for filmmakers producing documentary. Obtaining this acceptance does not necessarily mean rethinking the way documentary is defined, however, the need to address negative perceptions presently dominant within the production industry does exist; specifically, the misguided judgement that use of sequences which include visual effects discredits a filmmaker's attempt to represent reality. After completing a documentary utilising a traditional model of production for methodology, the question of how to increase this film's marketability is then examined by testing the specific assertion that Visual Effects is capable of increasing the level of appeal inherent within the documentary genre. Whilst this area of research is speculative, qualifying Visual Effects as an acceptable communication tool in non-fiction narratives will allow the documentary sector to benefit from increased production capabilities.

A critical analysis of sperm donation practices : the personal and social effects of disrupting the unity of biological and social relatedness for the offspring

This thesis critically analyses sperm donation practices from a child-centred perspective. It examines the effects, both personal and social, of disrupting the unity of biological and social relatedness in families affected by donor conception. It examines how disruption is facilitated by a process of mediation which is detailed using a model provided by Sunderland (2002). This model identifies mediating movements - alienation, translation, re-contextualisation and absorption - which help to explain the powerful and dominating material, and social and political processes which occur in biotechnology, or in reproductive technology in this case. The understanding of such movements and mediation of meanings is inspired by the complementary work of Silverstone (1999) and Sunderland. This model allows for a more critical appreciation of the movement of meaning from previously inalienable aspects of life to alienable products through biotechnology (Sunderland, 2002). Once this mediation in donor conception is subjected to critical examination here, it is then approached from different angles of investigation. The thesis posits that two conflicting notions of the self are being applied to fertility-frustrated adults and the offspring of reproductive interventions. Adults using reproductive interventions receive support to maximise their genetic continuity, but in so doing they create and dismiss the corresponding genetic discontinuity produced for the offspring. The offspring’s kinship and identity are then framed through an experimental postmodernist notion, presenting them as social rather than innate constructs. The adults using the reproductive intervention, on the other hand, have their identity and kinship continuity framed and supported as normative, innate, and based on genetic connection. This use of shifting frameworks is presented as unjust and harmful, creating double standards and a corrosion of kinship values, connection and intelligibility between generations; indeed, it is put forward as adult-centric. The analysis of other forms of human kinship dislocation provided by this thesis explores an under-utilised resource which is used to counter the commonly held opinion that any disruption of social and genetic relatedness for donor offspring is insignificant. The experiences of adoption and the stolen generations are used to inform understanding of the personal and social effects of such kinship disruption and potential reunion for donor offspring. These examples, along with laws governing international human rights, further strengthen the appeal here for normative principles and protections based on collective knowledge and standards to be applied to children of reproductive technology. The thesis presents the argument that the framing and regulation of reproductive technology is excessively influenced by industry providers and users. The interests of these parties collide with and corrode any accurate assessments and protections afforded to the children of reproductive technology. The thesis seeks to counter such encroachments and concludes by presenting these protections, frameworks, and human experiences as resources which can help to address the problems created for the offspring of such reproductive interventions, thereby illustrating why these reproductive interventions should be discontinued.

Effects of pediatric obesity on joint kinematics and kinetics during 2 walking cadences

Objective: To determine whether differences existed in lower-extremity joint biomechanics during self-selected walking cadence (SW) and fast walking cadence (FW) in overweight- and normal-weight children.---------- Design: Survey.---------- Setting: Institutional gait study center.---------- Participants: Participants (N=20; mean age ± SD, 10.4±1.6y) from referred and volunteer samples were classified based on body mass index percentiles and stratified by age and sex. Exclusion criteria were a history of diabetes, neuromuscular disorder, or recent lower-extremity injury.---------- Main Outcome Measures: Sagittal, frontal, and transverse plane angular displacements (degrees) and peak moments (newton meters) at the hip, knee, and ankle joints.---------- Results: The level of significance was set at P less than .008. Compared with normal-weight children, overweight children had greater absolute peak joint moments at the hip (flexor, extensor, abductor, external rotator), the knee (flexor, extensor, abductor, adductor, internal rotator), and the ankle (plantarflexor, inverter, external/internal rotators). After including body weight as a covariate, overweight children had greater peak ankle dorsiflexor moments than normal-weight children. No kinematic differences existed between groups. Greater peak hip extensor moments and less peak ankle inverter moments occurred during FW than SW. There was greater angular displacement during hip flexion as well as less angular displacement at the hip (extension, abduction), knee (flexion, extension), and ankle (plantarflexion, inversion) during FW than SW.---------- Conclusions: Overweight children experienced increased joint moments, which can have long-term orthopedic implications and suggest a need for more nonweight-bearing activities within exercise prescription. The percent of increase in joint moments from SW to FW was not different for overweight and normal-weight children. These findings can be used in developing an exercise prescription that must involve weight-bearing activity.

Infrared spectroscopic investigation of the effects of titania photocatalyst on the degradation of linear low density polyethylene film for commercial applications

There is a need in industry for a commodity polyethylene film with controllable degradation properties that will degrade in an environmentally neutral way, for applications such as shopping bags and packaging film. Additives such as starch have been shown to accelerate the degradation of plastic films, however control of degradation is required so that the film will retain its mechanical properties during storage and use, and then degrade when no longer required. By the addition of a photocatalyst it is hoped that polymer film will breakdown with exposure to sunlight. Furthermore, it is desired that the polymer film will degrade in the dark, after a short initial exposure to sunlight. Research has been undertaken into the photo- and thermo-oxidative degradation processes of 25 ìm thick LLDPE (linear low density polyethylene) film containing titania from different manufacturers. Films were aged in a suntest or in an oven at 50 °C, and the oxidation product formation was followed using IR spectroscopy. Degussa P25, Kronos 1002, and various organic-modified and doped titanias of the types Satchleben Hombitan and Hunstsman Tioxide incorporated into LLDPE films were assessed for photoactivity. Degussa P25 was found to be the most photoactive with UVA and UVC exposure. Surface modification of titania was found to reduce photoactivity. Crystal phase is thought to be among the most important factors when assessing the photoactivity of titania as a photocatalyst for degradation. Pre-irradiation with UVA or UVC for 24 hours of the film containing 3% Degussa P25 titania prior to aging in an oven resulted in embrittlement in ca. 200 days. The multivariate data analysis technique PCA (principal component analysis) was used as an exploratory tool to investigate the IR spectral data. Oxidation products formed in similar relative concentrations across all samples, confirming that titania was catalysing the oxidation of the LLDPE film without changing the oxidation pathway. PCA was also employed to compare rates of degradation in different films. PCA enabled the discovery of water vapour trapped inside cavities formed by oxidation by titania particles. Imaging ATR/FTIR spectroscopy with high lateral resolution was used in a novel experiment to examine the heterogeneous nature of oxidation of a model polymer compound caused by the presence of titania particles. A model polymer containing Degussa P25 titania was solvent cast onto the internal reflection element of the imaging ATR/FTIR and the oxidation under UVC was examined over time. Sensitisation of 5 ìm domains by titania resulted in areas of relatively high oxidation product concentration. The suitability of transmission IR with a synchrotron light source to the study of polymer film oxidation was assessed as the Australian Synchrotron in Melbourne, Australia. Challenges such as interference fringes and poor signal-to-noise ratio need to be addressed before this can become a routine technique.

Factors influencing oncology nurses' approaches to accommodating cultural needs in palliative care

Aims and objectives: The purpose of this study is to explore the social construction of cultural issues in palliative care amongst oncology nurses. ---------- Background: Australia is a nation composed of people from different cultural origins with diverse linguistic, spiritual, religious and social backgrounds. The challenge of working with an increasingly culturally diverse population is a common theme expressed by many healthcare professionals from a variety of countries. ---------- Design: Grounded theory was used to investigate the processes by which nurses provide nursing care to cancer patients from diverse cultural backgrounds. ---------- Methods: Semi-structured interviews with seven Australian oncology nurses provided the data for the study; the data was analysed using grounded theory data analysis techniques. ---------- Results: The core category emerging from the study was that of accommodating cultural needs. This paper focuses on describing the series of subcategories that were identified as factors which could influence the process by which nurses would accommodate cultural needs. These factors included nurses' views and understandings of culture and cultural mores, their philosophy of cultural care, nurses' previous experiences with people from other cultures and organisational approaches to culture and cultural care. ---------- Conclusions: This study demonstrated that previous experiences with people from other cultures and organisational approaches to culture and cultural care often influenced nurses' views and understandings of culture and cultural mores and their beliefs, attitudes and behaviours in providing cultural care. ---------- Relevance to clinical practice: It is imperative to appreciate how nurses' experiences with people from other cultures can be recognised and built upon or, if necessary, challenged. Furthermore, nurses' cultural competence and experiences with people from other cultures need to be further investigated in clinical practice.

Accommodating the diverse cultural needs of cancer patients and their families in palliative care

Cultural issues have become an increasingly important consideration in healthcare. Such cultural issues, however, are underresearched in Australia, especially in palliative care. This study has sought to address this gap, exploring the social construction of cultural issues in palliative care by oncology nurses. A grounded theory approach was used. Semistructured interviews with 7 Australian oncology nurses provided the data for the study. The core category emerging from the study was that of accommodating cultural needs whereby to meet patients' specific cultural requirements, nurses actively found ways to accommodate the needs of patients and their families. This process often included compromise and negotiation whereby limits were set. In addition, the use of cross-cultural communication strategies emerged from the data as an important feature of cultural care. A series of subcategories were also identified as factors that could influence the process by which nurses would accommodate cultural needs.

Stroke education : promising effects on the health beliefs of those at risk

Background: The effect of patient education on reducing stroke has had mixed effects, raising questions about how to achieve optimal benefit. Because past evaluations have typically lacked an appropriate theoretical base, the design of past research may have missed important effects. --------- Method: This study used a social cognitive framework to identify variables that might change in response to education. A mixed design was used to evaluate two approaches to an intervention, both of which included education. Fifty seniors completed a measure of stroke knowledge and beliefs twice: before and after an intervention that was either standard (educational brochure plus activities that were not about stroke) or enhanced (educational brochure plus activities designed to enhance beliefs about stroke). Outcome measures were health beliefs, intention to exercise to reduce stroke, and stroke knowledge. --------- Results: Selected beliefs changed significantly over time but not differentially across conditions. Beliefs that changed were (a) perceived susceptibility to stroke and (b) perceived benefit of exercise to reduce risk. Benefit beliefs, in particular, were strongly and positively associated with intention to exercise. -------- Conclusion: Findings suggest that basic approaches to patient education may influence health beliefs. More effective stroke prevention programs may result from continued consideration of the role of health beliefs in such programs.

Effects of age on peripheral ocular aberrations

On-axis monochromatic higher-order aberrations increase with age. Few studies have been made of peripheral refraction along the horizontal meridian of older eyes, and none of their off-axis higher-order aberrations. We measured wave aberrations over the central 42°x32° visual field for a 5mm pupil in 10 young and 7 older emmetropes. Patterns of peripheral refraction were similar in the two groups. Coma increased linearly with field angle at a significantly higher rate in older than in young emmetropes (−0.018±0.007 versus −0.006±0.002 µm/deg). Spherical aberration was almost constant over the measured field in both age groups and mean values across the field were significantly higher in older than in young emmetropes (+0.08±0.05 versus +0.02±0.04 µm). Total root-mean-square and higher-order aberrations increased more rapidly with field angle in the older emmetropes. However, the limits to monochromatic peripheral retinal image quality are largely determined by the second-order aberrations, which do not change markedly with age, and under normal conditions the relative importance of the increased higher-order aberrations in older eyes is lessened by the reduction in pupil diameter with age. Therefore it is unlikely that peripheral visual performance deficits observed in normal older individuals are primarily attributable to the increased impact of higher-order aberration.

Crossing the cultural divide : a contemporary holistic framework for conceptualising design studio education

While the studio is widely accepted as the learning environment where architecture students most effectively learn how to design (Mahgoub, 2007:195), there are surprisingly few studies that attempt to identify in a qualitative way the interrelated factors that contribute to and support design studio learning (Bose, 2007:131). Such a situation seems problematic given the changes and challenges facing education including design education. Overall, there is growing support for re-examining (perhaps redefining) the design studio particularly in response to the impact of new technologies but as this paper argues this should not occur independently of the other elements and qualities comprising the design studio. In this respect, this paper describes a framework developed for a doctoral project concerned with capturing and more holistically understanding the complexity and potential of the design studio to operate within an increasingly and largely unpredictable global context. Integral to this is a comparative analysis of selected cases underpinned by grounded theory methodology of the traditional design studio and the virtual design studio informed by emerging pedagogical theory and the experiences of those most intimately involved – students and lecturers. In addition to providing a conceptual model for future research, the framework is of value to educators currently interested in developing as well as evaluating learning environments for design.

Direct and indirect effects on households’ intentions to replace the old car

With the purpose of testing the hypothesis that households’ intentions to replace their old car have a direct negative relationship to its perceived quality (‘current level’) and a direct positive relationship to their aspirations for a new car (‘aspiration level’), a rotating panel of car owners were interviewed every fourth month during 2 years. In this data set the hypothesis received support. In addition the results showed that the age of the car, the total number of miles driven, and the number of anticipated repairs affected the current level, whereas marital status, the number of children, consumer confidence, and environmental concern affected the aspiration level.

Using virtual reality modelling in cultural management, archiving and research

This paper outlines how the Ortelia project’s 3D virtual reality models have the capacity to assist our understanding of sites of cultural heritage. The VR investigation of such spaces can be a valuable tool in 'real world' empirical research in theatre and spatiality. Through a demonstration of two of Ortelia's VR models (an art gallery and a theatre), we suggest how we might consider interpreting cultural space and sites as contributing significantly to cultural capital. We also introduce the potential for human interaction in such venues through motion-capture to discuss the potential for assessing how humans interact in such contexts.

Crossing the language and cultural divide : the challenges of educating Asian law students in a globalising world

In 2004, there were sweeping, radical changes made to the underlying legal framework regulating life in China. This reflected such things as the incorporation of basic international human rights standards into domestic law - not only in China but in countries worldwide which highlights the increasingly global nature of many important legal issues. China is not immune from this development of cross pollination of legal processes. This has led to an increase in the internationalisation of legal education and the rapid rise in the number of overseas students who undertake at least part of their university studies in a foreign country. Academics need to develop cross-cultural sensitivity in teaching these overseas students; there are important reasons why the educative process needs to meet the different set of needs presented by international students who come to study in Australia. This teaching note sets out the experiences of two particular situations, the teaching of Business Law to Asian students and an innovative Australian postgraduate program taught in Mandarin.

Migrant and refugee children, their families, and early childhood education

One of the effects of globalization is the increasing movement of people around the globe. Transnational migration brings demographic changes that produce challenges for education and social services. While there is a growing body of literature about educational concerns associated with migrant and refugee children, young migrant children are not often included in this research because it concentrates on secondary and primary schooling. In this chapter we review the literature that relates to young migrant and refugee children, their families and early childhood education. More specifically, we synthesize the state of knowledge relating to curriculum, parents and teacher education. Following the analysis of recent research, the chapter concludes with some suggestions for further research, policy makers and practitioners.