The literacy curriculum: A critical review

This is a critical review of the scope of the literacy curriculum in the twenty-first century, uncovering the strengths, controversies, and silences that have divided literacy researchers and educators. It conceptualizes the literacy curriculum as a particular set of socially organized symbolic practices that are always selective, and which are inextricably connected to the function and organization of schooling. We trace the political, historical, and ideological antecedents of literacy curriculum and schooling as a form of cultural apparatus of the nation-state, before tracing some of the major interpretive paradigms that have influenced the shape of the literacy curriculum in many parts of the world. These include debates about skills-based approaches, whole language, systemic functional grammar, and critical literacy. It then draws attention to noteworthy advances and shifts in the field over recent decades: debates about the role of orality in the literacy curriculum, home-school community literacy practices, teacher and student knowledge of language and grammar, and the role of curriculum area literacies. It anticipates the future of the literacy curriculum in online textual environments and the changing sensorial and material nature of literacy practices, while acknowledging that curriculum innovation is always limited in complex ways by historically established pedagogic discourses of schooling.

Internationalizing school curriculum in Australasia: As niche, by test, or at heart?

Global citizenship has emerged as a pressing curricular priority which all educational systems are currently grappling with. The challenge is to negotiate how this orientation might sit alongside the more traditional mission of mass school curriculum in building collective ballast for a national identity through a common morality and shared narratives, or may conflict with efforts to protect and promote indigenous and minority identities. As a case study of how these agendas interact, this chapter will consider curricular responses to global imperatives in the variegated conditions across the Australasian region (defined as Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea). The chapter will outline recent developments in the social, economic and political contexts surrounding curricular reforms in these settings, and demonstrate how these developments have changed the conditions of possibility and strength of purpose behind efforts to internationalise school curricula. Three types of systemic responses are then described: firstly, an appetite for globally branded curricula such as the International Baccalaureate, Montessori, and Cambridge University Certificates to distinguish some in a stratified market; secondly, convergence in curriculum to improve national performance on international standardised tests; and thirdly, the infusion of cosmopolitan sensibilities, regional identities and intercultural competencies as a core curricular goal for all. The chapter considers the various pragmatic interpretations of ‘internationalisation’ in these responses, and argues that the third response seems both the most difficult to enact, and the most vulnerable to political interference.

Public Open Spaces in Kathmandu Valley: A Review of Contemporary Problems and Historic Precedents

The current growth of Kathmandu Valley has been malignant in many ways which suggests a decline of public realm in the city. As the current efforts for planning and design of public open space exhibit numerous problems related to both physical and social aspects of city building, this book examines the shortcomings with contemporary urban development from urban planning and design point of view and attempts to suggest methods to overcome such shortcomings based on the study of historic urban squares. This book identifies the inherent urban design qualities of the historic urban squares in order to learn from them and also attempts to put forward the principles and guidelines for contemporary public space design based on such findings.

The SAGE Handbook of Early Childhood Research

Recent decades have seen an upsurge of research with and about young children, their families and communities. The Handbook of Early Childhood Research will provide a landmark overview of the field of early childhood research and will set an agenda for early childhood research into the future. It includes 31 chapters provided by internationally recognized experts in early childhood research. The team of international contributors apply their expertise to conceptual and methodological issues in research and to relevant fields of practice and policy. The Handbook recognizes the main contexts of early childhood research: home and family contexts; out-of-home contexts such as services for young children and their families; and broader societal contexts of that evoke risk for young children.

Seabed Biodiversity on the Continental Shelf of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area

The Great Barrier Reef is a unique World Heritage Area of national and international significance. As a multiple use Marine Park, activities such as fishing and tourism occur along with conservation goals. Managers need information on habitats and biodiversity distribution and risks to ensure these activities are conducted sustainably. However, while the coral reefs have been relatively well studied, less was known about the deeper seabed in the region. From 2003 to 2006, the GBR Seabed Biodiversity Project has mapped habitats and their associated biodiversity across the length and breadth of the Marine Park to provide information that will help managers with conservation planning and to assess whether fisheries are ecologically sustainable, as required by environmental protection legislation (e.g. EPBC Act 1999). Holistic information on the biodiversity of the seabed was acquired by visiting almost 1,500 sites, representing a full range of known environments, during 10 month-long voyages on two vessels and deploying several types of devices such as: towed video and digital cameras, baited remote underwater video stations (BRUVS), a digital echo-sounder, an epibenthic sled and a research trawl to collect samples for more detailed data about plants, invertebrates and fishes on the seabed. Data were collected and processed from >600 km of towed video and almost 100,000 photos, 1150 BRUVS videos, ~140 GB of digital echograms, and from sorting and identification of ~14,000 benthic samples, ~4,000 seabed fish samples, and ~1,200 sediment samples.

Electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) of H2O, H2S, H2Se and H2Te

Electronic excitation in H2O, H2S, H2Se and H2Te molecules has been studied by the EELS technique. Spectra of H2S and H2Se are remarkably similar with the 1b1-nd transition most intense. The intensity of the first transition 1b1-nsa1 decreases through H2O to H2Se and this transition is absent in H2Te. Transitions observed by EELS have been compared with optical absorption studies. A correlation diagram of the occupied and the excited states has been provided for these four molecules by making use of UVPES and EELS.

Effective earth and space science analogies

There are several good reasons why Earth and Space Science should be a part of any science curriculum. Nearly everything we do each day is connected in some way to the Earth: to its land, oceans, atmosphere, plants and animals. By 2025, eight billion people will live on Earth. If we are to continue extracting resources to maintain a high quality of life, then it is important that our children are scientifically literate in a way that allows them to exploit the Earth’s resources in a sustainable way. People who understand how earth systems work can make informed decisions and may be able to help resolve issues surrounding clean water, urban planning and development, global climate change and the use and management of natural resources.

Creative Arts in Counselling and Mental Health

Drawing on evidence-based discoveries in neuroscience, narrative psychology and creativity theory, this text explores the beneficial role of expressive arts within a recovery perspective. A framework of practice principles for the visual arts, creative writing, music, drama, dance, and digital storytelling is addressed across a number of settings and populations, providing readers with an accessible overview of theory and techniques relevant to counselling programs in the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom.

Creative writing: Literature review and evidence-based research

There is growing evidence, especially in the USA and UK, that creative writing can form an important part of the recovery experience of people affected by severe mental illness. In this chapter, I consider theoretical models that explain how creative writing might contribute to recovery, and discuss the potential for creative writing in psychosocial rehabilitation. It is argued that the rehabilitation benefits of creative writing might be optimized through focus on process and technique in writing, rather than expression or content alone, and that consequently, the involvement of professional writers might be important. I will explore the recent history of theoretical frameworks and explanatory models that link creative writing and recovery, and examine such empirical evidence as is available on the contribution of creative writing to recovery from severe mental illness.

Creative writing: A practice-based account of designing and facilitating life-writing workshops for a group With severe mental illness

This chapter is based on the experience and findings of a pilot project developed to investigate the feasibility of providing a writing workshop for people participating in psychosocial rehabilitation programmes provided by a non-government agency in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was a qualitative study, making use of observational data, interviews with participants, and informal reports. We did not seek to test theoretical models concerning the link between creative writing and recovery through the pilot project, but rather to evaluate the immediate impact of a writing workshop conducted in the manner outlined in the preceding chapter by Philip Neilsen (chapter 7).

Molecular modeling of Bt Cry1Ac (DI–DII)–ASAL (Allium sativum lectin)–fusion protein and its interaction with aminopeptidase N (APN) receptor of Manduca sexta

Genetic engineering of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) Cry proteins has resulted in the synthesis of various novel toxin proteins with enhanced insecticidal activity and specificity towards different insect pests. In this study, a fusion protein consisting of the DI–DII domains of Cry1Ac and garlic lectin (ASAL) has been designed in silico by replacing the DIII domain of Cry1Ac with ASAL. The binding interface between the DI–DII domains of Cry1Ac and lectin has been identified using protein–protein docking studies. Free energy of binding calculations and interaction profiles between the Cry1Ac and lectin domains confirmed the stability of fusion protein. A total of 18 hydrogen bonds was observed in the DI–DII–lectin fusion protein compared to 11 hydrogen bonds in the Cry1Ac (DI–DII–DIII) protein. Molecular mechanics/Poisson–Boltzmann (generalized-Born) surface area [MM/PB (GB) SA] methods were used for predicting free energy of interactions of the fusion proteins. Protein–protein docking studies based on the number of hydrogen bonds, hydrophobic interactions, aromatic–aromatic, aromatic–sulphur, cation–pi interactions and binding energy of Cry1Ac/fusion proteins with the aminopeptidase N (APN) of Manduca sexta rationalised the higher binding affinity of the fusion protein with the APN receptor compared to that of the Cry1Ac–APN complex, as predicted by ZDOCK, Rosetta and ClusPro analysis. The molecular binding interface between the fusion protein and the APN receptor is well packed, analogously to that of the Cry1Ac–APN complex. These findings offer scope for the design and development of customized fusion molecules for improved pest management in crop plants.