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Universities in Australia and worldwide, are building a new generation of learning and teaching spaces which are designed to encourage and support active and collaborative modes of learning and teaching. However, there is little evidence to show that students will recognise the contribution these spaces make to their learning. Temple (2008) argued that spaces may become more salient to students once they are satisfied with the quality of learning and teaching that occurs within them. In the present study, ten teachers worked collaboratively to develop and implement active and collaborative approaches to learning and teaching in their respective units. These approaches drew upon the affordances of one of these new generation spaces at Macquarie University, namely, the Collaborative Learning Forum. Evidence from a student evaluation survey (n = 279) confirms Temple's (2008) proposition and also suggests ways to encourage students to adopt a deeper approach to learning and to increase their satisfaction with the value and quality of their learning experience. (Contains 1 figure.)

Two recent conferences on the science of sport have focused on the topic of sports for older people. Investigations have been made on the special demand in motor learning, in table-tennis, family-tennis, gymnastics, and dancing. This paper summarizes some experiences and conclusions drawn from these studies, including special notes on isolated dimensions of motor learning ability at a higher age. In the first part, some basic knowledge on motor learning abilities at higher age are outlined. The second part gives some first results of studies on motor learning and aging. (JD)

A study evaluated the effectiveness of a direct instructional paradigm for teaching children to comprehend main ideas of prose passages. Subjects, 69 children in three fourth grade classes, were randomly assigned to an experimental "strategy" group receiving direct instruction in main ideas, an experimental "basal" group receiving massed basal reader instruction in main ideas, and a control group receiving vocabulary development exercises. All groups received eight 54-minute lessons over a period of three weeks; posttests were administered in the fourth week. The strategy group lessons consisted of a sequence of main skills progressing from main ideas in groups of words to main ideas in passages. Lessons in the basal group were taken directly from a current basal reader series. Results of the posttests revealed no significant differences between the three groups' skills at comprehending main ideas. Given the proven power of direct instruction, differences in the intelligence of the groups and discipline problems with the strategy group may explain these unexpected results. (JL)

There is some confusion in discriminating basic educational research (which explores the why's and how's of learning) from applied research (which seeks to test the implications of basic research results) because some investigations are conceived without a clear purpose. Thus, it is not uncommon for researchers to suggest implications that overstep their methodology. Research emphasizes internal validity, or highly controlled experiments, at the expense of more ecologically valid classroom testing. For example, implications from results of a reading comprehension study were applied to a classroom, but the original study involved adults in a laboratory setting, with an unusual comprehension measure. A replication of the experiment that corrected these deficiencies clearly proved that the classroom implications derived from the original study went far beyond the methodology. Credible implications can only come from studies designed with ecological validity. Researchers should replicate studies in a variety of contexts to ensure greater objectivity and inferences that are more applicable to the classroom. (HTH)

The need for international education is undeniable when we examine the interdependence of our economic and environmental systems and the declining knowledge base of Americans concerning international issues. The President's Commission on Foreign Language and International Studies was established to address this problem, and focused on the following: (1) international education at all levels--K-12; (2) foreign language at all levels; (3) advanced training and research; (4) international exchanges; (5) needs of business and government; and (6) legislative action. The commission concluded in part that commitment to and support of international education as necessity must be made by Congress and by the public at large. (DS)

A study was conducted to evaluate children's ability to comprehend main ideas after reading connected discourse and to develop and validate a straightforward and intuitively simple system for identifying main ideas in prose. Three experimental passages were randomly selected from third and sixth grade social studies textbooks, and education students extracted theme and main idea information. The subjects, 83 third grade and 89 sixth grade students, each read two of the three texts. When they had read the first passage, they returned the passage to a folder, wrote a single sentence telling what the whole story was about, then wrote as much as they could remember about the story. After reading the second passage, the students were asked to (1) choose from seven statements the one that best told what the story was about, (2) answer 12 multiple choice questions on the main idea and details, and (3) determine whether each of 12 statements referred to were main ideas, details, or false statements. The results suggested that elementary school students who read expository prose tended not to comprehend either the gist of an entire passage or its main ideas with great facility. The main identification strategy developed for use in the study proved to be reliable and practical. (HTH)

The purpose of this paper is to present a direct instructional strategy, which is based upon what is known about effective classroom instruction. After defining direct instruction in reading, research that discriminates effective teachers from less effective teachers is presented. The paper then discusses the five-step, teacher directiveness instructional paradigm, which is based upon this teacher effectiveness research. Finally, it focuses on several experimental studies validating this direct instruction approach. The paper concludes that a teacher-directiveness approach to instruction is more effective in teaching selected reading comprehension skills than is basal reader instruction. The report concludes with a five page list of references. (DF)

To determine the frequency of simple main ideas (explicit statements found in a single T-unit), delayed completion main ideas (explicit statements using no more than two T-units), and inferred main ideas in social studies textbooks, 100 passages from second, fourth, sixth, and eighth grade textbooks were analyzed. Results of the study revealed that only 27% of the passages contained simple section main ideas, 44% of all paragraphs contained simple main ideas, and 27% of all paragraphs began with simple main idea statements. Taken collectively, the results suggest that readers of these textbooks must rely heavily on their inferential comprehension ability to identify main ideas. These findings indicate that (1) teachers need to provide students with adequate instruction in comprehending main ideas, especially implicit main ideas; (2) educators and researchers must provide teachers with effective comprehension strategies; and (3) publishers must be more diligent in requiring authors of content textbooks to directly state section and paragraph main ideas. (MM)

In direct instruction, the teacher, in a face-to-face, reasonably formal manner, tells, shows, models, demonstrates, and teaches the skill to be learned. Therefore, it is the teacher behavior aspect of classroom instruction that underpins the instructional strategy for teaching main ideas. Much has been learned about teacher behaviors that discriminate successful teachers from less successful teachers. Most of the teacher behaviors described in teacher effectiveness research cluster under the rubric "direct instruction." In a global sense, when direct instruction occurs, enough time is allocated to reading instruction, teachers accept responsibility for student achievement, and they expect that their students will learn. One direct instruction strategy for teaching students various reading comprehension skills is a five-step approach documented by the work and research of J. F. Baumann. The five steps consist of introduction, example, direct instruction, teacher directed application, and independent practice. That is, the teacher tells the students what the lesson will be about; the teacher provides an example; the teacher actually teaches the lesson; and then the teacher gradually releases responsibility for learning to the students through guided application exercises and by providing independent practice. (HOD)

Are elite cultural tastes in the modern United States better described as being inclusive and broad or exclusive and narrow? We construct an original dataset in response to conflicting answers to this question. We fill a major gap in the literature on cultural tastes by simultaneously considering taste for both musical genres and artists within genres. Using both predictive and relational analyses, we reconcile seemingly incommensurate theoretical frameworks of class homology and omnivorousness. Results indicate that an omnivorous disposition to music is a middle-status position in the social structure. In contrast, elite social position maps onto exclusive and narrower tastes for consecrated culture. Optimistic interpretations of shifts to inclusivity in elite tastes are not supported. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although a large amount of scholarly attention has been paid to food in the United States, there has been scant attention given to the construction of national identity through food and culinary discourse. We explore nationalism and cosmopolitanism in the case of gourmet food writing found in four of the most popular American gourmet food magazines: Bon Appétit, Saveur, Gourmet, and Food & Wine. We argue that American gourmet food writing implicitly and explicitly constitutes an image of the American nation, even as it draws from cosmopolitan norms, ideals, and practices. In this paper we discuss three themes contributing to the national/cosmopolitan dialectic in gourmet food writing: holiday foods, American classics and portraits of American cosmopolitans. By tracing the discursive interplay among these distinct but interdependent themes in food writing, we demonstrate how notions of cosmopolitanism intermingle with constructions of the American nation in gourmet food writing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on the framing of social problems seeks to explain how particular understandings of these problems are advanced while alternate understandings are neglected. The theoretical justification for this body of work is that media discourse both reflects and influences public opinion. In this study we address the question of how class inequality is framed in cultural media. While prior research on media framing of poverty has focused on news media, we examine cultural media where the coverage of inequality and hence its framing stand to be different. Moreover, we extend prior work on the framing of poverty beyond a focus on the poor to a broader examination of how poverty and wealth are framed simultaneously. This broader scope allows us to identify different frames that have not been reported earlier. Our data come from an analysis of gourmet food writing in all issues of four popular gourmet magazines from 2004. We find three frames invoked for making sense of inequality, none of which have been previously identified in the literature on the framing of poverty. These frames are 1) the romanticization of poverty, where poverty is framed as an exclusively positive state, 2) the equality of inequality, where poverty and wealth are equal, and 3) ordinary elites, where extraordinary material privilege or elite identity is trivialized. These frames serve to normalize class inequality as a non-problem, and this work provides a cultural explanation for the general lack of attention to this serious social problem in the United States. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When is employment discrimination acceptable? The notion of a bona fide occupational requirement is central in both the United States and Canada to determining the legal permissibility of discriminatory choices by employers. There are grounds on which employees or potential employees cannot be legally discriminated against, such as sex, race, religion, age, and disability. However, employers are free to make employment decisions that discriminate so long as those decisions are based on an employee's ability to meet a bona fide occupational requirement. This paper explores the evolution of what constitutes a bona fide occupational requirement in Canadian case law, focusing on the period 1982 to 1992. This paper describes the boundaries that were drawn between acceptable and unacceptable discrimination, and highlight how those decisions were subject to two particular social influences - changing public conceptions of risk and safety and changing public moral and aesthetic preferences. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a sample (N = 1817) of magazine advertisements, this paper examines gender and racial differences in complexion as measured by hair color and skin tone according to a ten-point scale. The primary finding is that women are systematically depicted in advertisements with lighter hair and skin than are men of the same race (results are analyzed for blacks and whites). The cause of this differential is interpreted to be gender-specific meanings behind the aesthetic characteristics of lightness and darkness, as well as an overlap with the gender-specific moral standards associated with those meanings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we expand Peterson?s (1997) concept of omnivorous cultural consumption to the realm of cuisine. A review of North American culinary history indicates a broadening in the number of high status food genres in recent decades. Through a discourse analysis of contemporary food writing for high status audiences, we identify three discursive strategies that food writers employ to construct a logic of food quality: authenticity, rusticity, and exoticism/obscurity. This food discourse of quality legitimates certain foods as high status options that are acceptable for omnivorous consumption. Unlike prior work on omnivores, this work allows us to better understand how and why certain cultural options enter the omnivorous repertoire and the implications for cultural exclusivity and social inequality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We summarize the utility of precise cosmic microwave background (CMB) polarization measurements as probes of the physics of inflation. We focus on the prospects for using CMB measurements to differentiate various inflationary mechanisms. In particular, a detection of primordial B-mode polarization would demonstrate that inflation occurred at a very high energy scale, and that the inflaton traversed a super-Planckian distance in field space. We explain how such a detection or constraint would illuminate aspects of physics at the Planck scale. Moreover, CMB measurements can constrain the scale-dependence and non-Gaussianity of the primordial fluctuations and limit the possibility of a significant isocurvature contribution. Each such limit provides crucial information on the underlying inflationary dynamics. Finally, we quantify these considerations by presenting forecasts for the sensitivities of a future satellite experiment to the inflationary parameters., Physics

An abstract of the article "Agronomic Performance of BayerCropScience Glytol Glyphosphate Resistant Cotton," by J. W. Keeling and John Everitt is presented.

Roundup Ready® and Roundup Ready Flex® resistant herbicide technologies from Monsanto are widely used by cotton producers across the Cotton Belt. In 2007, transgenic cotton varieties resistant to worms, herbicides or both accounted for about 93% of all upland cotton planted in the United States. Texas producers planted about 87% transgenic cotton varieties in 2007. Bayer CropScience is developing their proprietary brand glyphosate-tolerant cotton, known as GlyTol™ Glyphosate (N-phosphonomethylglycine) is a non-selective, broad spectrum herbicide. The glyphosate tolerance of GlyTol™cotton is conferred by the introduction of a modified EPSPS gene -- the 2mEPSPS gene. The 2mEPSPS enzyme produced in the GlyTol™cotton is insensitive to glyphosate inhibition, but retains its normal functions in the shikimate pathway. The purpose of these field trials was to compare plant growth, morphology, and agronomic performance of GlyTol™cotton when treated with different commercial glyphosate products at various growth stages of cotton. Field studies were conducted at five locations in Texas, including the Brazos River Valley (College Station), Southern Blacklands (Thrall), Rolling Plains (Vernon), and Southern High Plains (Lubbock and New Deal). Treatments included four sequential foliar applications of selected glyphosate herbicide products, including Roundup Original Max®, Roundup WeatherMax®, Touchdown Total™ Glyfos-Xtra, Credit Extra, Honcho Plus, Makaze, and Glyfos-Xtra Flex, applied at different cotton growth stages -- two true leaves, six to eight true leaves, lay-by, and 50% open boll. Products were similar for all locations with the exception of the High Plains, where Glyfos-Xtra Flex was used rather than Honcho-Plus. Spray treatments were applied with a hand-held boom or self propelled sprayer delivering 10 gallons/acre. All locations were planted at normal times except for the Brazos River Valley and Southern Blacklands locations where planting was about 30 days later than normal. Data collected from each plot included emergence, visual injury observations taken 10 to 14 days following each spray application, plant height taken prior to, and 10 to 14 days after each application, final plant height and lint yield. In addition, prior to harvest 25 bolls from each plot were visually inspected for deformities (parrot- beaked appearance) which may have occurred as a result of glyphosate injury. The center 2 rows of each plot were machine harvested and seed cotton samples were weighed and multiplied against a standard 34% turnout for picker- harvested locations (Brazos River Valley) and 24% for stripper-harvested locations (Southern Blacklands, Rolling Plains, and Southern High Plains). Statistical analyses were conducted utilizing Agriculture Research Manager 7. At all locations plant height, damaged bolls, and yield were unaffected by the different glyphosate product applications. In addition, no visual phytotoxic symptomology was observed at any location. This preliminary research indicates that GlyTol™ cotton is extremely tolerant to glyphosate when applied at various cotton growth stages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the overwhelming adoption of herbicide tolerant cotton varieties, glyphosate and glufosinate, management of volunteer cotton is a major challenge for many producers. Volunteer cotton is consistently a problem in the Southwestern cotton production regions due to high seed survival from one season to the next, especially when dry falls and winters occur. In South and Central Texas, the primary impetus for managing volunteer cotton is to continue the progress of eradicating the boll weevil and meeting the laws required by the boll weevil eradication program. Additionally, as development of 2,4-D and dicamba resistant cotton varieties approach the market, volunteer cotton will become much more difficult to manage and alternative chemistries need to be identified. The objective of this research is to evaluate the chemical management options (preemergence and postemergence) for controlling volunteer cotton at various growth stages. Four trials were initiated to evaluate chemical management of volunteer cotton. Seven preemergence herbicide treatments were applied 3 days after planting and one inch of irrigation was applied immediately following the herbicide application. In the postemergence trials, only NIS (0.25%v/v) was added to the treatments at the Burleson County location. The trial in Tom Green County was initiated following sorghum harvest in a producer's field. All trials were visually rated for herbicide efficacy (% control), regrowth, and boll weevil hostability. Data were analyzed using ARM software. Several of the preemergence herbicides, Balance Flex, Corvus, Integrity, and Basis, provided over 50% reduction in plant stands at 17 days after treatment. However, the surviving plants in these treatments were only slightly suppressed (<30%) at 39 DAT and became hostable with 7 days of the untreated check. Integrity was the only preemergence treatment that virtually prevented (99%) cotton emergence at 17 and through 39 DAT. Numerous contact-type herbicides and harvest-aid compounds were moderately effective (75-85%) at desiccating 5 and 10 leaf cotton plants at 14 DAT; however, regrowth quickly occurred. Only Gramoxone Inteon (24 and 48 oz/a) exceeded the 90% control at both ratings and had minimal regrowth on 5 and 10 leaf cotton. However, hostable plants were present in these treatments at six weeks and beyond. The most effective sulfonylurea herbicide on 5 and 10 leaf cotton at a labeled rate was Affinity Broadspec (1 oz/a). The 2,4-D and Starane were the most effective and consistent treatments, and were the only treatments that prevented hostable plants at 63 and 42 DAT for both the 5 and 10 leaf cotton, respectively. At the Tom Green County location, several row crop and pasture herbicides were evaluated for managing mature cotton plants with 10-12 day old bolls. The contact-type herbicides provided decent (>75%) initial control of the large cotton plants. However, conditions were favorable for regrowth and hostable plants were present in these treatments by 37 DAT. The hormone-type herbicides (Milestone and Chaparral) provided poor initial control, but did cause the cotton plants to abort current fruit and prevented new fruit development. In conclusion, very few herbicides are currently labeled in corn, sorghum, or wheat that provide excellent control of small and larger cotton and prevent boll weevil hostable plants beyond 40 days after treatment. Additional herbicides need to be identified to provide more options for managing herbicide tolerant cotton varieties and to insure the success of the boll weevil eradication program in Texas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An abstract of the article "Performance of Glytol and Glytol + Libertylink Cottol Technologies in Texas," by G. Henniger, T. Baughman, P. Baumann, R. Boman, P. Dotray, W. Keeling, R. Lemon, D. Palrang, L. Trolinder and J. Holloway is presented.

In February, 2008, The Office of National Drug Control Policy announced a competition for $5.8 million in NEW grants for school-based "drug prevention." In this case however, "drug prevention" was narrowly defined as "school-based student drug-testing programs." This paper will explore some of the hazards and weaknesses of school-based testing from the practical (cost inefficiency, e.g. $43,000 per positive drug test; the omission of alcohol, the most commonly used drug, from the majority of drug tests) to more central issues such as the increasing desire and acceptance on the part of parents for extra-familial surveillance of their children. Parents routinely report they believe drug testing is an effective deterrent. Parents perceive these technologies as basically benign or at least justifiable. But Campbell (2004) warns that drug testing utilizes technologies of suspicion. The mandatory nature of these tests represents what Campbell calls compassionate coercion. These technologies may come to be seen as simply a routine part of the educational experience. However, students may see these attempts at control as based on distrust and suspicion about adolescent behavior, thus eroding students' trust in teachers, administrators and parents.Campbell, Nancy. (2004) Technologies of suspicion: Coercion and Compassion in Post-disciplinary Surveillance Regimes. Surveillance and Society 2(1): 78-92 ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In February, the Office of National Drug Control Policy announced a competition for $5.8 million in NEW grants for school-based "drug prevention." In this case, however, "drug prevention" was narrowly defined as "school-based student drug-testing programs." This paper will explore some of the hazards and weaknesses of school-based testing from the practical (cost inefficiency, e.g. $43,000 per positive drug test; the omission of alcohol, the most commonly used drug, from the majority of drug tests to more central issues such as the increasing desire and acceptance on the part of parents for extra-familial surveillance of their children. Parents routinely report they believe drug testing is an effective deterrent. It appears parents perceive these technologies as basically benign or at least justifiable. But Campbell warns that drug testing utilizes technologies of suspicion. The mandatory nature of these tests represents what Campbell calls compassionate coercion. These technologies may come to be seen as simply a routine part of the educational experience. However, students may see these attempts at control as based on distrust and suspicion about adolescent behavior, thus eroding students' trust in teachers, administrator and parents. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two field studies were conducted in 2003 to evaluate the efficacy of several new products and combinations for weed management in cotton. Both studies were established on a Ships clay soil at the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station farm near College Station, Texas. Experimental plot sizes were four rows by 30 or 40 ft.long and treatments were arranged in a Randomized Complete Block Design. Three treatment replications were employed in one experiment and four in the other. Herbicides included in the study were Envoke (trifloxysulfuron sodium) at 0.1 and 0.15 oz./acre, Suprend (trifloxysulfuron sodium plus prometryn) at 20 oz./acre, Sequence (glyphosate plus s-metolachlor) at 42.6 oz./acre, Touchdown IQ (3# ae/gal. glyphosate) at 32 oz./acre, Touchdown Total (5.5# ai/gal. glyphosate) at 23 oz./acre, Treflan (trifluralin) at 1.5 pts./acre, Caparol (prometryn) at 1 and 1.2 pts./acre, Dual Magnum (s-metolachlor) at 1.0 pt./acre, Roundup WeatherMax (5.5 # ai/gal. glyphosate) at 23 oz./acre and MSMA at 42.5 oz./acre. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents an abstract of the study "Weed Management in Central and South Texas Liberty Link® Cotton Systems." It was presented at the Beltwide Cotton Conferences, held during January 6-10, 2003, in Nashville, Tennessee. The study evaluated the effectiveness of herbicide Liberty in the control of cotton weeds including Johnsongrass, Texas panicum, Palmer amaranth, hophornbeam copperleaf and sharppod morning glory.