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This paper investigates the design of academic development programs relevant to the teaching profession and managing resistance to change through development of communities of practice. Within learning organizations, academics are best equipped to work as support for other academics in developing metacognition skills, where being a learner reinforces awareness of what learners need. Seventy academics participated in a yearlong program to train them in teaching using a mobile device (iPad), which was developed for delivery in 2011. Design evolved from an analysis of surveys and a discussion forum following two earlier pilot programs. The analysis after the first year of 1:1 iPad learning and teaching in 2012 revealed most teachers developed confidence to design and deliver innovative courses and/or learning materials enhanced by the iPad functionality. Design of ongoing support and training needs to be informed by and respond to academics' needs. The academic development model located professional development in the work environment, fostered communities of practice, advanced pedagogical underpinnings, and enabled metacognitive reflection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – This study aims to investigate the perceptions, acceptance, usage and access to social media by students and academics in higher education in informatics programs in Malaysia. A conceptual model based on Connectivism and communities of practice (CoPs) learning theory was developed and were used as a basis of mapping the research questions to the design frameworks and the research outcomes. A significant outcome of this study will be the development of a design framework for implementing social media as supporting tools for student engagement and teaching and learning of informatics programs in higher education institutions (HEIs) in Malaysia. Design/methodology/approach – A mixed-method research methodology with a significant survey research component was employed for this research. This methodology focused on collecting and analyzing quantitative and qualitative data to better understand the research problems. For this study, a mixed-method sequential transformative research strategy based on a QUAN-Qual model was used in the data collection process. Mixed-method research methodology is considered to be most appropriate for this study, as it allows the researcher to gather multiple forms of data from diverse audiences such as educators, administrators and students. Findings – The findings show the close matched of the ownership, amount of hours spent online, types of social media technologies (SMTs) used and pattern of usage between informatics and non-informatics students. It also shows that many students and instructors have started to explore and accept the use of SMTs as a tool for engaging with their institution and their peers as well as for teaching and learning purposes. Innovative institutions need to understand the critical success factors and the barriers that restrict the implementation of SMTs within the HEI to take advantage of the opportunities offered by SMTs in higher education. Research limitations/implications – The surveys and interview participant, in part, are self-selecting, so the data collected cannot be claimed to be representative of the population. However, because of the relatively large number of participants, it can be considered that the findings are indicative. Other limitation includes the depth of data that can be collected using this methodology. Practical implications – There is wide range of social media usage in educational settings now being reported, but many issues are still unexamined. Limited studies have been focusing on the educators’ readiness, acceptance or refusal in integrating social media into their courses, the perceived effectiveness of the tools and student outcomes for their learning. The central outcome of this research will be the development of a design framework that will be used as a guide for Malaysian HEIs and informatics academics to engage students using SMTs in creating effective learning communities for informatics programs. Social implications – The framework will have implication for the social interaction and engagement of students with their institution. Originality/value – Very little work has been reported on student and academic engagement, their perspectives and perceived effectiveness of social media usage in higher education, especially in the Malaysia context. Most of the research focused only on the quantitative research with students from universities in the USA and Australia, with an emphasis mainly on student’s perception and acceptance. There are calls for more research to examine how social media is perceived and accepted by students and academics for teaching and learning, especially in Malaysia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The TPACK (Technology, Pedagogy and Content Knowledge) model presents the three types of knowledge that are necessary to implement a successful technology-based educational activity. It highlights how the intersections between TPK (Technological Pedagogical Knowledge), PCK (Pedagogical Content Knowledge) and TCK (Technological Content Knowledge) are not a sheer sum up of their components but new types of knowledge. This paper focuses on TPK, the intersection between technology knowledge and pedagogy knowledge -- a crucial field of investigation. Actually, technology in education is not just an add-on but is literally reshaping teaching/learning paradigms. Technology modifies pedagogy and pedagogy dictates requirements to technology. In order to pursue this research, an empirical approach was taken, building a repository (back-end) and a portal (front-end) of about 300 real-life educational experiences run at school. Educational portals are not new, but they generally emphasise content. Instead, in our portal, technology and pedagogy take centre stage. Experiences are classified according to more than 30 categories (‘facets’) and more than 200 facet values, all revolving around the pedagogical implementation and the technology used. The portal (an innovative piece of technology) supports sophisticated ‘exploratory’ sessions of use, targeted at researchers (investigating the TPK intersection), teachers (looking for inspiration in their daily jobs) and decision makers (making decisions about the introduction of technology into schools). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We introduce status in a standard ('canonical') macro model of growth and distribution. Status is introduced in a flexible way that allows for intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, loss aversion, heterogeneity in motives and inequality aversion. We incorporate such considerations in the model and derive implications for growth, inequality and labour supply. We review empirical evidence related to these variables, and show that the predictions of the model with status are consistent with these observations. Thus, status can offer a rich set of new explanations related to important empirical patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evolving technologies and globalisation presents educators with the challenge of creating learning experiences to help students develop competencies to enable them to function successfully in a dynamic society. Today’s learner is expected to be multiliterate – able to analyse and construct multi-modal texts. A qualitative embedded multi-case study was conducted to investigate the learning experiences and multiliteracy outcomes for students engaged in an educational program with a media studies focus. The program, designed for a secondary school English curriculum, was underpinned by multiliteracies pedagogy and delivered within a technology-mediated environment. This paper reports a single class case drawing upon examples from small group cases embedded within the class. The findings suggest that educational programs underpinned by multiliteracy pedagogy supported by technology can provide meaningful learning experiences for students whilst achieving multiliteracies focused learning outcomes. For this to occur important factors such as teacher technology competencies and expertise, access and integration of technology and facilitation of effective learning scaffolds should be considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a list of the names of the members of the editorial board of the journal, including executive editor, Som Naidu, deputy editor, Alistair Inglis, and a member of the editorial board, Roger Azevedo.

A bibliography of 2011 resources from the Comparative & International Educational Society (CIES) is presented, including the articles "Negotiating Worlds: A Young Mayan Child Developing Literacy at Home and at School in Mexico" by Patricia Azuara and Iliana Reyes in issue 2 of volume 41 of the journal "Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education," "Inspection of Home Education in European Countries" by Henk Blok and Sjoerd Karsten in issue 1 of volume 46 of the journal "European Journal of Education," and "Learning to Labour in Regional Australia: Gender, Identity and Place in Lifelong Learning" by Anita Devos in issue 4 of volume 30 of the journal "International Journal of Lifelong Education."

The introduction of a new mandatory policy for the teaching of English at the higher education level in China, College English Curriculum Requirements (CECR, published in 2004), had the intention of modernising and improving the quality of English teaching at the tertiary level in China. The policy had a focus on student-centred approaches to learning and the use of a new computer-based multimedia teaching model to support this process. This paper reports on a study that investigated the views of teachers, administrators and policy makers about the intended use of educational technology embedded in the policy and the success of the policy in achieving this goal. The paper attempts to clarify how lecturers in higher education in China have been oriented by the CECR towards pedagogical change. This paper reports on the responses of teachers towards the specific requirements of CECR 2004 by reviewing their present understanding of information and communications technology (ICT), the requirements of CECR 2004 regarding ICT, the present consensus on ICT in pedagogy and the views of policy makers and administrators about these issues. This paper argues that there is a gap between the policy and the reality in terms of ICT pedagogy in tertiary English teaching in the context of China. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Based on the premise that providing support for university teachers in designing for their teaching will ultimately improve the quality of student learning outcomes, recent interest in the development of support tools and strategies has gained momentum. This article reports on a study that examined the context in which Australian university teachers design in order to understand what role design support tools and strategies could play. In-depth interviews were conducted with 30 academics across 16 Australian universities. The findings suggest that most Australian university teachers have a high degree of flexibility in their design decisions suggesting that opportunities exist for learning design tools and strategies to be adopted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the potential learning benefits of three-dimensional (3-D) virtual learning environments (VLEs). Drawing on published research spanning two decades, it identifies a set of unique characteristics of 3-D VLEs, which includes aspects of their representational fidelity and aspects of the learner–computer interactivity they facilitate. A review of applications of 3-D VLEs is presented, leading to the identification of a series of learning affordances of such environments. These affordances include the facilitation of tasks that lead to enhanced spatial knowledge representation, greater opportunities for experiential learning, increased motivation/engagement, improved contextualisation of learning and richer/more effective collaborative learning as compared to tasks made possible by 2-D alternatives. The authors contend that the continued development of and investment in 3-D games, simulations and virtual worlds for educational purposes should be considered contingent on further investigation into the precise relationships between the unique characteristics of 3-D VLEs and their potential learning benefits. To this end, they conclude by proposing an agenda or ‘roadmap’ for future research that encompasses empirical studies aimed at exploring these relationships, as well as those aimed at deriving principles and guidelines to inform the design, development and use of 3-D virtual environments for learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Arguments for the use of interactive 3D simulations in education and training depend to a large extent on an implicit assumption that a more accurate and complete spatial cognitive model can be formed through active user-controlled exploration of such an environment than from viewing an equivalent animation. There is a similar implicit assumption that the viewing of animated view changes provides advantages over the viewing of static images due to the value of optical flow. The results to date, however, do not clearly support these assumptions. In particular, the findings of Peruch, Vercher, and Gauthier (1995) and Christou and Bulthoff (1999) conflict in relation to the importance of active exploration and of optical flow. This article reports the results of two studies exploring the importance of active exploration and of optical flow for spatial learning in 3D environments. The results indicate that active exploration can provide greater spatial learning than viewing of animations, but only if there is an alignment between the task goals during this exploration and the spatial learning being tested. In addition, the results suggest that a set of well-chosen static views of the environment can in some cases allow the formation of as complete a spatial cognitive model as a set of animated views. The article concludes with an analysis of the methodologies used by Peruch et al. and by Christou and Bulthoff in light of the findings reported here, leading to a new explanation for their conflicting results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This section presents abstracts of various articles within the issue, including those about the use of education technology to facilitate student-based learning, learning interaction between attending and resident physicians and use of electronic tools to enhance social interaction.

The author discusses the First TENCompetence Workshop held in Sofia, Bulgaria frm March 30 to 31, 2006. The workshop with the title Learning Networks for Learning Competence Development ia a project funded by the European Commission with the goal of building an integrated set of methods and open source tools to support the lifelong education. The infrastructure that will enable

E-learning provides the opportunity for professionals to explore practice questions in a supportive environment. Through the active learning tool of online role-plays professionals can receive intrinsic feedback regarding choices made in the role-plays. Contentious ethical issues, such as power concerns in mediation, can be explored in a environment where other professionals in the same field can provide support and reflective comments in the discussion board . This paper provides a design for role-plays based upon Laurillard's conversational framework as a method of helping busy professionals reflect upon their practice in an online environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes an innovative study being undertaken in Australia, as a result of large government funding, which explores a re-usable learning design construct (learner tasks, resources and supports). The paper explores an exploration of a new pedagogical framework which describes the nature of teaching and learning. The study is applying a generic learning design to support learning outcomes associated with visual. information, media and technology literacy. Critical literacy levels of multi-literacy, including strategies to facilitate critical understanding, will form the basis of the analysis framework for the study and will be explored in detail in the paper. What is unique to this study is the constructivist tenants embedded in the pedagogical framework through a technology enhanced learning environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a system, the Smart Learning Design Framework, designed to support the development of pedagogically sound learning material within an integrated, platform-independent data structure. The system supports sharing, reuse and adaptation of learning material via a metadata-driven philosophy that enables the technicalities of the system to be imperceptible to the author and consumer. The system proposes the use of pedagogically focused metadata to support and guide the author and to adapt and deliver the content to the targeted consumer. A prototype of the proposed system, which provides proof of concept for the novel processes involved, has been developed. The paper describes the Smart Learning Design Framework and places it within the context of alternative learning object models and frameworks to highlight similarities, differences and advantages of the proposed system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper discusses a framework for the analysis of learning designs using new technologies. It takes a learner-centred view derived from literature in higher, professional and adult education. The process of developing guidelines for applying this framework to particular learning activities is outlined and the strengths and limitations of this approach considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crucial to achieving educational effectiveness and academic credibility is the systematic evaluation of innovative practices. Despite the rapid advance of cutting-edge technologies such as the Internet and the World Wide Web into higher education, this imperative still remains. The present study investigates marketing students' perceptions of different modes of tutorial that supplements rather than replaces traditional face-to-face lectures. The three alternative modes investigated were a face-to-face approach and two Web-based approaches--one asynchronous (bulletin boards) and one synchronous (chat rooms). Findings indicate that face-to-face tutorials are most highly rated in terms of the effectiveness of the learning environment and several other criteria. While gender and Internet experience did not affect perceptions of different tutorial types, ethnicity did. Findings and implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The influence of physical appearance in the labour market is examined using longitudinal cohort data covering 11,407 individual born in Britain in 1958. Results show that physical appearance has a substantial effect onearnings and employment patterns for both men and women. Irrespective ofgender, those who are assessed as unattractive or short, experience a significant earnings penalty. Tall men receive a pay premium while obese womenexperience a pay penalty. The bulk of the pay differential for appearance arises from employer discrimination, although we find evidence for productivity differences among occupations. The impact of physical appearance is also evident in the marriage market. Among women, those who are tall or obese are less likely to be married; while among men, lower marriage rates are found for those who are short or unattractive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on the differences between phonetic structures of masculine and feminine personal names and ordinary nouns in English language. Exhibition of distinctive patterns in feminine personal names; Significance of the English sound system; Structural properties of the English sound system; Details on the origins of names.

Presents a summary of the article `Investigating Ways of Supporting Teacher Use of Interactive Multimedia,' by Brian Ferry, John Hedberg, and Barry Harper, found in the Journal of Technology and Teacher Education, Volume 4, Number 3/4, 1996.

Presents a summary of an article entitled `Strategies of teachers as users of interactive multimedia,' by Brian Ferry, John Hedberg, and Barry Harper, which was featured in the Australian Journal of Education, August 1996.

This article analyzes male occupational mobility in Great Britain. The theoretical model of occupational mobility is based on the assumption that individuals are heterogenous in their demand for training. Training may be occupation-specific or firm-specific. Uncertainty regarding the return on human capital can be introduced by allowing for stochastic variations in earnings and differences in the productivity of workers. The average firm tenure in the occupation has a negative effect on the probability of inter-firm mobility relative to intra-firm promotion.

Features an examination of the occupational attainment of men aged 33 in Great Britain, using longitudinal cohort data. Findings over family background influence; Results of the study.

The article looks at different ways for providing for teacher development. It makes various assumptions about alternative delivery, and looks at different cases of communication support, with examples of studies. It also looks at future developments. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article looks at how knowledge can be accessed using current technologies, so that forms of alternative delivery can be made available. It examines the effect of establishing links between schools and the university producing ‘virtual institutions’, and looks to the future. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Probes into the influence of phonetic features in candidate's names on the prediction of election results. Previous studies on name sounds; Predictive attributes; Results and reliability; Conclusion.

This paper develops an index of occupational sex segregation to examine changes in gender segregation in Iran between 1976-86. This period spans the 1979 Islamic revolution. A sharp rise in occupational sex segregation is identified although the effects are not uniform across occupations. The explanations offered for these trends include the role of islamization and selective taste discrimination, a rising fertility rate and economic recession. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction to the journal is presented in which the editor discusses several articles related to learning design including its history, design thinking of teachers, and university teachers design.

The article discusses various reports published within the issue including one on strategy to support university teacher, one on the difficult problems of sharing and exchanging learning designs, and one on dimensions of learning designs.

The article discusses various reports published within the issue including one on the contemporary distance education practice and another on the relevance of e-learning to students.

Presents several abstracts of articles published in the August 1995 issue of the journal "Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics." "Galtonian Regression Across Countries and the Convergence of Productivity," by Peter E. Hart; "Mutuality, Performance and Executive Compensation," by Hilary Ingham and Steve Thompson; "The Relationship Between Supervision and Pay: Evidence From the British New Earnings Survey," by Giorgio Brunello.

Lately, we have witnessed how European Institutions have directed many efforts at improving the effectiveness of food quality schemes (FQS) to address the increasing complexity that has affected all elements of the operating structure of agrifood supply chains worldwide, especially prices. In this paper, we conduct a comparative analysis of the price transmission process in the dairy sector between farm and retail markets within the protected designation of origin (PDO) framework and its non-protected counterpart in Italy. This paper considers a unique dataset for the PDO Parmigiano Reggiano cheese and for a non-protected counterpart in Italy covering a recent period after the price crises that took place nearly a decade ago. A multivariate error correction type approach was estimated together with the corresponding impulse response functions to provide useful insights for understanding the differences in the performance of the price transmission process between protected and non-protected food products. Contrary to most of the previous literature, our results support the hypothesis of symmetric price dynamics along the PDO cheese supply chain. The fewer number of farmers reduces the market power at the retail level generating more efficient price transmission dynamics. Short-run dynamics suggest that in the PDO cheese market farmers and retailers react quicker and with a similar magnitude to market changes, while in the conventional cheese market, retailers benefit in the short run from quicker and of higher magnitude responses to unanticipated market shocks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]