Moving farmer knowledge beyond the farm gate: An Australian study of farmer knowledge in group learning

Abstract

Participatory programs are increasingly recognised as effective in assisting rural communities identify issues of concern, determine their needs, and draw in resources to enact social and environmental change. A fundamental assumption of these programs is that farmer knowledge is used and valued in the process of group interaction and social learning. The role of farmer knowledge in group learning in Australia is explored in this paper using case studies of Landcare and Prograze. In both case studies, group activity focused upon building landholder knowledge and skills for sustainable pasture management. Research findings suggest farmer knowledge can remain dormant unless critical factors in group learning and development are addressed. These include experiential learning, integrating information, effective facilitation, group autonomy and building ongoing relationships and learning opportunities.     

My brothers were all ‘learnt out’ and my sons soon would be: Public debate over schooling in Quebec, 1814–1823

A public debate over the market provision of schooling and the possibilities of monitorial pedagogy raged in the city of Quebec during the second decade of the nineteenth century. Debate intensified when a group of small merchant manufacturers organised a school association in 1818. The group was denounced by private venture schoolmasters as attempting to create an unfair monopoly, in a debate in the pages of the Quebec Mercury newspaper. Others warned of the dangers to society of universal education for the ‘lower orders’. The School Association failed in its immediate objectives, but it was a precursor to the Quebec British and Canadian School Society, organised in 1823 and associated with the British and Foreign School Society in London.     

The present state and future trends of blended learning in workplace learning settings across five countries

This article reports survey findings related to the current status and future trends of blended learning in workplace learning settings from diverse cultures. This particular survey was conducted of 674 training and human resource development professionals from five different countries, mostly from the Asia-Pacific region (i.e., China, South Korea, Taiwan, United States, and the United Kingdom). The results show that blended learning will become a popular delivery method in the future of workplace learning not only in Western countries but also in Asian countries. Still, the respondents indicated that there were several barriers to blended learning; one of the most noticeable issues was their lack of understanding of blended learning. There is a pressing need, therefore, to provide practitioners with guidance on how to implement blended learning in their organizations. Additionally, among the countries surveyed, the results of the present study revealed that there were significant differences in the current level of adoption of blended learning, the respondents’ attitudes toward and perceptions of blended learning, and the content areas taught by blended learning. Respondents’ predictions related to emerging instructional strategies, technologies, and evaluation techniques for blended learning are also reported.     

Preschoolers’ use of count information to judge relative quantity

We examined preschool children's use of count information in making quantity judgments. Study 1 involved 35 children 3–5 years old using a balance-scale task to judge relative quantity with or without count information provided. Study 2 replicated and extended the exploration as 54 children 3–4 years old judged relative quantity in multiple counting contexts. Children who were given count information successfully used count information in quantity evaluation when visual cues were not useful. Limited experience of counting skills, strategy choice, and limited processing capacity are each discussed as potential explanations. Implications for early childhood practice and teacher education, as well as directions for future research are explored.     

Bibliographic control of audiovisuals: analysis of a cataloging project using OCLC

The staff of the Quillen-Dishner College of Medicine Library cataloged 702 audiovisual titles between July 1, 1982, and June 30, 1983, using the OCLC database. This paper discusses the library's audiovisual collection and describes the method and scope of a study conducted during this project, the cataloging standards and conventions adopted, the assignment and use of NLM classification, the provision of summaries for programs, and the amount of staff time expended in cataloging typical items. An analysis of the use of OCLC for this project resulted in the following findings: the rate of successful searches for audiovisual copy was 82.4%; the error rate for records used was 41.9%; modifications were required in every record used; the Library of Congress and seven member institutions provided 62.8% of the records used. It was concluded that the effort to establish bibliographic control of audiovisuals is not widespread and that expanded and improved audiovisual cataloging by the Library of Congress and the National Library of Medicine would substantially contribute to that goal.     

“I don’t see myself as a 40-year-old on Facebook”: medical students’ dilemmas in developing professionalism with social media

Students’ development of professionalism is vital within medical education, while social media communications can blur professional and personal boundaries. In the UK advice for medical practitioners and students has been developed, advocating care in the projection of a professional identity online as offline. This study takes an academic literacies approach to a small-scale investigation of attitudes and practices of second-year medical students in a British university through a focus group and paired interview, recognising that issues of identity and power are multi-layered and complex. Use of social media focuses primarily on Facebook, where they had already begun to adapt their self-presentation. Depictions of alcohol use are a particular area of concern. The students’ reflections demonstrate professionalism in respect of care for patient confidentiality and privacy. Yet they express an ambivalent sense of a future trajectory in which continuing social media use may appear simultaneously undesirable and yet vital. A finding of considerable concern is a reluctance to challenge inappropriate online behaviour despite policy guidelines. New generations growing up with social media raise challenges and opportunities for medical education that require greater attention and the development of participatory approaches to research, increasing understanding that in turn may be beneficial for policy-makers.     

What helps and hinders indigenous student success in higher education health programmes: a qualitative study using the Critical Incident Technique

Tertiary institutions aim to provide high quality teaching and learning that meet the academic needs for an increasingly diverse student body including indigenous students. Tātou Tātou is a qualitative research project utilising Kaupapa Ma¯ori research methodology and the Critical Incident Technique interview method to investigate the teaching and learning practices that help or hinder Ma¯ori student success in non-lecture settings within undergraduate health programmes at the University of Auckland. Forty-one interviews were completed from medicine, health sciences, nursing and pharmacy. A total of 1346 critical incidents were identified with 67% helping and 33% hindering Ma¯ori student success. Thirteen sub-themes were grouped into three overarching themes representing potential areas of focus for tertiary institutional undergraduate health programme development: Māori student support services, undergraduate programme, and Ma¯ori student whanaungatanga. Academic success for indigenous students requires multi-faceted, inclusive, culturally responsive and engaging teaching and learning approaches delivered by educators and student support staff.     

Fair use versus fair return: copyright legislation and its consequences.

The purpose of this article is to examine the ramifications of legislative recognition of the concept of fair use in the Copyright Act of 1976. The fair use concept, while of small consequence in its normative origins, has turned out to be the foundation of the most perplexing and divisive issues in the new legislative guidelines governing copyright. Legislative recognition of the concept of fair use, coupled with enormous growth of a new technology--extending from xerography to on-line database systems--creates de facto exemptions to both the intent and content of new copyright guidelines. The issue is not one of limiting use or suppressing information, but of mechanisms for safeguarding the rights of copyright holders, be they authors or publishers, and insuring the free flow of information by providing a proper return on both intellectual creativity and capital expenditures. The authors argue that the elimination, or at least curtailment of fair use doctrine, coupled with an increase in technological approaches to reporting of secondary use of copyrighted material, will benefit all sections of the knowledge industry. Authors will receive proper royalties on use; publishers will be able to sell more books and journals at lower prices; and librarians will be liberated from extensive chores such as monitoring usage or determining fee schedules and transferences. The issue is one of fair return--an issue obscured and ultimately subverted by fair use.