The role of hybrid learning spaces in enhancing higher education students’ employability

Graduate employment rates and self-reported employability are increasingly a feature of higher education funding measures. However, graduate outcomes do not denote the whole learning experience of the student nor is the student experience reducible to a single statistic. This paper discusses a design-centric approach to employability development which was enacted within a hybrid learning space. The study engaged 52 final-year speech pathology students, their lecturer, the lead researcher and a career practitioner (advisor) at an Australian university. Students first created personalized employability profiles using an established online self-reflection tool. The online tool produced a personalized report and enabled students to access developmental resources relating to employability and student success. The project team used anonymized student data to transform a previously generic “careers” workshop into a targeted workshop in which students explored individual and cohort findings and participated in developmental activities informed by the data. The initiative’s contribution to learning space research is in its composition as a hybrid learning space in which educators and students engaged as learners and developers of their online learning spaces, and educators collaborated to analyze student data and inform learning and teaching enhancements within the same study period. It is anticipated that the data from subsequent years will inform the curricular review, particularly if subsequent student cohorts express similar concerns. Implications for higher education policy and practice are discussed.     

An Examination of Privacy Rules for Academic Advisors and College Student-Athletes: A Communication Privacy Management Perspective

HOW TO MAKE BETTER SPEECHES. By William G. Hoffman. New York: Funk and Wagnalls Co., 1948; pp. 266. $3.00.

YOU AND YOUR SPEECHES. By E. C. Buehler. (Revised edition) . Lawrence, Kansas: Allen Press, 1949; pp. 266. $3.00.

ESSENTIALS OF COMMUNICATIVE SPEECH. By Robert T. Oliver, Dallas C. Dickey, and Harold P. Zelko. New York: The Dryden Press, 1949.

FUNDAMENTALS OF SPEECH. A Text‐Handbook of Principles and Methods. By Roy C. McCall. New York: The Macmillan Co., 1949; pp. 240. $12.50.

PRACTICAL DEBATING. By Luther W. Courtney and Glenn R. Capp. New York: J. B. Lippincott Co., 1949; pp. xii: 308.

THE ART OF ACTING. By John Dolman, Jr. New York: Harper &; Brothers, 1949; pp. xx + 313. $3.50.

LIVING LITERATURE FOR ORAL INTERPRETATION. By Moiree Compere. New York: Appleton‐Century‐Crofts, Inc., 1949; pp. xii + 451. $3.00.

HANDBOOK OF RADIO PRODUCTION. By Erik Barnouw. Boston: D. C. Heath and Co., 1949; pp. xii + 324. $3.25.

VOICE AND DICTION. By Victor A. Fields and James F. Bender. New York: The Macmillan Co., 1949; pp. ix + 368. $4.00.

SPEECH METHODS IN THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. By Carrie Rasmussen. New York: The Ronald Press, 1949; pp. 340. $3.50.

SPEECH IN THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. By Lorna Shogren Werner. Evanston, Illinois: Row, Peterson and Co., 1947; pp. 222. $2.00.     

Supporting Academic Health Centers with Knowledge Management: Learning from the Web

In a 2003 publication, the Association of Academic Health Sciences Libraries (AAHSL) made explicit the many ways in which a library might contribute to an academic health center's success through knowledge management (KM). Building on Success: Charting the Future of Knowledge Management within the Academic Health Center elucidated the ways in which a library can serve as the center of an organization's KM initiatives. The study and application of knowledge management tools is formidable; unlike information management (IM), the field of knowledge management has roots in a seemingly infinite and wide-ranging number of professional and academic disciplines. The planning of institutional KM initiatives is not commonly discussed, and history shows knowledge management projects often fail to thrive. This column introduces the topic of knowledge management and includes suggested Web-based resources for further understanding and project planning.     

Exploring the Lived Experiences of Homeless Families with Young Children

This study researched the experiences of homeless families with young children between the ages of four and eight. Many families experience homelessness every year; therefore, it is important for early childhood educators to have an understanding of how homelessness affects families with young children so that educators can effectively serve the needs of homeless families as they seek to find more permanent situations for themselves and their young children. Many early childhood educators may not understand how homelessness affects young learners. This research sought: (1) to understand reasons families with young children become homeless; (2) to become aware of beneficial resources available to families and their perceptions of the resources; (3) and to examine the developmental effects that homeless living situations can have on young children. The outcomes of this study will be used to inform early childhood educators about practices as they seek to serve young children ages four to eight living homeless. Research suggested common themes as to why and how parents and young children are affected by homelessness.     

What's in a Name? A Comparison of Instructional Systems Design,Organization Development,and Human Performance Technology/Improvement and Their Contributions to Performance Improvement

What are the similarities and differences between instructional systems design, organization development, and human performance technology/improvement (HPT/HPI)? This article defines these fields and highlights how they contribute to the performance improvement domain. With Rossett's view of HPT as a “perspective, or habit of mind, that inclines us towards data, analysis, systems, alignment and partnerships” (A. Rossett, personal communication, October 28, 2012), HPT/HPI will be presented as the overarching framework for selecting and measuring instructional systems design or organization development interventions.     

Theatre of the Commons: a theatrical inquiry into the democratic engagement of former refugee families in Canadian public high school communities

Background: This paper describes the creation of a theatrical commons that aimed to broaden and deepen democratic engagement between diverse citizens in one public school community in Manitoba, Canada.Purpose and method: The researchers considered how Forum and Image Theatre provided former refugee youth, guardians, parents and the general public with the opportunity to name and invent different possibilities to address complex school community challenges at an individual and at a policy level. The study utilised critical participatory action research that drew heavily on the theatrical imaginations of Augusto Boal and David Diamond.Main arguments and conclusions: Three recommendations were derived from the findings as they related to the research questions and literature: (1) that Image and Forum Theatre can be used to connect public education to the pursuit of transformative democracy; (2) that Image and Forum Theatre would be a useful means of informing system planning and reflection, and; (3) that a theatrical commons has value for creating space for marginalised voices to influence decision-making.     

Increased fruit and vegetable intake among older adults participating in Kentucky’s congregate meal site program

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to determine if the amount and variety of fruits and vegetables consumed increased among community-dwelling older adults participating in Kentucky’s congregate meal site program following a series of five nutrition education lessons. A convenience sample of older adults attending senior centers (n = 35)—two intervention (n = 19) and two control (n = 16) centers—participated in this quasi-experimental pilot study. Following the intervention there was a significant increase in actual fruit and vegetable intake in the intervention group (p < .05) as assessed by platewaste measurements of the congregate lunch meal. In addition, from pre- to post-intervention, a trend towards increased self-reported intake in the variety of fruit and vegetables was observed among the intervention group. As well, a significant increase in the number of days intervention participants self-reported consuming at least 4.5 cups of fruits and vegetables in the last 7 days (2.44 ± 2.09 days to 4.28 ± 1.99 days (p = .004)) was observed; and knowledge pertaining to phytochemicals increased (p < .05). The phytochemical index (PI) score of the lunch meal, taking into account that the older adults' consumption of meal components, including phytochemical-rich foods, was 26.9. Overall, study results indicated that a short theory-based nutrition education program offered to community-dwelling older adults was linked to an increase in fruit and vegetable consumption and phytochemical knowledge.     

Survival skills: the impact of change and the ERA on Australian researchers

This paper reports findings from a study that focused on the experiences of research-intensive academics in relation to the Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) Framework. Interviews with academic staff at different career stages and across all academic faculties followed completion of a short survey in which respondents compared their publishing behaviour before and since implementation of the new Framework. Respondents were highly conscious that ERA had prompted a shift in publishing behaviour to meet often competing demands of individual research interests, institution, discipline and the international research community. Indeed, the study revealed academics to be positioned in contradictory ways in relation to their research and publishing, heightened by the instability of the Framework's assessment mechanisms. The experience of researchers up to, and including, the decision to abandon journal ranking provides valuable insights into the precarious and reactionary nature of academic research careers and the ability of both individuals and institutions to negotiate the rapid rate of change. These insights include tension between personal research priorities and ERA requirements, particularly in relation to writing for the most relevant audience, and concerns about the right to exercise academic freedom.     

Back to the Future: Re-appropriating Religious Education—A Case Study Using the Black Church

The article suggests that Religious Education, in practice and as a field, will benefit by exploring the history and practice of Religious Education in the Black church. Using examples from the history, curriculum, and process of Religious Education in the historic Black church, the article argues that the Black church offers a dynamic educational example for religion scholars and religious educators. The importance of reinvigorating Religious Education in the Black church is discussed and recommendations for future practice are made.     

Questions in the answers to primary school educational reconstruction in Sierra Leone

The purpose of this paper is to review current issues in pre- and primary school reform and to pose questions on the long-term implications of present day solutions. Such an exercise will open up discussion on the probable effects of educational policy decisions with a view to minimize negative effects brought on by new policies. Because data collection in Sierra Leone is embryonic and unreliable, it is difficult to be definitive in planning future reform in education based on available data. The civil war between 1989 and 1999 practically shut down the educational system. Some of the obvious steps taken to ameliorate the situation included mandatory compulsory primary education in 2004 and completing the construction of 500 new classroom buildings by 2008. School enrolment doubled between 2001 and 2005 and the Gross Enrolment Ratio （GER） was about 160 percent. It is important to join in a discussion of the long-term implications of short-term solutions to educational development in Sierra Leone. The paper is organized under the following headings： （1） The context of pre and primary school development; （2） Current education system; （3） Issues in pre-primary and primary education; （4） Government statements on education and jobs respectively; （5） Questioning as a way to improve education quality; （6） Discussion; and （7） Recommendation.