Bodyline,the British World and the Evolution of an Australian National Identity

This article contributes to the historiographical debate concerning the nature and evolution of an Australian national identity. It does so through the case study of cricket and, in particular, cricketing relations with Britain. It argues that the movement of cultural traffic – that is the two-way transmission of people, ideas and sports – between metropole and colony was central to the formation, definition and evolution of an Australian cricketing identity. Furthermore, it suggests that this sporting national identity acted as a rehearsal for a broader Australian identity.     

Connecting citizens and local governments? Social media and interactivity in major U.S. cities

Changing the relationship between citizens and government is often cited as a goal for digital government, and new tools such as social media have the potential to improve interactions with citizens through dialogue. Citizens are most likely to participate at the local level (Berry, Portney and Thomson, 1993; Oates, 1972; Oakerson, 1999), and the largest cities have traditionally been at the forefront in the adoption of e-government innovations (Moon, 2002; Ho, 2002). We examine the use of social networks and other interactive tools in the 75 largest U.S. cities between 2009 and 2011. During this period, the adoption of Facebook skyrocketed from just 13% of the cities in 2009 to nearly 87% in 2011; similarly, the use of Twitter increased from 25% to 87%. We further explore three case study cities through analysis of discussion on social networks, and interviews, and find that one-way “push” strategies (Mergel, 2013a) predominate, although there are some signs of greater openness toward dialogue with citizens.     

Drawing a computer scientist: stereotypical representations or lack of awareness?

ABSTRACT

Stereotypes people hold about computer scientists contribute to underrepresentation in computer science. Perceptions of computer scientists have historically been linked to males and a “nerd” culture, which can lead to lack of interest, particularly for girls. This article presents two studies conducted with two groups of middle schoolers: those who attended our programming camp (Study One) and those who did not (Study Two). After analyzing participants’ drawings and two survey questions we found that perceptions youth holds about computer scientists may be improving. Additionally, we found that males (versus females) and those youth who did not attend our camp (versus those who did) tended to have more stereotypical perceptions of computer scientists. With this article, we contribute to the literature on CS stereotypes by examining both positive and negative representations youth had about computer scientists. We also cast light on the lack of awareness about this profession among the youth of this age.     

Teacher Mentoring and Early Literacy Learning: A Case Study of a Mentor-Coach Initiative

Educational reform policies such as the No Child Left Behind Act continue to place great demands on teachers. Additionally, educational reform policies such as this imply the need for continuous professional development activities that enhance teacher qualifications, especially for practicing teachers. This study examined the effectiveness of a nation-wide mentor-coach initiative towards enhancing teacher pedagogy and its effect on children’s literacy performance. Forty-four Head Start teachers and classrooms were examined. Results indicated that reading and writing scores benefited significantly more when teachers participated in the mentor-coach initiative. These findings suggest that professional development activities such as mentor-coach initiatives, if offered appropriately, can enhance children’s academic performance.     

Virtual learning environments: three implementation perspectives

Universities worldwide offer web‐based courses distributed by virtual learning environments (VLEs). A common theoretical framework for implementing VLEs is the pedagogical perspective of instructional design. In this paper, three perspectives of implementation from information systems implementation research and organization theory are presented: implementation as technology acceptance, implementation as diffusion of innovations and implementation as a learning process. These perspectives focus on the VLE as an information system within an organization, the university. The models reviewed offer an important complementary perspective to the pedagogical view of instructional design. The three implementation perspectives are compared and a conclusion is made concerning their implications of successful use and implementation of VLEs.