Does improving school level attendance lead to improved school level achievement? An empirical study of indigenous educational policy in Australia

Current federal government policy initiatives in Aboriginal education and social welfare reform are based on assumptions about the relationship between increased attendance and increased student performance on standardized tests. There are empirical assumptions underlying these policy interventions and their accompanying public debates. Our aim here is to empirically explore the relationships between patterns of student attendance and patterns of student achievement in schools with significant cohorts of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander students at the school level. Based on an analysis of the publicly available data reported on the ‘MySchool’ website, we find that reforms and policies around attendance have not and are unlikely to generate patterns of improved achievement. Questions about the rationale and rhetoric of government policy focused at the school level as opposed to the need to focus on pedagogy and curriculum are discussed.     

UK higher education viewed through the marketization and marketing lenses

This paper uses the Economic Market mechanisms and the 4P Marketing Mix as lenses to review the context of UK higher education (HE) and to explore the relationship between the market and marketing disciplines and practice. Four Economic Market mechanisms – autonomy, competition, price and information – are contrasted with the four Ps of marketing: product, price, place and promotion. This paper demonstrates how market forces influence HE institutions and, in contrast, how HE institutions shape the environment via marketing practice. Knowing how one discipline relates to another is crucial for those who strive to understand the context of HE.     

Error Estimation in Numerical Inversion of Laplace Transforms Using Padé Approximation

Uniform asymptotic estimates for the error in the main diagonal and first two subdiagonal Padé approximants for exp(iz) in a sector covering the real z axis are derived. The results are applied to analyze the error in a cerain procedure for the numerical inversion of the Laplace transform.     

“The eye in the sky doesn’t lie”: Video replay and self-evaluations as part of the basic communication course

This study explores extent and frequency of conventional practices in the basic communication course: speeches, video replay, and self-evaluations from 45 basic course directors and instructors. Results indicated three to four speeches per curriculum, with two prominent speech types: informative (97.8%) and persuasive (91.1%). Approximately 76% of curriculums used video replay. Self-evaluation questions (N?=?254) used 52.8% open, 40.6% closed, 21.9% circular, and 21.9% strategic questions. Most frequently used questions focused on: delivery (12.1%), content (10.6%), or delivery and content (11.1%). Findings suggest pedagogical practices vary across the discipline, and the discussion offers practical applications for improving practices.     

An early review of stroboscopic visual training: insights,challenges and accomplishments to guide future studies

ABSTRACT

Stroboscopic visual training (SVT) is a form of training in which an individual practices a task under intermittent visual conditions with the intention of enhancing subsequent performance under normal visual conditions. Training with stroboscopic devices is theorized to improve important visual, perceptual, and cognitive skills, which in turn transfers to enhanced sporting performance. Indeed, while there is an abundance of anecdotal evidence suggesting benefits of strobe training, empirical evidence is rarer and less conclusive. This lack of clarity is due, in part, to the challenging methodological issues faced when conducting experimental vision training studies in applied contexts. The present paper is an early review of the research to date with a focus on the key methodological decisions, such as the training and testing protocols employed, participant samples and control groups used, and practical considerations that enable such training in applied settings. Whilst still at an early stage, the existing studies point to SVT enhancing some aspects of foveal visual sensitivity and visual motor control, with notable benefits for some athletic tasks. Such improvements could have implications not just in sport, but in domains such as rehabilitation, education, and motor vehicle safety.     

Development of perfectionism in junior athletes: Examination of actual and perceived parental perfectionism

ABSTRACT

Initial research suggests that parental perfectionism is central to the development of athlete perfectionism. However, it is unclear whether perceived or actual parental perfectionism is most important. The present study aimed to address this issue in two ways. First, we re-examined the predictive ability of actual versus perceived parental perfectionism on athlete perfectionism. Second, for the first time, we tested whether perceived parental perfectionism mediated the relationship between actual parental perfectionism and athlete perfectionism. A sample of 150 junior athletes and their parents completed measures of perfectionism (perfectionistic strivings and perfectionistic concerns). Junior athletes completed two measures, one of their own perfectionism and one of perceptions of their parents’ perfectionism. Parents completed one measure of their own perfectionism. Regression analyses showed that perceived parental perfectionism predicted athlete perfectionism over and above actual parental perfectionism. Mediation analyses provided support for our proposed model. Overall, the findings suggest that both actual and perceived parental perfectionism are important in the development of perfectionism in junior athletes.     

Pastors of profit: Marketplace Ministries and the rhetorical acquisition of affective allegiance

This essay explores neoliberal capital accumulation by analyzing the workplace chaplaincy service Marketplace Ministries. By extending the value of traditional chaplains to the modern workplace, Marketplace Ministries discourse illuminates a discursive pattern that secular client-companies can employ to acquire the affective allegiance of their front-line employees. For these client-companies, affective allegiance activates a set of internal motivational strategies organized around the secularization of Michel Foucault’s pastoral power by penetrating the intimate domestic spheres of the workforce to shape subjectivity and promote new forms of obedience. Implications for our present milieu are considered including possible sites of contestation and resistance.     

Comprehension and content: planning literacy in low socioeconomic and culturally diverse schools

This article defines comprehension as a pragmatic social and intellectual practice. It reviews literature on current approaches to reading instruction for linguistically and culturally diverse and low socioeconomic students, noting the current policy emphasis on the teaching of comprehension as autonomous skills and strategies. The Four Resources model (Freebody and Luke 1990) is used to frame comprehension instruction with an emphasis on student cultural and community knowledge, and substantive intellectual and sociocultural content in elementary and middle school curricula. Illustrations are drawn from research underway on the teaching of literacy in low socioeconomic schools.