Amartya Sen’s Capability Approach and the Brokering of Learning Provision for Young Adults

This paper argues that Amartya Sen’s (Development as freedom, New York: Random House, 1999) concept of “capabilities” provides a useful framework for interpreting the brokering of learning provisions that emerged as a key feature of reforms to education and training in Queensland (Australia) for young people. Sen’s capability approach is presented as a way of understanding the place of vocational learning in capability deprivation and enhancement. Methodologically, this account comes from a case study of the reforms’ birthing and trial phases (2000–2006) (Harreveld and Singh 2007, Queensland’s education and training reforms for the future: the journey so far in senior phase learning. Brisbane, Qld: Department of Education, Training and the Arts). Evidence about the brokering of learning provision for young people comes from Queensland’s youth support coordinators, community mentoring scheme, flexible learning services and a work readiness program.

Synthesis of Schiff bases of naphtha[1,2-d]thiazol-2-amine and metal complexes of 2-（2＇-hydroxy）benzylideneaminonaphthothiazole as potential antimicrobial agents

Objective： A series of 2-benzylideneaminonaphthothiazoles were designed and synthesized incorporating the lipophilic naphthalene ring to render them more capable of penetrating various biomembranes. Methods： Schiff bases were synthesized by the reaction of naphtha[1,2-d]thiazol-2-amine with various substituted aromatic aldehydes. 2-（2＇-Hydroxy）ben- zylideneaminonaphthothiazole was converted to its Co（Ⅱ）, Ni（Ⅱ） and Cu（Ⅱ） metal complexes upon treatment with metal salts in ethanol. All the compounds were evaluated for their antibacterial activities by paper disc diffusion method with Gram positive Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis and Gram negative Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria. The minimum inhibitory concentrations of all the Schiff bases and metal complexes were determined by agar streak dilution method. Results： All the compounds moderately inhibited the growth of Cram positive and Gram negative bacteria. In the present study among all Schiff bases 2-（2＇-hydroxy）benzylideneaminonaphthothiazole showed maximum inhibitory activity and among metal complexes Cu（Ⅱ） metal complex was found to be most potent. Conclusion： The results obtained validate the hypothesis that Schiff bases having substitution with halogens, hydroxyl group and nitro group at phenyl ring are required for the antibacterial activity while methoxy group at different positions in the aromatic ring has minimal role in the inhibitory activity. The results also indicated that the metal complexes are better antibacterial agents as compared to the Schiff bases.     

Patterns and Factors of High School Dropout Risks of Racial and Linguistic Groups

This study examined the dropout trajectories of racial and linguistic minority students and explored the effects of students' contextual factors on their high school dropout risks. Our motivation was to identify the dropout patterns of Black, Hispanic, and Hispanic English language learner (ELL) students, who have comparatively high dropout rates, and to suggest ways to promote high school completion. We employed a survival analysis using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 (NLSY97) from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The results showed that the 3 minority groups displayed significantly higher dropout risks than the White group. The overall pattern of dropout risks increased over time, with the dropout rates of the Black students high in the 1st and 2nd years of high school and the highest dropout rates for Hispanic ELL students in their senior year. A gender difference was found among the students, with male students having higher dropout risks than female students. It was also found that students' positive relationships with their teachers were associated with lower dropout risks.     

Atypical predictive processing during visual statistical learning in children with developmental dyslexia: an event-related potential study

Previous research suggests that individuals with developmental dyslexia perform below typical readers on non-linguistic cognitive tasks involving the learning and encoding of statistical-sequential patterns. However, the neural mechanisms underlying such a deficit have not been well examined. The aim of the present study was to investigate the event-related potential (ERP) correlates of sequence processing in a sample of children diagnosed with dyslexia using a non-linguistic visual statistical learning paradigm. Whereas the response time data suggested that both typical and atypical readers learned the statistical patterns embedded in the task, the ERP data suggested otherwise. Specifically, ERPs of the typically developing children (n?=?12) showed a P300-like response indicative of learning, whereas the children diagnosed with a reading disorder (n?=?8) showed no such ERP effects. These results may be due to intact implicit motor learning in the children with dyslexia but delayed attention-dependent predictive processing. These findings are consistent with other evidence suggesting that differences in statistical learning ability might underlie some of the reading deficits observed in developmental dyslexia.     

Higher education and development

Chief Project Officer, Education Programme, Commonwealth Secretariat, London, with responsibility for higher education. Until 1990 she was Professor of sociological studies, Faculty of Education, University of Malaya, where she also served as Dean, Institute of Advanced Studies. Her principal interests in teaching and research are education and social mobility, education, learning orientation and work in developing societies. Author of numerous articles in her fields of competence.     

Transition and Reformation of Indian Agricultural Libraries in the Digital and Collaborative Era: Challenges,Opportunities, and Sustainability

The article discusses how the Indian agricultural libraries have transformed through various innovative projects in the recent past. Libraries in the National Agricultural Research and Education network have connected and collaborated to deliver information resources as per the changing needs of the academic community. The author describes the initiatives made through projects for upgrading libraries and moving them to virtual environment and digital platforms like IDEAL and central digital repositories like Krishikosh. Collaborative projects like CeRA–consortiums and union catalogue–AgriCat developed on Koha have made a breakthrough in transformation. Sustainable development of digital platforms is important; how the various platforms have been sustained and continued is interesting. Some of the challenges and constraints in institutional repositories, open access, and digital accessibility of e-resources for new, developing universities and bridging the digital divide are also addressed. Through describing these transformations, the author concludes that attention of academicians and librarians is required to facilitate and popularize use of e-resources and bring greater dependency on e-text in light of the changing technological scenario.