Leadership and social capital: engaging small Australian communities in development and implementation of learning plans

ABSTRACT

The paper explores the processes by which two Australian rural communities established Community Learning Plans (CLPs). It acknowledges the role of CLPs as contributors to social and economic change through influencing employment rates, income equity, social cohesion and reduction in poverty. In addressing the research question: What factors contribute to the effective development and implementation of a CLP in a small rural community? The paper reveals the importance of evidence and clarity of vision such as improved social and economic outcomes as core rationales for triggering the development of CLPs. The analysis of leadership and social capital resources drawn upon from trigger for a CLP through initiation, development and reflection to sustainable embedding in community, reveals the interplay between formal community leadership structures such as Council, community members, education, business, training and social services, and external actors as a predicator of communities’ ability to enact CLPs. Maturity of social capital resources and leadership processes and resources influence the development and implementation of plans in alignment with community needs and aspirations. The paper advocates for reward and recognition frameworks to help connect, engage and sustain stakeholder groups into community learning initiatives through providing relevance to their business or activity.     

Developmental Trajectories in Children With and Without Autism Spectrum Disorders: The First 3 Years

Retrospective studies indicate 2 major classes of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) onset: early and later, after a period of relatively healthy development. This prospective, longitudinal study examined social, language, and motor trajectories in 235 children with and without a sibling with autism, ages 6–36 months. Children were grouped as: ASD identified by 14 months, ASD identified after 14 months, and no ASD. Despite groups' initial similar developmental level at 6 months, ASD groups exhibited atypical trajectories thereafter. Impairment from 14 to 24 months was greater in the Early‐ASD than the Later‐ASD group, but comparable at 36 months. Developmental plateau and regression occurred in some children with ASD, regardless of timing of ASD diagnosis. Findings indicate a preclinical phase of varying duration for ASD.     

Politics and Education

(Mr Maclure was asked to write on the question he poses in the first sentence of the article)     

Interpreting examiners' annotations on examination papers: a sociocultural analysis

In Ireland and the UK it is accepted practice that agencies with formal responsibility for delivering school examinations allow examination candidates, and in many cases their teachers, to see their examination papers once they have been marked. Returned papers can carry various pieces of information; as well as the total score given for a performance, additional information is included in the form of the annotations left on the examination paper by the marking examiner. As far as we know there has been no research into how this information affects those who come into contact with it. The study uses teacher interview and survey data to explore whether a sociocultural approach to analysis can illuminate the factors that might influence their interpretation of those annotations. These analyses suggest that a key influence on the valid interpretation of an examiner's annotations is a teachers' involvement in examining activity. The analyses support further conceptualisation that these teacher-examiners' interpretative capacity is related to their positioning in a boundary zone between two different activity systems.     

论体育运动中情绪过程的功能意义

1　前言让我先讲个小故事吧。有一位年青的网球运动员 ,他对自己能够闯入决赛感到非常兴奋 ,这在赛前他是想也没有想到过的。进入中心赛场后 ,听到观众如潮的掌声 ,一种骄傲的感觉油然而生 ,但同时他也感到自己心跳强烈 ,手心出汗 ,他不禁问自己 :我是不是能够不负众望 ?是不是能和两周前打得一样好呢 ?心中涌出一丝害怕失败的感觉。在赛前适应场地时 ,他在场内来回跑动、击球 ,注意力开始集中于球赛 ,紧张的感觉逐渐减轻 ,在场上的感觉也越来越好。比赛开始了 ,……比赛中 ,他时而为了一个幸运球而兴奋 ;时而为了自己愚蠢的回球后而懊悔不…     

The effects of synchronous music on 400-m sprint performance

The aim of the present study was to assess the effects of motivating and oudeterous (neither motivating nor demotivating) synchronous music on 400-m sprint performance while controlling for the potential confound of pre-performance mood. A panel of volunteer Caucasian males (n = 20; mean age = 20.5 years, s = 1.2) rated the motivational qualities of 32 musical selections using the Brunel Music Rating Inventory-2. An experimental group of volunteer Caucasian males (n = 36; mean age = 20.4 years, s = 1.4) completed three 400-m time trials under conditions of motivational music, oudeterous music, and a no-music control. Pre-performance mood was assessed using the Brunel University Mood Scale (BRUMS). A series of repeated-measures analyses of variance with Bonferroni adjustment revealed no differences in the BRUMS subscales. A repeated-measures analysis of variance on the 400-m times showed a significant effect (F1.24, 42.19 = 10.54, P < 0.001, eta 2 = 0.24) and follow-up pair wise comparisons revealed differences between the synchronous music conditions and the control condition. This finding supported the first research hypothesis, that synchronous music would result in better performance than a no-music control, but not the second hypothesis, that performance in the motivational synchronous music condition would be better than that in the oudeterous condition. It appears that synchronous music can be applied to anaerobic endurance performance among non-elite sports persons with a considerable positive effect.