What we do with words, and what they do with us

This is an invited paper based on the keynote presentation that Professor Ralf St Clair made at the 2019 Australian Council for Adult Literacy Conference in Sydney, Australia on 4 October

Factors behind the rise and fall of farmland prices: a preliminary assessment

Agricultural prices

Ludic literacies at the intersections of cultures: an interview with James Paul Gee

Professor James Gee addresses issues of linguistics, literacies and cultures. Gee emphasises the importance of Discourses, and argues that the future of literacy studies lies in the interrogation of new media and the globalisation of culture

Evidence for complex integration and dynamic neural regulation of skeletal muscle recruitment during exercise in humans

A model is proposed in which the development of physical exhaustion is a relative rather than an absolute event and the sensation of fatigue is the sensory representation of the underlying neural integrative processes. Furthermore, activity is controlled as part of a pacing strategy involving active neural calculations in a “governor” region of the brain, which integrates internal sensory signals and information from the environment to produce a homoeostatically acceptable exercise intensity. The end point of the exercise bout is the controlling variable. This is an example of a complex, non-linear, dynamic system in which physiological systems interact to regulate activity before, during, and after the exercise bout

Transformational Leadership and Mentoring: Theoretical Links and Practical Implications

Organizations are becoming increasingly aware of the advantages of generating a stream of transformational leaders who will be able to successfully move their companies into the future. Yet, theory providing guidance for developing such leaders is at a premium. In particular, prior research has not explored in detail the complexity of the relationship between mentoring and the development of transformational leaders. To address this important topic, we develop logical links between traditional mentoring activities and the behaviors associated with the Four I\u27s of transformational leadership (individualized consideration, idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation). Based upon our review and synthesis of the literature, we conclude that existing models of mentoring may be insufficient for developing transformational leaders. Building on these two literatures, we propose a process of transformational mentoring and describe eleven propositions depicting the relationship between transformational mentoring activities and protege outcomes associated with transformational leadership. We also identify and discuss mentor- and protege-based barriers that may mediate that relationship. We conclude with directions for future research that capitalize on the overlap between mentoring and the activities identified with transformational leadership. Request a copy of the paper from the author: Lynda St. Clair ([email protected]

Scottish Survey of Adult Literacies 2009, Research Findings No: 58/2010:

The purpose of this brief document is to discuss the context for, and meaning of, the findings of the Scottish Survey of Adult Literacies 2009. Here the research team examine the findings of the survey and provide a coherent picture of adult literacies in Scotland in 2009 based on those results and the broader theoretical field. Readers interested in the detailed findings are advised to consult the SSAL2009 Report of Findings http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/SSAL2009Report_Of_Findings.The SSAL2009 Technical Report can be found at the same location

Influence of Different Performance Levels on Pacing Strategy During the Women's World Championship Marathon Race.

Purpose To analyse pacing strategies displayed by athletes achieving differing levels of performance during an elite level marathon race. Methods Competitors in the 2009 IAAF Women’s Marathon Championship were split into Groups 1, 2, 3, and 4 comprising the first, second, third, and fourth 25% of finishers respectively. Final, intermediate, and personal best (PB) times of finishers were converted to mean speeds, and relative speed (% of PB speed) was calculated for intermediate segments. Results Mean PB speed decreased from Group 1 to 4 and speed maintained in the race was 98.5 + 1.8%, 97.4 + 3.2%, 95.0 + 3.1% and 92.4 + 4.4% of PB speed for Groups 1-4 respectively. Group 1 was fastest in all segments and differences in speed between groups increased throughout the race. Group 1 ran at lower relative speeds than other groups for the first two 5 km segments, but higher relative speeds after 35km. Significant differences (P<0.01) in the percentage of PB speed maintained were observed between Groups 1 and 4, and 2 and 4 in all segments after 20 km, and Groups 3 and 4 from 20-25 km and 30-35 km. Conclusions Group 1 athletes achieved superior finishing times relative to their PB than athletes in other Groups who selected unsustainable initial speeds resulting in subsequent significant losses of speed. It is suggested that psychological factors specific to a major competitive event influenced decision making by athletes and poor decisions resulted in final performances inferior to those expected based on PB times

Doing it for Real: Designing Experiential Journalism Curricula that Prepare Students for the New and Uncertain World of Journalism Work

The world of journalism in the digital age is changing faster than university curricula can keep up. News is now produced in forms and on platforms that were nonexistent 10 years ago. Journalists may increasingly generate their own work opportunities in entrepreneurial news outlets and start-ups, rather than as employees in legacy newsprint and broadcast media. Substantial workforce contraction has also occurred since 2012 as revenue in print and other traditional media has found new homes in social media and search engines, and over 1000 journalists (or 15 percent of the journalism workforce) were made redundant. Journalism graduates therefore need to be flexible, innovative and enterprising to survive professionally in this evolving setting. Additionally, financial and funding pressures on universities are leading them to reduce course costs and deliver more courses online. Elongated unpaid internships provide real world experience but access to these will likely reduce as workforces continue to contract. This article considers student feedback from three authentic experiential journalism projects in light of these changing times in journalism. It explores how the performative and very practical nature of traditional and digital journalism skills may be developed through a learning-centred curriculum anchored in authentic and experiential activities and settings. The article briefly considers some of the challenges facing journalism educators in delivering such a curriculum in e-learning settings, and sets out a simple framework for supporting the development of digital media workforce readiness