bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
An Expert System for Predicting ERP Post-Implementation Benefits Using Artificial Neural Network
Authors: Ravasan Ahad Zare , Rouhani Saeed
Published: October 2014

Implementing Enterprise Resource Planning systems (ERPs) is a complex and costly project which usually delivers only a few of expected benefits. Obtaining the expected benefits of ERPs is impressed by a variety of factors and variables which is related to an organization or project environment. In this paper, the idea of predicting ERP post-implementation benefits based on the organizational profiles and factors has been discussed. Regarding the need to form the expectations of organizations about ERP, an expert system is developed by using Artificial Neural Network (ANN) method to articulate the relationships between some organizational factors and ERP's achieved benefits. The expert system's role is in the preparation to capture the data from the new enterprises wishes to implement ERP and predict likely benefits might be achieved from the system. For this end, factors of organizational profiles (such as industry type, size, structure, and so on) are recognized and a feed-forward architecture and Levenberg-Marquardt (trainlm) neural network model is designed, trained and validated with 171 surveyed data of Middle-East located enterprises experienced ERP. The trained ANN embedded in developed expert system predicts with the average correlation coefficients of 0.745, which is respectively high and proves the idea of dependency of ERP post-implementation benefits on the organizational profiles. Besides, total correct classification rate of 0.701 shows good prediction power which can help firms in predicting ERP benefits before system implementation.
FuzzyOrganization of Self-Adaptive Agents Based On Software Components
Authors: Siam Abderrahim , Maamri Ramdane , Sahnoun Zaïdi
Published: October 2014

This paper addresses the development of organizational multi agent systems as a preferred solution to develop open, distributed and adaptive application. It proposes a combination between components and agents to define a flexible organizational model of MAS based on three concepts: roles, self-adaptive agents based on components and fuzzy groups. Roles are played by agents in fuzzy groups. A fuzzy group is a fuzzy set of agents characterized by a membership function expressing the partial membership of each agent to the group. The membership function expresses the degree of capacity of each agent to play a role. This work proposes a fuzzy measure of the capacity of agents to play roles. It proposes a model of auto adaptive agents constructed by automatic assembly (reassembly) of software components. Components implement required capabilities to play roles. The proposed model and introduced concepts have been tested using the Madkit platform.
From Image to XML
Authors: Keefer Robert , Bourbakis Nikolaos
Published: October 2014

Page layout analysis and the creation of an XML document from a document image are useful for many applications including the preservation of archived documents, robust electronic access to printed documents, and access to print materials by the visually impaired. In this paper, the authors describe a document image process pipeline comprised of techniques for the identification of article headings and the related body text, the aggregation of the body text with the headings, and the creation of an XML document. The pipeline was developed to support multiple document images captured by the head-mounted cameras of a reading device for the visually impaired. Both automatic and manual adaptations of the pipeline processed a sample of 25 newspaper document images. By comparing the automatic and manual processes, we show that overall our approach generates high-quality XML encoded documents for use in further processing, such as a text-to-speech for the visually impaired.
Comparative Analysis of Racio-Ethnicity and Gender Impact on Stock Risk
Authors: Smith J. R. , Tillman-Hawkins Andrea , Mosley Alisa L. , Assad Jean-Claude
Published: October 2014

The study purpose is to examine the relationship between cultural diversity and firm performance from the perspective of the investors. Stock values were used to test the hypothesized relationships between the components of cultural diversity (i.e. racio-ethnicity and gender impact on firm performance) using an event study methodology with regression analysis techniques. The findings indicate that the influences of racio-ethnicity and gender diversity on firm performance were mixed. However, significant relationships were found between the components of cultural diversity and firm performance. New directions for future research are offered.
Privacy Concerns and Networks of Communication among Classmates
Authors: Odella Francesca
Published: October 2014

The collection of network data referring to social interactions is among the topic more significant and interesting in the research process. Most of the advancements in this area benefit from the introduction of new technologies and the improvement of techniques for the collection and retrieval of data. The collection of information concerning multiple dimensions of personal interactions and the treatment of personal data, however, may pose privacy and ethical problems. In particular, the operative definition of privacy has been attempted in social and psychological research in the form of multi-dimensional indicators and variables referring to the individual perception of sensitivity and confidentiality of information. Recently, however, some attempts have been done to define privacy from a relational point of view using concepts and structural properties from social network analysis. The paper addresses this debate and by means of empirical network data on communication networks discuss the issue of privacy in network data collection and analysis.
E-SERVCON and E-Commerce Success
Authors: Lai Jung-Yu
Published: October 2014

Convenience has become an important indicator of e-commerce systems success. Based on the information systems management and marketing literature, this study explores how customer convenience in using functions and services affects e-commerce systems success. It proposes and analyzes a re-specified e-commerce system model based on the updated DeLone and McLean Information Systems Success Model with a new variable, e-commerce/electronic service convenience. The proposed model re-specifies and validates e-commerce systems success where continuance intention is proposed as a dependent variable and its relationship with independent variables such as information quality, system quality, e-service convenience, perceived usefulness and satisfaction are discussed. Partial least squares structural equation modeling technique is employed to analyze data collected by 210 users of business-to-consumer e-commerce systems in Taiwan. Findings indicate that continuance intention was found to be influenced by both satisfaction and perceived usefulness, which were found to be significant precursors of information quality, system quality, and e-service convenience. These results strongly support our contention that e-service convenience is an important factor affecting e-commerce systems success. They also offer practitioners and managers deeper insights into successful e-commerce systems implementation as well as aid researchers interested in testing related theories.
Overreliance on Mathematical Accuracy of Computer Output: An Issue for IT Educators
Authors: Sims Ian , O'Leary Conor , Boolaky Pran
Published: October 2014

The role of information technology (IT) is critical in many applications, including accounting. However research into spread sheeting errors indicates financial data emanating from computer applications may contain errors. Auditors review financial data and report, among other things, as to its mathematical accuracy. This study evaluates the reliance trainee auditors place upon IT produced financial data and their application of the concept of mathematical accuracy. Data emanating from a supposedly reliable source was intentionally prepared with mathematical errors and given to participants for evaluation. Despite exposure to concepts such as computer error and audit scepticism, a significant proportion either erroneously concluded the data was accurate and/or failed to appropriately apply the concept of mathematical accuracy. The implications for educators are significant. Basic topics such as data integrity and over-reliance upon IT generated data may need further emphasis during training programs across many disciplines, especially accountancy.
The impact of sexual activity on serum hormone levels after penile prosthesis implantation
Authors: Canguven Onder , Talib Raidh A. , Shamsodini Ahmed , Al Ansari Abdulla
Published: October 2014

Objectives: Penile prosthesis implantation is the final treatment option for patients who have erectile dysfunction. Most of the patients use their penile prosthesis successfully and frequently for penile-vaginal intercourse. Previous literature showed that decrease in sexual activity resulted in decreased serum testosterone levels and vice versa. The aim of this study was to examine the impact of sexual activity on serum sex hormone levels after penile prosthesis usage. Material and methods: In this study, we examined sixtyseven patients for their sex hormone changes who had penile prosthesis surgery 2.7 ± 1.5 years ago. Results: Patients were using their penile prosthesis for sexual activity with a mean of 9.9 ± 5.7 times per month. Dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate was significantly higher compared to pre-surgery results (5.3 ± 2.6 vs 4.5 ± 2.9; p = 0.031). Mean serum total testosterone levels of patients before and after penile prosthesis usage were clinically significant 15.78 ± 4.8 nmol/L and 16.5 ± 6.1 nmol/L, respectively. Mean serum luteinizing hormone levels of patients before and after penile prosthesis usage were 3.98 ± 2.16 IU/L and 5.47 ± 4.76 IU/L, respectively. No statistical significance difference was observed in the mean total and free testosterone, estradiol and luteinizing hormone levels between pre- and post-surgery. Conclusion: This study results demonstrated that sexual activity changed sex hormone levels positively among those men who were implanted penile prosthesis because of erectile dysfunction.
Chronic inflammation of the prostate type IV with respect to risk of prostate cancer
Authors: Porcaro Antonio B. , Rubilotta Emanuele , Petrozziello Aldo , Ghimenton Claudio , Migliorini Filippo , Zecchini Antoniolli Stefano , Lacola Vincenzo , Monaco Carmelo , Curti Pierpaolo , Cavalleri Stefano , Pianon Romeo , Artibani Walter
Published: October 2014

Background: Chronic inflammatory infiltrate (CII) might be involved in prostate cancer (PCA) and benign hyperplasia (BPH); however, its significance is controversial. Chronic inflammatory prostatitis type IV is the most common non cancer diagnosis in men undergoing biopsy because of suspected PCA. Objective: To evaluate potential associations of coexistent CII and PCA in biopsy specimens after prostate assessment. Design, setting, and participants: Between January 2007 and December 2008, 415 consecutive patients who underwent prostate biopsy were retrospectively evaluated. The investigated variables included Age (years) and PSA (ug/l); moreover, CII+, glandular atrophy (GA+), glandular hyperplasia (GH+), prostate Intraepithelial neoplasm (PIN+), atypical small acinar cell proliferation (ASAP+) and PCA positive cores (P+) were evaluated as categorical and continuous (proportion of positive cores). Outcome measurements and statistical analysis: Associations of CII+ and PCA risk were assessed by statistical methods. Results and limitations: In the patient population, a biopsy core positive for PCA was detected in 34.2% of cases and the rate of high grade PCA (HGPCA: bGS ! 8) resulted 4.82%. CII+ significantly and inversely associated with a positive biopsy core P+ (P < 0.0001; OR = 0.26) and HGPCA (P = 0.0005; OR = 0.05). Moreover, the associations indicated that patients with coexistent CII+ on needle biopsy were 74% less likely to have coexistent PCA than men without CII+ as well as 95% less likely to have HGPCA in the biopsy core than men without coexistent CII+. There were limits in our study which was single centre and included only one dedicated pathologist. Conclusions: There was an inverse association of chronic inflammation of the prostate type IV and risk of PCA; moreover, HGPCA was less likely to be detected in cancers associated with coexistent CII. In prostate microenvironment, prostate chronic inflammation may be protective; however, its role in PCA carcinogenesis remains controversial and needs further research.
Primary carcinoid tumour of the testis: A case-report
Authors: D’Arrigo Letterio , Costa Angela , Fraggetta Filippo , Cacciola Antonio , Bonaccorsi Astrid , Savoca Francesco , Aragona Francesco
Published: October 2014

Testicular carcinoid tumours (TCT) account for less than 1% of all testicular neoplasms. A 17-year-old male underwent radical orchiectomy for a painful indurated and increased in size right testicle; a mixed echogenic mass, with a central homogeneous area surrounded by a hypoechoic edge with calcifications was found at ultreasound with increased vascularity at color Doppler examination. Biochemical markers were within normal limits. These symptoms are not specific and the majority of TCT are only diagnosed on histopathology. Patients should undergo long-term biochemical and radiological follow-up given potential for delayed metastases, in one case 17 years after primary treatment.
Endometriosis localized to urinary bladder wall mimicking urinary bladder carcinoma
Authors: Genç Mine , Genç Berhan , Karaarslan Serap , Solak Aynur , Saraçoglu Musa
Published: October 2014

Although endometriosis is a common disease in women of reproductive age, urinary system endometriosis is an exceedingly rare disease that may cause important clinical problems. In this paper we discussed a 42-year-old woman who had urinary bladder endometriosis misdiagnosed as urinary bladder tumor in imaging modalities. The diagnosis of endometriosis was made by histopathological examination of the operative material after partial resection of the urinary bladder. Urinary bladder endometriosis causes nonspecific signs and symptoms in many patients. In female patients presenting with unexplained urinary symptoms the differential diagnosis should include urinary bladder endometriosis that may mimic urinary bladder cancer and lead to difficulties in making definitive preoperative diagnosis.
Renal epithelioid angiomyolipoma mimicking urothelial carcinoma of the upper urinary tract
Authors: Adanur Senol , Keskin Ercüment , Ziypak Tevfik , Koc Erdem , Demirci Elif , Yapanoglu Turgut , Ozbey Isa , Polat Ozkan
Published: October 2014

Epithelioid angiomyolipoma is a rare mesenchymal tumor arising mainly in the kidney that can potentially behave aggressively. Epithelioid angiomyolipoma can often resemble sarcomatoid renal cell carcinoma, high grade renal carcinoma or sarcoma. Its similarity to renal cell carcinoma has been emphasized in most of the cases reported in literature. With the purpose of contributing to the awareness of this similarity, a 32-year-old female patient with renal epitelioid angiomyolipoma in the left kidney which radiologically mimicked urothelial cell carcinoma of the upper urinary tract is presented.
First case of 18F-FACBC PET/CT-guided salvage radiotherapy for local relapse after radical prostatectomy with negative 11C-Choline PET/CT and multiparametric MRI: New imaging techniques may improve patient selection
Authors: Brunocilla Eugenio , Schiavina Riccardo , Nanni Cristina , Borghesi Marco , Cevenini Matteo , Molinaroli Enrico , Vagnoni Valerio , Castellucci Paolo , Ceci Francesco , Fanti Stefano , Gaudiano Caterina , Golfieri Rita , Martorana Giuseppe
Published: October 2014

We present the first case of salvage radiotherapy based on the results of 18F-FACBC PET/CT performed for a PSA relapse after radical prostatectomy. The patients underwent 11CCholine PET/CT and multiparametric MRI that were negative while 18F-FACBC PET/CT visualized a suspected local relapse confirmed by transrectal ultrasound-guided biopsy. No distant relapse was detected. Thus the patient was submitted to salvage radiotherapy in the prostatic fossa. After 20 months of follow-up, the PSA was undetectable and 18F-FACBC PET/CT was negative. Salvage radiotherapy after surgery, provided that it is administered at the earliest evidence of the biochemical relapse, may improve cancer control and favourably influence the course of disease as well as the adjuvant approach. New imaging techniques may increase the efficacy of the salvage radiotherapy thus helping in the selection of the patients. Preliminary clinical reports showed an improvement in the detection rate of 20-40% of 18F-FACBC in comparison with 11C-Choline for the detection of disease relapse after radical prostatecomy, rendering the 18F-FACBC the potential radiotracer of the future for prostate cancer.
Exploration of knowledge of cervical cancer and cervical cancer screening amongst HIV-positive women
Authors: Maree Johanna E. , Moitse Kefliwe A.
Published: October 2014

Background: Although preventable, cervical cancer, an AIDS-related disease, is the second most common cancer amongst South African women and the most common cancer amongst black women.Objective: The objective of the study was to determine what women being treated for HIV and AIDS at a specific healthcare centre in Johannesburg knew about cervical cancer and cervical screening.Method: A survey design was used, with data gathered by means of a self-administered questionnaire. Convenience sampling selected 315 women to participate (n = 315). Descriptive statistics were used to analyse the data and chi-square testing found associations between categorical variables.Results: The majority of respondents (78.7%; n = 248) indicated that they had heard of cervical cancer and 62.9% (n = 198) knew about the Pap smear, with nurses and doctors being the primary source of information. Of the women who knew about the Pap smear, less than one-third had had a smear done, the main reason being fear of the procedure.Conclusion: The study provided evidence that women attending the specific HIV clinic were more knowledgeable about cervical cancer and screening than those of unknown HIV status involved in previous studies. Knowledge was still at a low level, especially when their exceptionally high risk was taken into account. Once again it was found that having knowledge did not necessarily mean having had a Pap smear, which remains a huge challenge in the prevention of cervical cancer.
Mental healthcare in Kenya: Exploring optimal conditions for capacity building
Authors: Marangu Elijah , Sands Natisha , Rolley John , Ndetei David , Mansouri Fethi
Published: October 2014

The global burden of disease related to mental disorders is on the increase, with the World Health Organization (WHO) estimating that over 450 million people are affected worldwide. The Mental Health Global Action Program (mhGAP) was launched by the WHO in 2002 in order to address the widening gap in access to mental healthcare in low-income countries. Despite these efforts, access to mental healthcare in low-income countries remains poor and is often described as inadequate, inefficient and inequitable, with an 85% estimated treatment gap in low-income countries, as compared with 35% to 50% in high-income countries.In this article, the authors argue that integrating mental health services into primary healthcare settings through capacity building is vital with regard to achieving mhGAP goals. The article explores the challenges to and potential enablers for the improvement of the delivery of broad-based mental healthcare services in Kenya. The authors propose the integration of the conceptual dimensions of both the cosmopolitanism and capabilities approaches as a combined strategy for dealing with capacity building in heterogeneous settings such as Kenya.
What drives Web 2.0 adoption in South African civil society organisations
Authors: Pillay Kiru , Maharaj Manoj S.
Published: October 2014

Background: The impact and consequences of social media adoption on society are only just being realised and studied in detail; consequently, there is no universal agreement as to the reasons for the adoption of these services. Even understanding why some social media services are popular remains to some extent elusive. The practical use of Web 2.0 does not provide any answers either with, for example, a noticeable difference in the way social media was strategically used by Barack Obama and Mitch Romney in the lead-up to the 2009 American elections. However, recent studies that have focused on social media adoption within specific sectors have begun to shed some light on these emerging adoption patterns; two studies in particular are illustrative: a 2012 study on the newspaper sector and a study on social media adoption and e-government.Objectives: This study investigates why South African civil society organisations (CSOs) adopt Web 2.0 services and the perceived and actual benefits of such adoption.Method: A survey questionnaire was sent to 1712 South African CSOs listed in the Prodder database to explore why certain social media services were adopted and the perceived benefits thereof.Results: Internal reasons for the adoption of social media services by South African CSOs coalesce around organisational visibility and access to information. External reasons focus on organisations needing to become more relevant and more connected to like-minded organisations and initiatives.Conclusion: The pervasiveness of Web 2.0 technologies makes it inevitable that CSOs will have to restructure themselves to remain relevant.
Die aktiewe bestanddeel van wildepietersielie (Heteromorpha arborescens): 6,7-dimetoksikumarien
Authors: Makungo Thomas , Van Ree Teunis
Published: October 2014

Dichloromethane extraction of the branches and leaves of a young Heteromorpha arborescens plant (known as parsley tree or muthatha-vhanna in Tshivenda) resulted in the isolation of an anti-inflammatory coumarin, 6,7-dimethoxy-2H-chromen-2-one.
Optogenetic Control of Apoptosis in Targeted Tissues of Xenopus laevis Embryos
Authors: Jewhurst Kyle , Levin Michael , Mclaughlin Kelly A.
Published: October 2014

KillerRed (KR) is a recently discovered fluorescent protein that, when activated with green light, releases reactive oxygen species (ROS) into the cytoplasm, triggering apoptosis in a KR-expressing cell. This property allows for the use of KR as a means of killing cells in an organism with great temporal and spatial specificity, while minimizing the nonspecific effects that can result from mechanical or chemical exposure damage techniques. Such optogenetic control of cell death, and the resulting ability to induce the targeted death of specific tissues, is invaluable for regeneration/repair studies–-particularly in Xenopus laevis, where apoptosis plays a key role in regeneration and repair. We here describe a method by which membrane-bound KR, introduced to Xenopus embryos by mRNA microinjection, can be activated with green light to induce apoptosis in specific organs and tissues, with a focus on the developing eye and pronephric kidney.
Comunicación pública de la ciencia, cultura científica y sentido de localidad. El caso de la ciudad de Teruel, España
Authors: Sanz Hernández Alexia , Alcalá Martínez Luis , Bacallao Pino Lázaro M.
Published: October 2014

Introducción. Se analiza la mediación del sentido de localidad en las articulaciones entre comunicación pública de la ciencia y percepción social de la ciencia, como parte de los procesos de configuración de la cultura científica. Metodología. Se procede a un estudio de caso de la ciudad de Teruel, en España, mediante una encuesta semiestructurada y entrevistas. Resultados. Las principales consecuencias de la mediación del sentido de localidad en estos procesos se expresa en aspectos como la valoración sobre la comunicación de la ciencia en medios locales, las opiniones sobre las instituciones científicas turolenses y su impacto en el desarrollo local, o el compromiso con aumentar la cultura científica en la ciudad. Discusión. Visto lo anterior, se examinan las principales dimensiones (comunicativa, emocional, en las interrelaciones individuo/colectivo) en las que se ejerce esa mediación. Conclusiones. Al final encontramos que la dimensión local ejerce una mediación compleja en la cultura científica.
Lingual Thyroid
Authors: Gupta Piyush , Lavania Prashant , Singh Nikhil , Srivastava Utkarsh
Published: October 2014

How to cite this article

Lavania P, Singh N, Jaiman R, Srivastava U, Gupta P. Lingual Thyroid. World J Endoc Surg 2014;6(2):99.
DEVELOPING ADULT LITERACY: APPROACHES TO PLANNING, IMPLEMENTING, AND DELIVERING LITERACY INITIATIVES
Authors: Bunt Joanna
Published: October 2014

The authors of this book have set out to create a compilation of the theories behind different models of adult literacy to assist planners internationally in their development of new adult literacy programs. The book offers no ‘quick-fix’ solution or adult literacy program template, but is rich with examples and ideas emerging directly from literacy teachers ‘at the chalk face’ from diverse areas of the globe. Case studies demonstrate how ideas have been put into practice, with a focus on the learning experience being a collaborative process between a facilitator/teacher or between learners and their peers in the classroom. There is also a focus on learning in outdoor learning environments
Editorial
Authors: Black Stephen
Published: October 2014

Editorial by Stephen Black.
Editorial
Authors: Searle Jean
Published: October 2014

We are constantly being reminded by governments and the media that we now live in a globalised economy and in order to compete we need a highly educated workforce. In this context, literacy and numeracy skills are not only used as international benchmarks to record a nation’scompetitiveness and wellbeing, but these skills are also deemed to be fundamental to employment. A lack of, or inadequate literacy and numeracy, means to be marginalised, that is, barred from access to new forms of knowledge and new modes of thinking.
Researching Literacy and Numeracy Costs and Benefits: What is possible
Authors: Hartley Robyn , Horne Jackie
Published: October 2014

Assessing the social and economic benefits of investing in adult literacy and numeracy and the costs of poor adult literacy and numeracy, is largely uncharted territory in Australia. Some interest was evident in the late 1980s leading up to International Literacy Year, 1990 (for example, Miltenyi 1989, Singh 1989, Hartley 1989); however, there has been little work done in the area since then, with the exception of recent studies concerned with financial literacy costs and benefits (Commonwealth Bank Foundation 2005). Assessing the benefits (returns) of workplace training in general has received some attention (for example Moy and McDonald 2000), although the role of literacy and numeracy is often implied rather than explored in any detail. In contrast, there is a considerable body of relevant research emanating from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and some European countries. The release of data from the International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS) in the 1990s contributed to some of this research, as did policy developments for example, in the United Kingdom. The much greater use of IALS data in some other countries compared with Australia, seems to be related to a combination of factors in the overall policy and research environment for adult literacy and numeracy in each country.
Flexible Mathematical Understanding in an Ironworking Apprenticeship Classroom
Authors: Martin Lyndon , LaCroix Lionel , Fownes Lynda
Published: October 2014

The relationship between learning and context has long been an issue of interest and concern in the field of adult mathematics education. In particular, the questions of whether and how learning can be transferred from one context to another, remains a focus of researchers (Lave 1988, Lerman 1999, Evans 2000, Carraher and Scheliemann 2002). In this paper we look at the mathematical understanding of a group of apprentice ironworkers working on a construction task, and explore the flexible nature of their understanding. We consider the ways in which they are able to use quite formal mathematical ideas and operations and make sense of these within the specific context of their trade. Then we discuss how this process is more than one of simple transfer.
Vol 15, No 1 (2006)
Authors: On Contributors Notes
Published: October 2014

Notes on Contributors
Literacy & Numeracy Studies Volume 15 No 2 Editorial
Authors: Lee Alison
Published: October 2014

This issue of Literacy and Numeracy Studies takes up two major themes shaping the landscape of research and practice in adult literacy. The first of these is the more recent of the two: the intersections between literacy and professional and workplace practice. The second is perhaps a more sustained and enduring concern in the field with the relationship of literacy to context, place and culture. In this sense, this issue of the journal is an expression of the reach and diversity of concerns with literacy in ‘social participation, the utilisation of social resources and the quality of life’ (Green, Lo Bianco and Wyn, this volume) and carries forward critical debates for the field across the span of practice from the workplace, to the classroom to the community.
Discourses in Interaction: The intersection of literacy and health research internationally
Authors: Green Julie , Lo Bianco Joseph , Wyn Johanna
Published: October 2014

Literacy and health are deeply influential in social participation, utilisation of social resources and quality of life. This paper discusses interacting discourses and common conceptual points shared by the adult literacy and public health fields and situates how the sub-field at the intersection of these two domains, known as ‘health literacy’, is constructed and enacted. Emerging approaches that recognise the convergence of education and health within international policy, research and in practice are articulated. The paper argues a case for re-thinking the literacy-health connection from a cross-sectoral perspective and for more effective approaches furthering the interests of both life-long learning and wellbeing.
Review: Outside the Classroom: Researching literacy with adult learners
Authors: Chodkiewicz Andrew
Published: October 2014

BY ELLAYNE FOWLER AND JANE MACE (EDITORS)National Institute for Adult and Continuing Education (NIACE) 2005, 21 De Montfort Street, Leicester, ISBN: 1 86201 223 7, 142 pages.  http://www.niace.org.uk Outside the classroom: researching literacy with adult learners is another of those interesting publications from the National Institute for Adult and Continuing Education (NIACE) in the UK that take on the important task of linking the theory and practice of teaching and researching literacy with adult learners.
Portfolio Building: The relationship with literacies in students’ everyday lives
Authors: Brzeski Angela
Published: October 2014

This article explores some propositions about how students’ everydaylives may interact with their success at learning in a large Further EducationCollege in England. Some students, on paper, have all the appropriate entryqualifications, but still struggle to complete their courses. Indeed, some donot complete at all. So, what could be done to help these students achievesuccess? As a member of a large-scale research project team, I have beeninvestigating the home literacies of further education students. Papen(2005a:14) points out that ‘it is useful and necessary before any interventioncan be planned, to carry out research which identifies learners’ everydayliteracy practices’. Of course, there are many other aspects of people’severyday lives that will influence their learning success. However, in thisarticle I want to focus on the possibility of the influence of home literacypractices, by exploring how the reading and writing in the everyday lives ofstudents could be drawn upon and utilized in order to help these students tosucceed on their chosen college courses.
Mapping the Adult Numeracy Curriculum: Cultural Capital and Conscientization
Authors: Oughton Helen
Published: October 2014

This study explores learners’ accounts of what they want from anadult numeracy curriculum, using mindmaps to construct and present asnapshot of their current conceptions of the curriculum. Analysis of theresulting maps finds that for most participants, the desired curriculum isconstructed in terms of school mathematics. However, for one group,exposed to wider issues of social justice, the curriculum is constructed interms of situated practice and financial literacy. The discussion draws onBernstein’s theories of curriculum and ideology; Freire’s conscientization;and research on adults’ motivations for learning numeracy. It is suggestedthat most learners in this study value the cultural capital associated withschool mathematics, and that these learners wish to engage with thechallenge set by school mathematics. However, a minority of learnersappeared to undergo a process of conscientization, formulating ideas for anumeracy curriculum relevant to adults’ lives.
Volume 16 Number 2 2009
Authors: Wickert Rosie
Published: October 2014

Editorial by Rosie Wickert.
UNESCO, Literacy and Leslie Limage
Authors: Lo Bianco Joseph
Published: October 2014

Rosie Wickert points out that, in literacy policy: ‘the stories of actors involved in policy struggles have been overlooked‘(2001: 90). The paper by Leslie Limage redresses this gap for the crucially important area of international multilateral agencies, specifically the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.  Her aim is to produce ‘a more clear-eyed look at how to advance the best of multilateral action in the field in which I have been involved at all levels throughout my adult life: children’s and adult’s literacy worldwide’ (Limage, 2009: p 7).
LNS 17.3
Authors: Contributors Notes on
Published: October 2014

Notes on contributors, subscription information & editorial policy
Unlatching the Gate – Helping Adult Students Learn Mathematics by Katherine Safford-Ramus, (2008)
Authors: Hollenstein Armin
Published: October 2014

Katherine Safford-Ramus is an associate professor of mathematics at Saint Peter’s College, a Jesuit College in New Jersey, USA. She has been teaching introductory mathematics courses at the tertiary level for 24 years at a community college. This book is based on her doctoral thesis. In Chapter 1, Unlatching the Gate deliberates a rich specra of conditions for, and peculiarities of, mathematics learning by adults in a formal environment. Influential theories and empirical findings in the fields of educational psychology, adult education and mathematics education are surveyed with a focus on adult learners and – of course –teachers and institutions. The text does not discuss empirical research undertaken by the author; it examines her broad personal teaching experience in the light of the above-mentioned body of knowledge and proposes directions for the development of adult mathematics education. In this sense, Unlatching the Gate is a theoretical book reflecting on practical issues. The target audience would be adult educators and students of post secondary mathematics education.
Editorial, LNS Volume 18 Number 2
Authors: Martin Gregory
Published: October 2014

Editorial by Gregory Martin.
Breaking out of the Package: Educating literacy and numeracy teachers with agency
Authors: Yasukawa Keiko
Published: October 2014

What knowledge, skills and dispositions are needed by adult numeracy and literacy teachers to help their learners imagine and build better lives for themselves and sustainable futures for their children and community? What resources can teachers draw on to be able to exercise agency as a group of professionals to give voice to the needs and aspirations of their learners? Using the contemporary Australian adult numeracy and literacy context as a point of reflection, I argue that some degree of propensity to take risks is needed by teachers if they are to exercise agency as professional educators, and that the universities have a renewed role to play in creating spaces for educating risk-taking educators.
Editorial
Authors: Yasukawa Keiko , Black Stephen
Published: October 2014

The research articles in this issue examine literacy and numeracy practices in and for work. Each paper asks different questions and utilises different lenses for examining the interaction of literacy and numeracy with work and learning, but together they illustrate the significance of generating rich descriptions of literacy and numeracy activities through ethnographic style approaches.
Notes on contributors
Authors: Contributors Notes on
Published: October 2014

Literacy & Numeracy Studies Vol 19 No 1 2011
Editorial
Authors: Yasukawa Keiko , Black Stephen
Published: October 2014

Editorial by Keiko Yasukawa and Stephen Black.
Developing Social Capital In ‘Learning Borderlands’: Has the Federal Government's budget delivered for low-paid Australian workers?
Authors: Keating Maree
Published: October 2014

The 2011 Australian federal budget confirmed generous funding for language, literacy and numeracy programs as well as skills recognition and training for older workers as part of a strategy to upgrade workforce skills. In considering possible responses to the announcement, many Australian adult education theorists and practitioners weighed up the contexts in which such programs could build the resources and increase the options of vulnerable workers. One such group of workers, retrenched factory workers, have benefitted from participation in union-run, integrated post-retrenchment programs, which have incorporated access to language, literacy and numeracy as well as vocational education and training programs. Such programs can build on the existing social capital amongst close-knit groups of workers as they develop the confidence to transform their work identities.This article draws on results from a study with a group of retrenched textile workers who accessed broad-based post-retrenchment support and subsequently participated in a high number of vocational education and training (VET) courses before finding ongoing employment. The study suggests that VET participation plays a limited role in broadening the employment opportunities for retrenched factory workers who move into low-paid occupations. Whilst VET participation alongside other factors supported entry into some occupations, it played no role in supporting most workers in their transitions into non-manufacturing jobs.
Health Literacy as a Complex Practice
Authors: Hunter Judy , Franken Margaret
Published: October 2014

As attention to health literacy grows as an area for policy intervention,policy discourse continues to draw on skills deficit and patient compliance, buttressed by the dominant political discourse of individual responsibility. But for patients, the health domain is interwoven with linguistic challenges, significant affective issues, underlying cultural dimensions, political and economic exigencies, variable access to resources, and cognitive and situated complexity. From these perspectives, this article reports on findings of an ongoing study of health literacy demands in the Midlands region of the North Island of New Zealand, an area of high ethnic and socio-economic diversity.The study focuses on patients with diabetes and cardiovascular disease - two chronic areas strongly associated with ‘failure to care’ and identifed as having reached epidemic proportions. It analyses work to date:health professionals’ conceptions of and responses to perceived patients’ health literacy needs, and health information documents for patients. Implications of the study support the need for improvement in language and literacy skills among patients, but also the recognition of complexity and a collective responsibility for effective health communication.
Notes on contributors
Authors: Contributors Notes on
Published: October 2014

Notes on the contributors to Literacy and Numeracy Studies, Vol. 20, No. 1 (2012).
Principles and Practices in Four New Zealand Family Focused Adult Literacy Programs: Towards wellbeing in diverse communities
Authors: Furness Jane
Published: October 2014

The field of family literacy, both theory and practice, has much to offer adult literacy education. However, family approaches in adult literacy are under-theorised and underdeveloped if the holistic wellbeing of the intended participants in programs based on these approaches is the primary concern. This article discusses one dimension of a larger study which explored the wellbeing-related effects of participation in four family focused adult literacy programs in New Zealand. This article discusses the principles and practices that were common across the programs. The study found that, despite differences in program content, foci and approaches, common principles and practices reflected shared values and beliefs about literacy and about people which shaped the program design and participants’ experiences of the program. I reaffirm the ideological nature of literacy, highlighting the necessity of paying attention to values and beliefs in literacy programs in order that the effects of involvement in them are in the best interests of individual participants, their families and their communities.
At Play in the Space: The concept of 'the social practice approach' in the Scottish adult literacies field
Authors: Ackland Aileen
Published: October 2014

This paper focuses on Scotland’s policy response to the International Adult Literacy Survey (1994-1998) and the ‘grand experiment’ (Merrifield 2005) to implement a social practices perspective of literacies.This radical perspective, derived from the New Literacy Studies (NLS), has profound implications for pedagogy and is promoted in Scotland as ‘the social practice approach’.The paper begins with a discussion of the distinctive developments in Scottish policy in the context of the international interest in Adult Literacy. The rhetorical claims made in Scotland are then examined through a study which used a methodology drawn from Personal Construct Theory (PCT) to explore how practitioners understand ‘the social practice approach’. This research found little connection between the theoretical concepts of the New Literacy Studies and practitioners’ interpretations. Dissonances in the data highlighted power issues between policy and practice.In the latter part of the paper, Bernstein’s (2000) ideas about how theoretical knowledge is translated into pedagogical knowledge are used to explore the dissonances further.The paper concludes that there is an ideological conflict of purpose within the discourses of adult literacies in Scotland and that the critical pedagogy implied by the New Literacy Studies is also necessary within teacher education if practice is to be transformed in response to the radical social theory.
Examining Museum Visits as Literacy Events: The role of mediators
Authors: Yasukawa Keiko , Widin Jacquie , Smith Vic , Rivera Karen , Van Tiel Michael , Aubusson Peter , Whitty Helen
Published: October 2014

Museum exhibitions are literacy rich environments. Visitors may engage with a range of texts including texts that constitute the exhibition objects themselves, those that convey information about the objects and those that instruct visitors about how the visitors are expected by the museum to navigate through the exhibition. The ways in which visitors engage with these diverse texts are important defining factors of the visitors’ museum experience.For museums, understanding how texts in their exhibitions are influencing the museum experience, and the possibility of a museum experience for the broad public community is important in the fulfilment of their public mission as cultural and education institutions. In this paper, we adopt a view of literacy as a social practice, the perspective of New Literacy Studies (NLS), that offers a fruitful way for museums to consider the interactions between exhibition texts and their audiences. Such considerations, we argue, can inform museums’ approaches to broadening their visitor demographics to more strongly fulfill their public mission. We show that the goals of NLS resonate with some of the goals of the New Museology movement in museum studies, a movement that aims to democratize what museums represent and how. From NLS, we employ the concept of a literacy event to describe an exhibition visit through a literacy lens, and the concept of a literacy mediator to examine the literacy event not exclusively as an individual event, but a collectively produced event. The paper draws on data on how the literacy events of two groups of ‘non-traditional’ visitor groups were mediated in an exhibition, and show how they reveal the range of different literacies that visitors need to negotiate in a museum exhibition.
Reframing Literacy in Adult ESL Programs: Making the case for the inclusion of identity
Authors: Atkinson Michael
Published: October 2014

Adult  ESL  programs  in  the  Australian  context  are  heavily  influenced  by  neo-liberal notions  of  functional  literacy  and  numeracy.  This paper argues that such notions, designed to enable the learner to function within the workplace or community can fail to acknowledge the complexity of ESL program participation for adult learners. This may be considered especially so for pre-literate learners from refugee backgrounds who have low or minimal levels of literacy in their own language and are hence negotiating a new skill set, a new culture and arguably a new sense of identity. This paper is based on research which points to the need to position the learning of literacy and numeracy in the ESL context as a social and educational journey made meaningful by a learner's sense of (emerging) identity.  In this context a holistic, socially orientated  understanding  of  their  learning  and  their progress  is  preferable  to  an approach  which  views  and  evaluates  learners  against  preconceived  functional  literacy skills. The participants in this study were people of refugee background from Africa with minimal literacy skills.