Monthly Archives August 2006

Teachers are not as smart as they were 20 years ago, an Australian study by economists Andrew Leigh and Chris Ryan from the Australian National University concludes, in a finding that will reinforce concerns over declining classroom standards. The study used literacy and numeracy tests as the best proxy available for assessing teachers' academic abilities. Link: Teachers not so clever any…

Peter McMahon, writing in the On line Opinion presents an intriguing position that... The radical impact of new information technologies and the rise of the global crises (global warming, peak oil and the like) are forcing a new kind of politics into being. He suggests [as many of us would agree] that twenty-first century society will be defined by the…

In the biggest petition to be tabled in the Victorian Parliament in the past five years, more than 34,000 voters urged the State Government to shift responsibility for preschools out of the Department of Human Services and into the Department of Education. They say the move would put more emphasis on early childhood learning, cut kindergarten fees, help children in…

The number of people employed in Queensland's mining industry is increasing at a rapid rate. Link: Job numbers soar in Qld's mining industry: ABS. [Source: ABC News: Business Stories]

An ongoing, recurring and avoidable national disgrace.... Children are among the highest users of a government-funded program for the homeless, a report says. The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) report shows of the almost 160,000 people who accessed government-funded accommodation last year, 43 per cent were children. The Supported Accommodation Assistance Program (SAAP) is a shared responsibility of…

Melbourne Uni research looking at complimentary systems for learning. I have used and seen these keepad systems and they certainly have an appeal for immediate "point-in-time collection and correlation of user views. Can be used to great affect when working to identify and challenge personal viewpoints in group situations... KEEpad is a system that allows lecturers to present interactive PowerPoint…

A Net Energy Parable Revisited. (**Note: This was my first main post on TOD. It was an anecdotal attempt at showing how scaling of lower energy gain renewables might have deleterious wide boundary impacts on society. The core principles behind this story remain intact and relevant). Besides water, energy is the most important substance for life on the planet. For…

A very interesting discussion on ABC radio regarding new models of infrastructure funding and the sustainability of the programmes. Macquarie Bank's bosses have made millions by buying and running toll roads and airports and it's the world's biggest name in infrastructure. But there are questions about whether its pioneering model for financing these assets is sustainable. Investor groups are shunning…

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