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Increasing significance has been ascribed to student engagement, as a measure of success of both teachers and programs. However, since users of the term commonly tend not to explain, rationalise or problematise their understanding of engagement, its value to understand or transform learning may be limited. While clarification has occurred in conceptual work, there is a lack of empirical work that extends beyond understandings of engagement-as-behaviour, as well as insufficient work exploring what students understand engagement to be. Further, much work on engagement is rooted in physical campuses and face-to-face delivery, which represents an incomplete picture of how students actually engage in study. This article investigates student perceptions of engagement in two blended learning Initial Teacher Education programs. It offers a critical discussion of how research can be re-considered in light of changing learning contexts and changing understandings of ways to investigate engagement. The findings of this study support previous work that found multiple levels and meanings of student engagement exist. New complex and multidimensional models of engagement are proposed, which can open new possibilities for designing studies and analysing findings. This article argues that including and questioning physical, virtual and political contexts and power, affect, relationships, linearity and essential measurability are important features of new models of engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A feature of Australian Higher Education over the last 10 years has been the increased numbers of international students. This feature has been perceived to have great potential for enhanced learning for all students – both international and domestic. Yet, student surveys and research clearly indicate that there is very little interaction occurring between domestic and international students. This article reports on a study that investigated the extent to which university teaching can promote interaction between students from diverse cultural and linguistic background. Using an innovative video-analysis methodology, the research found that academics engage in a variety of activities to encourage interaction between student groups. In order to assist academics in planning interaction, one of the main findings of the study was the development of ‘The Interaction for Learning Framework (ILF)’, that identifies key dimensions for curriculum design that can be used by academics to inform ways that they can enhance interaction between diverse student groups within teaching and learning contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Workplace humor and organizational creativity are becoming topics of great interest to managers. There is a need to understand more about the role of humor in enhancing creative performance in the workplace. This study examines the relationship between the three functions of humor and organizational creativity. Results suggest that liberating humor and controlling humor relate significantly to organizational creativity, the former positively and the latter negatively, while stress relieving humor was not found to relate significantly to organizational creativity. Implications for practicing managers and research on humor and creativity are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development in Australia. Education for sustainability operates in Australia through a three-tiered government structure namely local government, state territory government, and national government. Local and state territory levels of government in Australia are quite active in various efforts to meet the challenges of education for sustainability. Due to my work nationally, however, this discussion will focus on national efforts.

Part II. Studies the concept of 'power as influence' to re-examine the bargaining power of the host country, the multinational corporation (MNC), the home country and non-governmental organizations. Role of the home country in influencing the formulation of corporate environmental policies; Lack of effective industrial pressure on the MNC.

Part II. Examines the relevant institutional matrix, the General Agreement on Trade and Tariff (GATT) provisions as they impact environmental concerns. Need for the United States to extend the reach of its environmental regulations through their extraterritorial application; Use of the Most Favored Nation and General System of Preferences sanctions.

Part I. Discusses two dimensions of environmental standards that impinge on the trade-end-environment debate regarding the need to apprehend the notion of different assimilative capacities and the need to differentiate between product and process regulations. Link between environmental regulation, trade and economic competitiveness.