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This study aimed to evaluate the students' efficacy in literacy and numeracy skills in commerce subjects in secondary schools in Fiji. Focus group discussions and semi-structured interviews were used to gather relevant data. The findings show that literacy and numeracy skills are essential in commerce subjects, as students require basic literacy and numeracy skills to read, write, comprehend, calculate, and interpret. The findings also showed that parental engagement at an early stage of the child's life helps improve the child's literacy and numeracy skills. The results also showed that the "drop everything and read" or DEAR programme and modern technology positively affect students' literacy and numeracy skills, which helps them do better in commerce classes.

The aim of this paper is to examine the communication content of Instagram social network users, on the basis of the hashtags they use relating to gamification and to define communities within the network in the context of education. The results are based on the analysis of Instagram's worldwide social network. Primary data were collected using script to capture communication on the social network Instagram. The analysis included Instagram photos selected on the basis of hashtag #gamification (17,994 contributions). The results identify that the most commonly associated expressions with hashtags #gamification are hashtags associated with education and business, especially where startup and innovation are concerned. On the basis of an analysis visually isolated communities with an average modularity of 0.506 were identified, which relate to the communication of the gamification on the social network Instagram: 1) Education, 2) Entrepreneurship, 3) Gamification in general, 4) Social and 5) Enjoyment. The benefit of analysis for the education area is to identify the university's links between Education and Entrepreneurship and the Teacher and Trust between education and enjoyment.

While University students increasingly participate in work-integrated learning (WIL), their dignity is often violated during WIL. The current literature is limited in so far as it typically focuses on student perspectives within healthcare contexts and does not use the concept of 'dignity'. Instead, this study explored student and supervisor perspectives on student dignity during WIL across healthcare and non-healthcare disciplines. Research questions included: What are: (1) types of student dignity experiences and patterns by groups; (2) factors contributing to experiences; (3) consequences of experiences? Sixty-five semi-structured interviews were conducted using narrative interviewing techniques with 30 supervisors and 46 students from healthcare (medicine, nursing and counselling) and non-healthcare (business, law and education) disciplines. Data were analyzed using framework analysis. Nine common narrative types were identified within 344 stories: verbal abuse, right for learning opportunities, care, inclusion, reasonable expectations, right for appropriate feedback, equality, trust, and right to be informed. Factors contributing to dignity experiences and consequences were often at the individual level (e.g. student/supervisor characteristics). We found some salient differences in perceptions of experiences between students and supervisors, but few differences between healthcare and non-healthcare disciplines. This study extends WIL research based on student perspectives in healthcare, and provides practice and further research guidance to enhance student dignity during WIL.

This article illustrates how the British Council Bangladesh (BCB) made use of panel discussions and commissioned research as policy vehicles to persuade the government of Bangladesh of the value of social enterprises for public service delivery, including in education. Drawing upon Appadurai's notion of 'imagined worlds' in relation to influential global processes of educational policy governance, we view support for social enterprises as an instance of the cultural formulation of policy that the BCB sought to enact/steer through a policy network. The social entrepreneurial future of policy and governance was 'imagined' by the network, even as this was negotiated and contested. Panel discussion and commissioned research served as key policy vehicles in modulating discourses and logics demonstrating social enterprise as an imperative culture of governance into the future. Comparison with various 'successful' reference societies/markets also helped frame social enterprises as fostering opportunities for youth and women.

Whether manually or through the use of software, a non-linear information organization framework known as mind mapping offers an alternative method for capturing thoughts, ideas and information to linear thinking modes such as outlining. Mind mapping is brainstorming, organizing, and problem solving. This paper examines mind mapping techniques, advantages, and disadvantages of hand-drawn maps and using mind mapping software. Several mind mapping software applications are compared on a number of product dimensions. Survey results provide a descriptive profile of mind map users in education, government and business sectors.

The term postdigital has been used by various disciplines to draw attention to the changing relationship between digital technology and human social and artistic practices. This article explores multiple definitions of the term postdigital from the disciplines of music, visual art and design, architecture, business, marketing, media and film studies, and education. It then argues that the use of this term reflects a paradigm shift in these fields. This shift has implications for the future practice of K-12 music education including the impact of digital cleanliness and ease of production, the growing hybridity of digital and traditional music making, and the influence of digital technology on human artistic practice.

This article focuses on why education is a lucrative business for private sector providers. It identifies the five most common strategies that education businesses apply when selling goods or services in the education sector. In addition, this study also cursorily presents examples of how public education has networked with, reframed its mission, and built institutional structures that resemble businesses. The author proposes that the interaction of the two types of providers--public sector versus private sector--should constitute the focus of academic inquiry. Nowadays, the two sectors react to, and compete with each other. As a result, changes in one sector impacts the other. The article provides examples of boundary work and translation in the two sectors.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to address the interface between design education and business start-up in the designer fashion industry (DFI) and provide a new framework for reflecting on ways to improve design education and graduates' business start-up preparedness. Design/methodology/approach: This interpretive study employed semi-structured interviews to collect nascent fashion designers' enterprise development narratives and tertiary educators' views on how they prepare designers for the challenges of the DFI. Findings: While design and production skills studied in design education are valuable, it was found that work placements are particularly important resources for aspiring fashion business owners because they provide "education in enterprise" and the sort of social capital required for business success. The research produced a framework for reflecting on and refining the fit between design education and the practice of enterprise development in the DFI that incorporates considerations of the creativity-business tension and designer's enterprise orientations. Research limitations/implications: The findings suggest there is a need to create more intersections between fashion design and entrepreneurship education and to incorporate more education for and in enterprise. They also suggest there is value in encouraging students to select design education that fits their enterprise orientation and any skill deficits associated with this orientation. Originality/value: The paper makes a valuable contribution to both the higher education and entrepreneurship literatures by presenting an original model for conceptualising the way design education can interface with business start-up to develop industry-appropriate social capital and sound business practices. (Contains 1 figure, 1 table and 2 notes.)

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to conduct an action-research study of metaphors and metaphoric fragments composed by graduate students in 17 teams in two business (MBA) and three educational administration courses taught by the same instructor and action-researcher. Design/methodology/approach: The methodology of the paper was action-research conducted directly by the instructor and indirectly by the business and education graduate students who participated in the study. Participants (74) were aspiring leaders in business and educational leadership programs at a private university in New York. The instructor and action-researcher utilized participants' metaphors or metaphoric fragments (i.e. glimpses of a metaphor) as an instructional technique to compare and further understand the team process in both disciplines. Findings: The findings in the paper indicated that an analysis of metaphors or metaphoric fragments enabled the instructor to develop a multiple perspective of various team stages and revise an action-plan (or syllabus) that would expand the use of metaphors as a diagnostic tool for team development. Originality/value: The originality of the paper is that it is cross-disciplinary, and compares metaphors from aspiring leaders within the disciplines of business and education. The value of the study is that it may influence the development of other action-research team studies on the university level. (Contains 1 table.)

Three basic theorems concerning expected values and variances of sums and products of random variables play an important role in mathematical statistics and its applications in education, business, the social sciences, and the natural sciences. A solid understanding of these theorems requires that students be familiar with the proofs of these theorems. But while students who major in mathematics and other technical fields should have no difficulties coping with these proofs, students who major in education, business, and the social sciences often find it difficult to follow these proofs. In many textbooks and courses in statistics which are geared to the latter group, mathematical proofs are sometimes omitted because students find the mathematics too confusing. In this paper, we present a simpler approach to these proofs. This paper will be useful for those who teach students whose level of mathematical maturity does not include a solid grasp of differential calculus. (Contains 13 tables.)

To understand the money gap between educators and their corporate counterparts, one must examine the entire corporate compensation package: bonuses, stock options, and other perquisites, including health club and country club memberships, free use of company-owned vacation properties, expense accounts, extensive insurance, company cars, and retirement benefits. (MLH)

Presents an ethnographic study with graduate students leaving other careers for education to discover the meanings of the career change for those involved. Discusses the following types of students: (1) the homecomers; (2) the converted; and (3) the unconverted. For each type the initiating influences, mediating forces, and commitment are explored. (JS)

This annotated bibliography lists 569 documents from local, state, provincial, and national governments and from international organizations that have been selected on the basis of their reference value and/or subject coverage. Topics covered include health sciences, business and economics, government and politics, social problems, education, international relations, and the environment and earth sciences. (LRW)

Uses a social ecological perspective to discuss six components that affect the potential for peace: (1) government; (2) religion; (3) business; (4) education; (5) family; and (6) human nature. Charges that the current psychology of human beings is a threat to peace. (JAC)

Lists and describes databases that provide software reviews and directories, and that focus on particular applications, including engineering, education, libraries, microcomputers, and general business. A directory of these databases is provided which includes the database producer, starting date, updating frequency, and online access vendor. (CLB)

Describes CD-ROM applications in the following areas: (1) reference services; (2) indexes and abstracts; (3) business; (4) medicine; (5) law; (6) education; and (7) map and geographic information. A 58-item company and product directory is included. (MES)