scholarly journals Media freedom in Fiji: Journalism challenges facing Wansolwara, an independent, campus-based newspaper

2015 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 151
Author(s):  
Eliki Drugunalevu ◽  
Irene Manarae

This article is a case study of Wansolwara, the University of the South Pacific (USP) journalism programme student training newspaper. The article compares the outcomes of Wansolwara’s coverage of the 2000 and 2006 Fiji coups in relation to student learning and an alternative media voice in a climate of restrictions. Interviews with student journalists and lecturers involved in the coup coverage indicate that Wansolwara’s status as a campus-based newspaper has been a strategic benefit in filling some gaps in mainstream media reporting, besides providing students with empowering learning experiences. The case study illustrates the importance of an independent, campus-based newspaper somewhat less restrained by commercial pressures and less exposed to direct state coercion.

2009 ◽  
Vol 70 (6) ◽  
pp. 578-591 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deborah B. Gaspar ◽  
Karen A. Wetzel

Undergraduates attending The George Washington University are required to take courses in the University Writing Program. When it was introduced in 2004, this innovative program institutionalized collaboration between librarians and writing professors. The program was designed to support the university’s strategic goal to enhance challenge, discovery, and quality in student education. Beginning in 2005, instruction librarians crafted a survey to elicit anonymous feedback from their faculty partners to measure the impact of the library partnership on student learning. The survey is administered annually to explore faculty perceptions and monitor trends. Responses to the survey identify significant strengths resulting from this collaboration as well as specific topics needing further attention.


10.28945/4458 ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
pp. 741-760
Author(s):  
Ayodele Bain ◽  
Maysaa Barakat ◽  
Francine Baugh ◽  
Dustin Pappas ◽  
Leila Shatara ◽  
...  

Aim/Purpose: The purpose of this case study is to describe the experiences of educational leadership doctoral students when taking a conference course for the fulfillment of their program’s experiential learning requirements. The research explains how the course added to students’ understanding of educational research and development as research scholars. Background: Research on doctoral student learning experiences in the contexts of professional conferences is limited. The present research examines a unique group context and the perceptions of doctoral student learning and development through the lens of adult learning theory. Methodology: This basic qualitative case study includes doctoral student perspectives on their learning and development as a result of participation in a professional educational leadership conference as course experience. Researchers conducted a review of literature, engaged with participants in a focus group style debriefing, and completed a document analysis of participants’ written reflections following a multi-day conference. Contribution: The present research contributes to the field of educational leadership research by providing first-hand accounts of participation in a conference as course experience to promote student learning and development as research scholars. Findings: Findings suggest that participant learning experiences varied when analyzed through the lens of adult learning theory and are categorized into three types of learning that include non-learning, non-reflective learning, and reflective learning. In addition, participants’ development as research scholars is reported to be influenced by the conference and course design elements that promoted relative autonomy, embedded reflection, and interpersonal support. Recommendations for Practitioners: The present research has implications for both doctoral program design and professional conference planning. Experiential learning activities that extend beyond classrooms present students with opportunities for learning and socialization into a field of study. Recommendation for Researchers: The paper informs and challenges researchers to focus on the experiences of conference attendees and highlights a need for a more nuanced evaluation of conference courses. Impact on Society: Professional conferences present opportunities for doctoral students to develop as research scholars that ask questions to address societal problems. The following research suggests that conference learning experiences may be enhanced through an experiential course design and principles of relative autonomy, incorporation of reflection, and embedded interaction. Future Research: In the future, research of doctoral student learning at conferences may consider applying other methodologies (e.g., narrative research, quantitative) and consider the inclusion of student outcome variables like doctoral student motivation, interests, and social and emotional learning.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (19) ◽  
pp. 8197
Author(s):  
John R. Hermann

Using Starting Strong as a case study, this article examines how four successful Student Learning Outcomes (SLO’s) emerged and one was eliminated during the Quality Enhancement Plan’s (QEP’s) development process. In comparison to the one that was purged, the four successful SLO’s had five commonalities: 1. Virtually unanimous support from the administration; 2. Wide acceptance of the SLO from the faculty and staff members working on the QEP; 3. A shared conception between the administration and faculty/staff of what is an appropriate SLO; 4. The SLO’s could be clearly conceptualized and measured; And, 5., the SLO’s are financially feasible for the university to implement. The study hopes that this article may provide guidance for other universities undertaking and developing SLO’s and QEP’s.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa May ◽  
Tamara Runyon

More information, including a guide to LabScrum, can be found at labscrum.org There are many challenges in the work of academic research labs, such as a lack of established process for planning, competing commitments requiring frequent task switching, and long delays in decisions. Silos of information create opacity of knowledge, and the individual nature of much of the work can create isolation that is demotivating.We were curious to see if an Agile-based project management approach could provide value in the face of these challenges. The Scrum framework seemed like a good place to start – lightweight, yet with more frequent and shorter feedback loops than before. As an experiment, we implemented Scrum with one lab in the Center for Translational Neuroscience at the University of Oregon. We continue to adapt and evolve as the implementation spreads to other labs and we work with an ever growing number of scientists. The adaption from Scrum to LabScrum took a great deal of consideration and experimentation given significant differences in goals, constraints, and environment between industry and academia. We named our adaptation LabScrum to reflect the customization for the academic research lab context. Using LabScrum, lab personnel are seeing increased productivity and increased visibility of short,medium, and long term planning and goals. Personnel are also benefiting from improved graduate student training, increased information sharing/collaboration, and improved social support and positive lab culture.


2014 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 35
Author(s):  
David Robie

In the past three decades, global and regional media freedom advocacy and activist groups have multiplied as risks to journalists and media workers have escalated. Nowhere has this trend been so marked as in the Oceania region where some four organisations have developed a media freedom role. Of these, one is unique in that while it has had a regional mission for almost two decades, it has been continuously based at four university journalism schools in Australia, Fiji, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea. Pacific Media Watch was founded as an independent, non-profit and non-government network by two journalism academics in the Australian Centre for Independent Journalism (ACIJ) at the University of Technology, Sydney. Its genesis was the jailing of two Taimi ‘o Tonga journalists, ‘Ekalafi Moala and Filokalafi ‘Akau’ola, and a ‘whistleblowing’ pro-democracy member of Parliament in Tonga, ‘Akilisi Pohiva, for alleged contempt in September 1996. PMW played a role in the campaign to free the three men. Since then, the agency has developed an investigative journalism strategy to challenge issues of ethics, media freedom, industry ownership, cross-cultural diversity and media plurality. One of PMW’s journalists won the 2013 Dart Asia-Pacific Centre for Journalism and Trauma Prize for an investigation into torture and social media in Fiji. This article presents a case study of the PMW project and examines its history and purpose as a catalyst for independent journalists, educator journalists, citizen journalists and critical journalists in a broader trajectory of Pacific protest.Figure 1: A Pacific Media Watch Fiji torture and social media investigation series won the Dart Asia-Pacific Centre trauma journalism prize in 2013.


Author(s):  
Carin Tunaker ◽  
Ian Bride ◽  
Daniela Peluso

This case study piece describes an approach to teaching and learning that has been successfully employed at the University of Kent, Canterbury. It offers a way of engaging students in real-world research and learning experiences that allow them to build skills, take on responsibility, and, at the same time, feel that they are making a valuable contribution to their University community. It is hoped that the story told here will inspire others to take similar initiatives in their own institutions.


Author(s):  
Venus Olla

This chapter describes a case study conducted in a high school setting. A students as researchers’ approach is used to explore the use of technology in the citizenship education classroom. The case study demonstrates how starting student learning from the perspectives of the multicultural backgrounds of the students and using technology can greatly enhance the learning experiences of the students within the citizenship education classroom.


2010 ◽  
pp. 247-266 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa Cluett ◽  
Judy Skene

This chapter aims to provide an overview of the nexus between student learning and student engagement outside the classroom, and to highlight the importance of non-teaching units in contributing to student satisfaction. It discusses the role of non-teaching units (such as libraries, guilds, student services departments, and other bodies) in creating online communities using Web 2.0 tools. The chapter uses the NODE project hosted by the University of Western Australia as a case study to demonstrate how some of these principles can be put into action. The significance of non-teaching units is confirmed, in addition to providing recommendations for fostering greater collaboration between staff and advice on setting up a Web 2.0-based online community in a university.


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