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The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that the teaching of Arabic language has had a distinctive and important history in Australian universities from the middle of the twentieth century through to the twenty-first century.

In this paper, the author draws on a range of sources, government reports and surveys (both general and specific to Arabic), newspaper articles and published literature to give a comprehensive picture of the teaching of Arabic language in Australian universities over the last 60 or so years.

This paper has demonstrated that Arabic language teaching has moved through a number of phases as a scholarly, migrant and trade language. However, although the Middle East has become strategically important for Australia in defence and foreign affairs, and many people from the Middle East have migrated to Australia, Arabic (the major language of the Middle East) has never been given high priority by governments in Australia.

This paper, in taking an historical perspective, has demonstrated how Arabic has never commanded the attention of governments for funding to the same extent as Asian languages have.

Health-care professionals undergo numerous training programs each year in order to fulfill licensure requirements and organizational obligations. However, evidence suggests that a substantial amount of what is taught during training is never learned or transferred back to routine work. A major contributor to this issue is low training motivation. Prior conceptual models on training transfer in the organizational sciences literature consider this deficit, yet do not account for the unique conditions of the hospital setting. This chapter seeks to close this gap by adapting conceptual models of training transfer to this setting that are grounded in organizational science. Based on theory and supplemented by semistructured key informant interviews (i.e., organizational leaders and program directors), we introduce an applied model of training motivation to facilitate training transfer in the hospital setting. In this model, training needs analysis is positioned as a key antecedent to ensure support for training, relevant content, and perceived utility of training. We posit that these factors, along with training design and logistics, enhance training motivation in hospital environments. Further, we suggest that training motivation subsequently impacts learning and transfer, with elements of the work environment also serving as moderators of the learning-transfer relationship. Factors such as external support for training content (e.g., from accrediting bodies) and allocation of time for training are emphasized as facilitators. The proposed model suggests there are factors unique to the hospital work setting that impact training motivation and transfer that should be considered when developing and implementing training initiatives in this setting.

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of a sport-leadership program on minority incarcerated young adults’ health-related fitness markers.

This study occurred at an all-male juvenile detention center. A total of 41 participants in this study were obtained from a sample of 103 incarcerated young adults. Data collection entailed body mass index (BMI) evaluation, cardiovascular endurance tests and 1-min pushups and situps at two different time periods (before and after three months). A 2 × 2 mixed factorial analysis of variances was used to test for differences among the within subjects’ factors (time [pre × post]) and between subjects’ factors (groups [flex × control]) for the above-mentioned dependent variables.

Over the course of three consecutive months of engagement, preliminary indications demonstrated participants had a slight reduction in BMI and significant increases in cardiovascular endurance and muscle strength. Contrarily, during this same time period, non-participating young adults exhibited significant increases in BMI and decreases in cardiovascular endurance and muscle strength.

Integration of sport-leadership programs is generally not free but can be a low-cost alternative for combatting many issues surrounding physical activity, weight gain and recreational time for those incarcerated.

Employment can make an important contribution to individual well-being, for example, by providing people with a sense of purpose; however, autistic individuals face significant barriers to entering the workforce. This is reflected in high levels of underemployment and unemployment, with an estimated 80% of autistic people unemployed worldwide. This is higher than both other disability groups and people without disabilities. Research is needed to identify strategies that facilitate the sustained employment of autistic adults. This study aims to examine the perspectives of autistic individuals participating in a specialized employment program within the information and communication technology sector.

Three focus groups were conducted with nine adults on the autism spectrum. Data were analyzed using an inductive approach according to established guidelines, which included coding and categorizing data into themes.

Focus group analysis revealed four themes: trainees’ previous work experiences; expectations of the employment program; recruitment and selection processes; and training and transition. Several factors associated with the changes to the recruitment and selection process were found to benefit the autistic employees.

Few studies have characterized the work experiences of adults on the autism spectrum. Tailored employment processes that challenge traditional human resource management practices can increase the participation of autistic individuals in the workforce. Strategies for promoting the success of these programs are discussed.

Organizations spend considerable time and money educating individuals on Six Sigma; however, existing literature does not examine Six Sigma adoption at the individual level or the factors that impact individual Six Sigma adoption. The purpose of this paper is to increase the understanding of individual adoption of Six Sigma tools and methodology.

This paper used a single-site field study in a manufacturing organization to empirically test and refine a theory of the factors impacting Six Sigma adoption at the individual level.

Reaction to training, project management and project infrastructure were found to be significant input factors for individual Six Sigma adoption with an R² of 0.482, which indicates that about 48 per cent of the variation in Six Sigma adoption is explained by the input factors. All of the identified input factors were found to have a positive relationship with individual Six Sigma adoption, as well as positive correlations with each other.

This paper was not a controlled experiment or a longitudinal study, so it is not possible from the results of this research to prove causal relationships, although the literature supports a causal relationship between the input factors and outcome.

The findings of this paper will be useful to practicing organizations which seek to improve individual Six Sigma adoptions, as well as inform future Six Sigma adoption research.

Six Sigma adoption at the organizational level has been well documented in the existing literature. The successful adoption of Six Sigma in an organization is dependent, at least in part, to adoption Six Sigma at the individual level. A review of the existing literature indicates that there has been no research into individual adoption of Six Sigma tools and methodology.

Contributions to this volume showcase the current state of gender research as it relates to the embodiment and representation of beauty. In particular, the authors highlight a more open-ended concept of beauty that goes beyond esthetics. The authors call our attention to the fact that beauty definitions and standards in any given society closely reflect the distribution of power in it. For this purpose, the authors in this volume share findings of research and conducted in multiple sites in the United States (i.e., Southern California, the Midwest, the Northwest, New York City, Salt Lake City, Houston, Boston, and Washington, DC), El Salvador, and the Dominican Republic. Contributors also use a variety of qualitative and quantitative methodologies to expand notions of beauty and its embodiment across diverse areas and experiences. The authors ask and invite us to ask ourselves how race, class, disability, gender identity or sexual orientation, and other dimensions of inequality inform our definitions of what beauty is and is not. They exhort us to interrogate who defines who and what is beautiful and why. Finally, rather than being problem-oriented, the premise of each study is to effect collective change in the ways we construe, see, represent, and embody beauty.

Purpose – This chapter discusses youth participation in a Social Justice Literacy Workshop (SJLW). Participants were predominantly Black youth residing in an urban community with a rich history and important community resources such as libraries and churches. The SJLW used a variety of print texts, videos, artwork, documents, and other texts to explore the topic of police brutality and other justice-related topics.

Design/Methodology/Approach – This chapter uses the gradual release of responsibility (GRR) model as a lens to revisit the SJLW as designed and implemented by the first author Tiffany Nyachae. Nyachae designed and implemented the SJLW as space to inspire students to engage in critical thinking and analysis of authentic texts, and to use these textual interactions as an impetus for activism in their community. With the help of her co-authors, Nyachae reflects on the SJLW through a GRR lens to describe how students were scaffolded and supported as they moved toward activism.

Findings – Students brought their own understandings of police brutality and awareness of activism to the SJLW. These prior understandings were shaped both by their own lived experiences but also by their awareness of and interaction with social media. During the SJLW, youth read and discussed the novels All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely (2015) and Hush by Jacqueline Woodson (2002). The youth engaged in activities and discussions about how prevalent issues in each novel connected to larger social and political concerns. Students discussed the current events, engaged in reflective writing, read short pieces, and analyzed documents and videos. The SJLW was successful in such a way that all students felt comfortable voicing their opinions, even when opinions differed from their peers. Students demonstrated critical thinking about issues related to justice. All students completed an action plan to address injustice in their community. While applying the GRR to this context and reflecting, first author Nyachae began to consider the other scaffolds for youth that could have been included, particularly one youth, JaQuan, who was skeptical about what his community had done to support him. Nyachae revisits the SJLW to consider how the GRR helped to reveal the need for additional scaffolding that JaQuan or other youth may have needed from leaders in the SJLW. A literature review also revealed that very few literacy practices have brought together the GRR and social justice teaching or learning.

Research Limitations/Implications – This chapter demonstrates that the GRR framework can be effectively applied to a justice-centered teaching and learning context as a reflective tool. Since very little research exists on using the GRR framework with justice-centered teaching, there is a need for additional research in this area as the GRR model offers many affordances for researchers and teachers. There is also a need for literacy researchers to consider elements of justice even when applying the GRR framework to any classroom or out-of-school context with children and youth.

Practical Implications – The GRR can be a useful tool for reflecting the practices of literacy and justice-centered teaching. Just as the GRR can be a useful framework to help teachers think about teaching reading comprehension, it can be an effective tool to help teachers think about supporting students to grow from awareness to activism in justice-centered teaching and learning.

Originality/Value of Paper – This chapter is one of only a handful of published works that brings together a social justice perspective with the GRR.