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The purpose of this paper is to determine whether self‐managed superannuation fund (SMSF) trustees earn: the equity risk premium or any premium to the riskless rate of interest.

Using a sample of 100 SMSFs, the average annual returns since inception of the funds in the sample are compared with: the average annual equity risk premium since that time and the average yield of Commonwealth Government Securities since that time.

The investigation reveals: the SMSFs in the sample do not earn the equity risk premium and the SMSFs in the sample did not earn a premium to riskless rate of interest. This leads to the conclusion that the SMSFs have borne risk without commensurate reward. Research limitations/implications – The trustees' rationale for making particular investment decisions and the consistency of the portfolio structures with the risk profiles of the trustees are two areas that may be fruitfully explored in future research.

For SMSF trustees, a simple portfolio that divides assets between (unmanaged) index funds and risk‐free securities on the basis of trustees' risk aversion may generate better results than the existing portfolios. For policy makers, the relatively poor performance of SMSFs implies that the superannuation system as currently structured may not be generating returns that will maximize retirement incomes.

The paper provides the first comparison of SMSF returns with the equity risk premium and the riskless rate of interest measured at appropriate horizons.

This chapter reviews the media's fascination with one of the most infamous women in Canadian history. Karla Homolka was found guilty of manslaughter in the deaths of two Ontario teenage girls in the early 1990s. Her husband, Paul Bernardo, was convicted on a number of charges associated with these deaths, including sexual assault and first degree murder. The chapter traces the initial print reports of the arrest, trial and sentencing of Karla Homolka; the application of the ‘Ken and Barbie’ moniker as a description of Karla Homolka and Paul Bernardo; and the characterization of Karla Homolka's sentencing as the proverbial ‘deal with the devil’. The media continued to pursue Karla Homolka long after she had completed her twelve-year prison sentence and was released into the community. The media's evolution in coverage of this case is described, and it is argued that Karla Homolka's treatment by the media was, and continues to be, an example of the kind of biased coverage that illustrates the gendered manner in which violence is conceptualized in our society, and calls into question the structural and systematic condemnation that is directed towards those women who commit violent crimes. This chapter emphasizes that the lens through which the media covers violent crimes for which women are accused and/or convicted is often clouded with vitriol and malevolence.

To examine how vocabulary instruction can lead toward students connecting the known to the familiar with the unknown.

Theoretical advances in vocabulary acquisition and utility are discussed in relation to word reading and knowledge formation. Extending theory requires pedagogical planning and reinforcement to promote skill learning first toward preparing students to have the capacity to acquire vocabulary across the content areas and in turn, understand and apply that knowledge toward problem solving.

Students must be scaffolded toward connecting what they know with that which is familiar and eventually with the unknown; only then can we extend learning beyond our guidance and supervision. Students must be taught how and when to use vocabulary acquisition strategies so they are prepared to overcome difficulties associated with word meanings in independent reading.

It is timely for rich, varied, and complete vocabulary instruction to serve as the basis for learning across the curriculum. Words are the predecessors of tomorrow’s learning and we must consider how to best provide instruction for students who overuse sight words, text shorthand more than they write formally, and even substitute inappropriate language based upon a lack of vocabulary knowledge and ability to articulate their feelings.

Pleasing and satisfying as it is for the national ego to record that Australian book production continues to expand — and the commercial benefits that accrue therefrom to Austrialian authors, publishers and booksellers are surely swelling the pocket books of a small sector of Australian society — the year under review included three events which are perhaps of greater interest to those who care for Australian literature in its broad sense.

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to share empirical research with educators and researchers to show how the gradual release of responsibility (GRR) model can support bilingual teachers’ implementation of dialogic reading comprehension instruction in student-led small groups and linguistically responsive literacy instruction with emergent bilingual students (Spanish–English) in grades one through four.

Design/Methodology/Approach – The authors provide brief literature reviews on the literacy instruction that bilingual students in low-resourced schools typically receive, on dialogic reading comprehension instruction, and on linguistically responsive literacy instruction. Then, the authors show how teacher educators utilized the GRR framework and process to support bilingual teachers’ movement from whole-class, teacher-directed instruction to dialogic reading comprehension instruction in student-led small groups. Next, the authors illustrate how a third-grade dual-language teacher employed the GRR to teach her students how to use Spanish–English cognates. Lastly, the authors share three vignettes from a first-grade bilingual teacher’s use of the GRR to facilitate her students’ comprehension of teacher read-alouds of narrative and informational texts and English writing.

Findings – When the teacher educators employed the GRR model in combination with socio-constructivist professional staff development, the teachers revealed their concerns about small-group instruction. The teacher educators adjusted their instruction and support to address the teachers’ concerns, helping them to implement small-group instruction. The third-grade bilingual teacher employed the GRR to teach her students how to use a translanguaging strategy, cognates, when writing, spelling, and reading. The first-grade bilingual teacher’s use of the GRR during teacher read-alouds in Spanish and English provided space for her and her students’ translanguaging, and facilitated the students’ comprehension of narrative and informational texts and completion of an English writing assignment.

Research Limitations/Implications – The findings were brief vignettes of effective instruction in bilingual settings that employed the GRR model. Although the authors discussed the limitations of scripted instruction, they did not test it. Additional research needs to investigate how other teacher educators and teachers use the GRR model to develop and implement instructional innovations that tap into the unique language practices of bilingual students.

Practical Implications – The empirical examples should help other teacher educators and bilingual teachers to implement the GRR model to support the improved literacy instruction of bilingual students in grades one through four. The chapter defines linguistically responsive instruction, and shows how translanguaging can be used by bilingual teachers and students to improve the students’ literacy performance.

Originality/Value of Chapter – This chapter provides significant research-based examples of the use of the GRR model with bilingual teachers and students at the elementary level. It shows how employment of the model can provide bilingual teachers and students with the support needed to implement instructional literacy innovations and linguistically responsive instruction.

Purpose – This chapter presents an analysis of a researcher-led follow-up activity during an early childhood reading lesson that was aligned with a gradual release of responsibility (GRR) model. Particularly, the authors seek to understand how students used their language(s) in this lesson, how they described particular linguistic decisions, and how language could be further conceptualized in such events.

Design/Methodology/Approach – The authors develop a telling case (Mitchell, 1984) from the guided instruction portion of a lesson to make salient theoretical connections between metacognitive strategies taught in early literacy and metalinguistic knowledge theorized from the field of linguistic anthropology. The lesson was video recorded for interactional analysis. The video recording was also used to stimulate recall and allow students to reflect on their own language use.

Findings –Through the telling case, the authors use language socialization as a lens to understand the way students represent story retell with physical objects. Though some students do not use the school-based conventionalized form of retelling, they do engage in retelling by using a variety of other forms. The authors highlight through the case that the metacognitive strategy of story retell is distinct from the abstract linear, left-to-right representation of sequencing of events.

Research Limitations/Implications – This study suggests that further attention is needed to theorize the relationship between reading strategies and forms of representation in multilingual preschool contexts. In particular, the very notions of literacy and language need to be nuanced through conversations among multiple disciplines.

Practical Implications – Practitioners are encouraged to attend to the differences between metacognitive strategies that are useful for reading comprehension and the expected styles of representation. Teachers can consider leveraging the communicative repertoires of emergent bilingual students as they accomplish early literacy activities, thereby, potentially offering further scaffolds for learning reading strategies.

Originality/Value of Paper – This chapter brings nuance to the GRR model by demonstrating that there is a difference between the GRR of metacognitive strategies in reading instruction and the way they are represented through diverse semiotic repertoires.

A quick search of the headlines of major newspapers reveals a treasure trove of technology procurement gone wrong. While the private sector seems to adopt and implement new technology seamlessly and quickly to deliver for customers, the government struggles to accomplish technology purchases and integrations with the same ease. As governments in the United States are looking to retain their current workforce and attract the next generation of workers, the technological capabilities and ethos of governments will be paramount. With nearly every industry being transformed by technology and Generation T being the first generation to have an ingrained “technology first” mindset, the ability of governments to attract these workers depends, in large part, on the ability to transform their government technology culture, policies, and practices.

In this chapter, the authors examine the administrative branch and observe two key components at the root of most technology failures: poor organizational structure in the bureaucracy and the lack of an empowered Chief Information/Technology Officer. Building upon case studies from Massachusetts and California, this chapter looks at the factors related to failure or success to understand the technology procurement culture. The chapter concludes by presenting four key “best practice” principles of public policy and administration that can be implemented by almost any governmental entity to improve their acquisition and implementation of technology.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate if any exposure to segregation minimal association in a single male prison population had any association with an increased risk of vitamin D deficiency.

A retrospective case study was undertaken with all inmates who had a 25-hyrdoxy-vitamin D test taken during the study period deemed eligible. Hand searching of the medical records by an independent party identified eligible participants whose data were recorded for analysis.

In total, 124 prisoners were deemed eligible for inclusion; 67 were vitamin D sufficient and 57 were vitamin D deficient by Australian standards. Time in segregation minimal association was shown not to be significant, however, smoking (OR 2.93, 95% CI 1.27-6.81, p=0.012) and having Asian ethnicity (OR 4.16, 95% CI 1.56-11.10, p=0.004) independently significantly increased the risk of vitamin D deficiency.

This research is limited by its study design, small sample size and single location.

This paper presents the first published research into vitamin D levels in a prison population in Australia, and provides a basis for a larger prospective cohort study.