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This paper aims to examine the impact of using digitized objects for inquiry with middle-school classrooms. Research analyzed critical thinking processes and student engagement during collaborative investigations with 3D models of authentic objects.

Digitized objects were 3D scans of fossils from the paleontology collection at the Natural History Museum of Utah implemented as 3D prints and 3D virtual models. Verbal protocol analysis examined critical thinking processes during collaborative student learning. Engagement was assessed via student feedback and a classroom observation protocol.

The findings demonstrated that digitized objects facilitated key critical thinking processes, particularly observation, problem finding, elaboration and evaluation. Student feedback was very positive and focused on strong interest in 3D technologies and the ability to engage in authentic exploration. Observations showed very high levels of on-task engagement.

Additional research is necessary to determine if findings generalize across varied learner populations, including broader age ranges and socioeconomic samples, to activities implemented as fully online experiences and to digitized objects from varied domains.

Findings demonstrate digitized objects are effective methods to engage students in critical thinking and to promote engagement with authentic objects during classroom learning. Results demonstrate strong potential of new technologies to leverage the educational impact of digitized objects from local collections, setting the stage for expanded educational outreach by museums and libraries.

In recent years, about one in five American children-some 12 to 14 million-have lived in families in which cash income failed to exceed official poverty thresholds. Another one-fifth live in families whose incomes were no more than twice the poverty threshold.⁸Today's economically based reorganization of the U.S. society is reshaping family structure through distinctive racial patterns. Families mainly headed by women have become permanent in all racial categories, with the disproportionate effects of change more visible among racial ethnics.⁹

The South African Government needs to increase fiscal revenues to cater to increased government spending. This paper aims to argue that the South African Revenue Service (SARS) has an opportunity to tax the receipt of customer loyalty programme awards in the hands of customers, with little amendment to current tax legislation or administration. This provides the South African Government an opportunity to increase much needed tax revenue in spite of limited resources.

Five instrumental case studies were used and analysed from a financial reporting perspective to quantify customer loyalty points earned by customers. These can form a basis for deriving the potential benefits from the taxation of customer loyalty programmes in the retail industry. The multiple instrumental case studies used and the application of accounting guidance in International Financial Reporting Standards allow generalisations to be made to highlight the amount of customer loyalty awards granted and possible tax revenues forgone in just one sector of the South African economy.

Should the proposals for taxation of customer loyalty programmes be implemented, the fiscus would be able to collect over R 234.35m (US$16.91m) in tax revenue from only five companies providing customers with loyalty awards. This indicates that this proposal for taxation is critical for investigation by the South African Government, as it may aid in achieving revenue goals for South Africa.

This paper contributes to the literature on taxation legislation within South Africa by proposing a model that may be used by the SARS to increase tax revenues to meet the Government’s needs.

Certain daily papers have recently made a discovery of such importance that they have been compelled to deal with it in leading and special articles. From a report of the Local Government Board they appear to have just learned that the milk supply of the Metropolis is more adulterated than that of the provinces, and that the cost to the consumer—of water sold as milk in London alone—amounts to at least £30,000 sterling annually.

Self-efficacy is one's belief in one's ability. In this context, information and communication technology (ICT) self-efficacy is the judgment of one's capability to use ICT – the familiar and effective teaching tools for the 21st century classrooms. The purpose of this empirical study was to investigate the correlation between teachers' ICT self-efficacy and perceived ICT infrastructure in school.

The study employed a descriptive survey method within ex post facto research design by taking 100 purposively selected Indian government run secondary schools and 400 teachers as participants. The data were analyzed descriptively and inferentially. A correlation analysis was conducted between teachers' ICT self-efficacy and their perception of ICT infrastructure to determine the relationship between the two.

Findings revealed that the participant teachers' overall ICT self-efficacy along with its three domains – technological efficacy, pedagogical efficacy, integration efficacy – was moderately low and their perception of ICT infrastructure in their respective schools was also far below the expected level. The investigation finally found a moderately high and positive correlation between teachers' ICT self-efficacy and their overall perception of ICT infrastructure. All three domains of efficacy also found positively correlated with the three selected domains of ICT infrastructure.

This paper reports an original empirical survey conducted in India and the write-up is based strictly on the survey findings only. The authors believe this is a new approach to view ICT integration in school pedagogy and recommendations that enhanced teacher efficacy accelerates strengthening ICT infrastructure, improving apposite culture and understanding of the pedagogical value of ICT integrated teaching.