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Australian Journal of Adult Learning Volume 51, Number 2, July 2011
The educative role of a regional newspaper: Learning to be drier
Coral CampbellDeakin University
Erica Smith and Emma SiesmaaUniversity of Ballarat
Throughout the world, people have to deal with the issues of global warming and other more direct consequences of environmental change. This paper considers how a local newspaper has an educative function in a small community in advising people of specific issues and learning how to deal with changing resources. Across the period of several months in 2009, the Buloke Times, a local newspaper in the Wimmera-Mallee region of Victoria, Australia, was scanned for articles relating to the issue of water scarcity. In the 24 editions of the paper, 68 articles of various themes were found. The articles/themes were analysed along a number of lines: frequency across time, frequency within each issue, prominence of articles and unusual events. This research paper develops an overview of the role of the newspaper and its capacity to influence and educate the people who constitute its readership. Key words: adult education, rural education, water scarcity, community newspapers
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270 Coral Campbell, Erica Smith and Emma Siesmaa
Introduction
Acrosstheglobe,governments,institutions,businessenterprisesandordinarypeoplearestrugglingtocomprehendandmanagetheimpactofglobalwarming.Howdopeopleinruralareasdevelopunderstandingofissueswhichmayaffectthem,eitherdirectly(asinadrought)orindirectly(asaglobalcitizen)?Australiaisonlyonecountrywhichisaffectedbydrierconditionsinmanyways,buttheissueofwateravailabilityhasbeenimpactingstronglyinVictoria,particularlyintheWimmera-Malleeregion.Traditionally,thisareahasbeenreliantonrainfallandthedeliveryofwaterfromthecatchmentareasviaopenchannels.However,a‘drought’,lastingfor13years,causedmembersofthesmallruralcommunitiesinthisregiontore-thinkthewaytheymanagedtheirwatersupplies,bothintheirfarmingpracticesandintheirdailylife.
Thispaperreportsonananalysisofaregionalnewspaper’scoverageofthedroughtandwaysofcopingwithit,duringtheearlypartof2009.Theresearchwaspartofalargerprojectwhichexaminedthenatureof‘learningtobedrier’infourcasestudyareaswithinAustralia’sMurray-Darlingbasin(Goldingetal.2009).Ineachcasestudy,anumberofparticipantswereinterviewedincludingsuppliersofwater,farmers,communitycentreworkers,agronomistsandeducationproviders.TheWimmera-Malleeareawasanareawhichhadalwayshadlimitedwateravailability,relyingprimarilyonprecipitationratherthanirrigation.Thecasestudyoftheregion(Smith&Campbell2009)showedthatarangeof‘learningtobedrier’strategieswereutilised,includingindividuallearningfromnewspapers.
Itwasdecidedtosupplementthequalitativefieldworkwithananalysisofthelocalnewspaper’scoveragefindingsofthenewspaperanalysisduringtheperiodofthefieldwork.Accordingly,threemonths’issuesofthetwice-weeklypaper,theBuloke Times,were
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The educative role of a regional newspaper 271
analysedtoinvestigatehowthepapercoveredtheissueofdroughtandcopingwithit,andwhatcontributionthenewspapermightmaketopeople’slearningabouttheissue.
Thankfully,aprolongedperiodofrainfallduring2010endedimmediatedroughtconditionsintheWimmera-Mallee,whichhastraditionallybeena‘wheatandsheep’region.InthenatureofAustralianclimaticextremes,thisperiodcreateditsowndifficultiesforthefarmersandotherresidentsoftheregion,causingflooding,alocustplagueandadowngradingofthequalityofthewheatcrop.Despitethesedifficulties,therainwasextremelywelcome,promptingfront-pageheadlinesintheBuloke Timessuchas‘Jumpingforjoyintherain’(13August2010)and‘Alltheriversrun’(20August2010).Nevertheless,long-termclimatepredictionsindicatethatdrierweatherisnowthenorm,leavingthispaperstillextremelyrelevantfortheregion,forotherfarmingregionsinAustraliaandforothercountries.
Background and literature review
Therearemanywaysinwhichadultsaccessnewlearning,bothformallyandinformally.Ruralcommunitieshavetheirownpatternsoflearning(Kilpatrick,Falk&Harrison1998).Mostlocalruralcommunitieshaveacommunitycentre,anadultlearningcentre,localgardeninggroups,agronomistsandschools.Eachoftheseparticulargroupsprovidesopportunitiesforresidentstotalkaboutandshareideasregardinglocalissues,inthisinstance—thedrought.Thefieldworkfortheresearchproject(Smith&Campbell2009)showedthatcommunitycentresrunspecialinterestsessions;adultlearningcentresprovidespecificskill-basedtraining;localgardeninggroupsshareinformationandconsult‘experts’inthefield;agronomistsusetheinternetplusindustryresearchtoinformtheirspecialism,andschoolsprovideinformationtostudentsandindirectlythrough
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272 Coral Campbell, Erica Smith and Emma Siesmaa
tofamilieswithinthecommunities.Newspapersalsoplayaroleineducatingtheirreadershipsaboutcurrentissuesatlocal,regional,nationalandinternationallevels.
Howcanadultlearningtheoryinformourunderstandingoftheuseofnewspapersforlearning?Ithasbeenarguedthatadultlearnersconstructtheirownunderstandingandknowledgebasedontheirexperiences(Merriam&Caffarella1998:262).Peoplealsolearnthroughtheirsocialnetworkswithothers(socialconstructivism)(Carlson&Maxa1998).Thetheoryofconstructivismacknowledgestheimportanceofpriorunderstandingsandexperiencesintheconstructionofnewmeanings(Doolittle&Camp1999:15).AccordingtoKnowles,HoltonandSwanson(1998),inthelearningprocessadultswanttolearnabouttopicsrelevanttothemselvesandutilisepreviousknowledgetocreateunderstandings.Itmightbeexpected,then,thattheywouldlookthroughnewspaperstolearnabouttopicsofimportancetothemselvesandfocusonarticleswhichareaboutissuesfamiliartothembutwhichtaketheirunderstandingfurther.
Adultlearninginsmallcommunitieshasparticularcharacteristics(Goldingetal.2009:562),suchascommunity-based,adultlearningorganisations,localnetworksandinteractions,andindividuallearning—thereislittlelearningthroughformalinstitutionsandmechanisms.Thiscouldbeexpectedtomeanthatlearningfromnewspapersisalittledifferentinaruralcommunityfromametropolitancommunity.Communitiesareessentiallyboundbyphysicallocations,particularlyinremoteorruralareas.Communitiesofpeoplemaybethoseinonetownwhohavetightphysicalboundariesandareinterestedinthepeoplewhoaretheirneighbours.Withinthislocalnexusofpeople,asenseofbelonging,aswellasthegeographicallocation,alsoprovidestheoveralldefinitionofcommunity.Communitycanbeseenasaplaceofhumaninteractionor‘interconnectedrelationshipsamongpeople’(Kurpius2000:340)
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The educative role of a regional newspaper 273
or,asstatedbyJeffres,AtkinandNeuendorf(2002:391),‘overlappingsystemsthatincludeacommunicationnetworkandsocialstructure’.Insmallercommunities,therefore,socialnetworksarelikelytoplayanincreasinglyimportantroleinthelearningprocess.Communityconnectionsareimportantintermsofwhatisknown,howmuchisknownandtheparticularinfluenceofsomepeopleonothers.Theremightbeexpectedtobeaheavyrelianceonmaterialgeneratedbyorthroughthecommunity.
Thelocalnewspaperprovidesinformationonarangeofeventswhichmaybelocal,regional,nationalandinternationalinnature.Initsmostbasicform,then,anewspapercanbesaidtobeadistributorofinformation.However,researchhasindicatedthatanewspaperismorethanjustaprinteddescriptionofsomeevent(Holder&Treno1997).Thecontentofanewspaperreflectsthesocialrealityofitscontext,mirroringwhatisactuallyhappeninginthesocietywithinwhichitisproduced.Atasociallevel,itcanrepresentthethingswhichacommunityholdsasmostimportant.Equallyimportantisthefactthatanewspaper,writtenbyhumans,isaconstructionofrealityasdeterminedbythewriter.Thisimpliesthathumanbiases,empathiesandopinionscandeliberately,orinadvertently,enterintothefabricofthearticle.
Someresearchindicatesthatnewspaperscanactasbrokersofpower,negotiatingwhoistobeempoweredandwhoisnot(Olien,Donohue&Tichenor1995).Acommunitycanbesaidtobeadynamicinterplayofpeople:someareontheperipherylookingin,whileothersarethepower-brokersofthecommunity,forminggroupsandguidingdecisionswithinthecommunity.Communitymediacanhelpillustratethesedistinctions(Mosco1998),highlightingthestrengthofparticulargroupswithinthecommunityaswellasdisenfranchisingothers.Furtherresearchintotheeffectofmediaoncommunities(Demers&Viswanath1999)showedhowsocialpowerstructures
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274 Coral Campbell, Erica Smith and Emma Siesmaa
shapethemedia’scapacitytofostersocialchangeandinterestinglyhowlocaljournalistsoftenframearticlesinwaysthatreflecttraditionalpowerstructures(Cohen2000,Sakamoto1999).
Moses(2007:153)statesthat‘themediahavethefunctionofinformingthedemocraticcitizenryonmattersthatareinthepublicinterest’,andmaintainsthatnewspapersshouldshoweverysideofanissue.ShegivestheexampleofchangingpublicattitudestoracialinequalityintheUSAwhichwritersattributedpartlytotheroleofthemedia(Moses2007:161).Thisviewofthemediaimpliesthatalocalnewspaperhasadutytoinformitsreadersaboutimportantmattersandtoprovidealternativeviewpointsaboutthesematters.
However,inanydiscussionoftheroleofmediaineducation,itisimportanttorememberthatnotallpeoplelearninthesamewayfromnewspapers.Grabe,KamhawiandYegyan(2009)inanexperimentalstudyfoundthatpeoplewithhigherlevelsofeducationlearnedmorefromnewspaperarticles,eventhoughthosewithlowereducationlevelswerejustasinterestedinthetopics.Theyascribedthisbasicallytotheextrayearsofpractice,amongpeoplewithgreatereducationlevels,inextractinginformationfromwrittendocuments.Fleming,ThorsonandZhang(2006)likewisefoundthatpeople’sindividualinformationprocessingstrategieshaveaneffectontheextentandnatureoflearningfromnewspapers,whichisalsoaffectedbyotherfactorssuchasgenderandethnicity,andindividuals’attentiontoothermediaoutlets.Marx, Nedelmann,Haertle,DietrichandEicke(2008),inastudyinthehealtheducationarea,cautionthatalthougheducationalcampaignsthroughnewspapersandothermediaincreaseawareness,theydonotnecessarilyleadtoachangeinbehaviour.Theyfoundthatpeoplewithlowereducationlevelslearnedmostfrominformationdisseminatedthrougharangeofchannelsthatused‘short-tailoredslogans’(Marxetal.2008:378)suchas‘PraiseforGMWWater’or‘restrictionlevelseased’.Thesestudiesofthe
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The educative role of a regional newspaper 275
educativeroleofnewspaperssuggestthatnewspapersformonlyonerouteforraisingawarenessofissuesamongthepublicandthattheyaremoreusefulineducatingcertainsectorsofthepopulationthanothers.
Howimportanthastheissueofdrought,andcopingwithit,beentotheWimmera-Mallee?ThereisnodoubtthattheWimmera-Malleeregionhassufferedthroughanextendeddrought.Inthetenyearsto2008,averagerainfallfellby13%whilstmaximumtemperaturesincreasedby0.7%,withmoresummerdaysreachingover30degreescentigrade(VictorianGovernmentDepartmentofSustainabilityandEnvironment2008).Althoughashort-termimprovementwaspredicted,ithasalsobeenpredicted(BCG2008)thatinthelongtermtherewillcontinuetobelowlevelsofrainfall.Theseverityofthedroughthasmeantthat,insomeyearsandsomepartsoftheregion,therehavebeenno,orseverelyreducedwheatcrops;onaverage,croplevelsareexpectedtobeabout18%lowerinthefuturethantheywerepriortothebeginningofthedrought(BCG2008).Thefarmingcommunityhashadtomakechangestothewayitdoesthings.Adaptationsinclude:changingthecropsgrown,changesinvarietiesofcrops,changingfarmingtechniquesandsowingstrategies,andusingdifferenthightechnologicalmachineryformoreprecisefarming(BCG2008,Schultz2001).Moregenerally,theCSIROTechnicalReport(2007)indicatesthatthereareanumberofclimaticchangeswhichwilloccur:annualwarmingleadingtoanincreasednumberofwarmdaysandnights;lessprecipitationincludingrainfallrunoff;increasedlikelihoodofdrought;andincreasedseverityofdroughts.CSIRO(2007)predictsthatlife,propertyandecosystemswillbeatincreasedrisk.Clearlythisisaserioussituationanditisimportanttoconsiderhowlocalinstitutionssuchasnewspapersmaycontributetochangesinhumanbehaviourthatcouldamelioratetheeffectsofdrought.
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276 Coral Campbell, Erica Smith and Emma Siesmaa
ThecasestudyintheWimmera-Mallee,previouslymentioned,proposedahierarchy(Smith&Campbell2009:537)of‘learningtobedrier’methods,fromthemostinformaltothemostformal(Marsick&Watkins1990):
• feedbackonactions,e.g.plantinganewvarietyofcroporgardenplant
• individuallearningthroughthereceiptofprovidedinformation(e.g.fromthewaterauthority,fromone’schildren’sschool,thelocalnewspaperormagazinesproducedbyagriculturalsuppliers)orfromseekinginformationviatheinternet
• talkinginformally‘overthefence’(backgardens)or‘throughthefence’(farms)toneighbours
• attendingacommunityactivityspecificallyonwaterissuesorviaanothergroup,e.g.gardeninggrouporCountryFireAssociationmeeting
• ifafarmer,joiningafarmers’developmentgroupand/oremployinganagronomist,bothofwhichsourceswereabletocollectandfilterinformationandpassiton
• enrollinginacourse(fromashortskill-focusedprogramthroughtoaqualification).
Methodology
Acrossthethreemonthsof3Februaryto1May2009,theBuloke Timeswasscannedforarticlesrelatingtotheissueofdroughtandcopingwithdrierconditions.Thenewspaperisproducedtwice-weeklyandtypicallyisbetween16and20pagesinlength.Therewere24editionsofthepaperinthestudy,inwhich68relevantarticleswerefound.
TheBuloke Timeswasselectedforthestudyas,amongtheavailablelocalnewspapers,itwastheonlyonewhichreportedonlyonthelocalarea(theBulokeShire)ratherthancoveringalargerregion,
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The educative role of a regional newspaper 277
and/orincludingmoregeneralrural‘inserts’.InviewingtheBuloke Times,wedrewonthewell-establishedresearchmethodologyofcontentanalysis.Contentanalysishasbeendescribedbymanyresearchersinsomewhatdifferentways,butKerlinger’s(1986)definition(inWimmer&Dominick2000:135)seemstobewidelyaccepted:‘contentanalysisisamethodofstudyingandanalysingcommunicationinasystematic,objectiveandquantitativemannerforthepurposeofstudyingvariables’.ContentanalysisisthereforethemethodweusedtoassessmediacontenttrendsinthelocalBuloke Times.Thestudyprovidesbaselinedatatoseeiftheframingofclimatechangeissuesshiftsandchangesacrossthethree-monthperiodoftheanalysis.Whileitisaformofcontentanalysis,itisnotasophisticatedform.Intermsofthe‘usesofcontentanalysis’(Wimmer&Dominick2000:136–137),weareusingthetechniqueinatraditionalanddescriptivemanner.Itis,however,partlybeingusedtoinfersocietalvaluesabouttheissueofadrierclimate.Ifwearetoberigorouswithouranalysis,weneedtoaddressanumberofquestionssuggestedbyKrippendorff(2004).Figure1showsthesequestionsandtheresponsesforthisstudy.
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278 Coral Campbell, Erica Smith and Emma Siesmaa
Which data are analyzed?Specificnewspaperarticles,publicnotices
How are they defined?Theyareeasilydefinedbythecontentwhichmustincludesomereferencetowaterscarcity.Thearticleheadingsmaynotnecessarilyrefertowaterchange.
What is the population from which they are drawn?ThepopulationwhichaccessesandreadstheBuloke Timescamefromaregionalareaofapproximately50kmsaroundthetownshipofWycheproofintheWimmera-MalleeRegionofVictoria.
What is the context relative to which the data are analyzed?Thedataareanalysedacrossanumberofcontexts.Initiallythearticlesarereadandclassifiedintoanumberofthemes.Thesethemedarticlesareanalysedaccordingtotheirfrequencyacrossthetimeoftheinvestigation,accordingtotheirfrequencywithineachissue,theprominenceofarticles(e.g.wheretheysitinthenewspaper)andanyunusualoccurrences(e.g.newspaperissueswithoutanyarticles).
What are the boundaries of the analysis?Theanalysisisboundedintimeandstrictlytothearticlesextractedfromthenewspaperswithinthatthreemonthperiod.
What is the target of the inferences?Thetargetrelatesbacktoouroriginalquestion—howthepapercoveredtheissueandwhatcontributionthenewspapermightmaketopeople’slearningabouttheissue.
[AfterKrippendorf2004]
Figure 1: Issues addressed within data analysis
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The educative role of a regional newspaper 279
From3Februaryto1May2009,eachissueoftheBuloke Timeswasscannedforarticlesonwaterissuesorscarcity.Thecontentofthearticlesrelatedtothewaterscarcityissue,butthearticleheadingdidnotnecessaryhavetocontainwordsillustrativeoftheissue.Classifieds,sport-relatedstories,advertisementsandtelevisionguideswereexcludedfromthecollection.Wesampledeveryeditionofthenewspaperinthespecifictimeperiod.Thisisacensus(Riffe,Lacy&Fico1998),takingcountofarticlesincontext—exceptthatwehavefocusedonlyoncertaincontent.Acensusisthebestmethod(ratherthantaking,forexample,oneeditioneverymonth)witharelativelysmallamountofcontent,andavoidsdistortionofresults.Thetimeperiod(FebruarytoApril2009)waschosenasitcoverstheperiodjustpriortofieldworkandthereforemayhavehadsomebearingonourparticipants’responses(seeSmith&Campbell2009forareportonthefieldwork).Toalignourmethodmorecloselywithanactualcensus(i.e.ofallcontent),wecountedthenumberofarticlesrelatedtowaterscarcityasaproportionofthetotalnewspapercontent.Wealsolocatedeachstorywithinthenewspapertoascertainits‘prominence’(e.g.pagenumber,placeonpage)(Riffeetal.1998:132).Wewereawarethatasimplecountingortallyingapproachcouldberegardedassuperficialandreveallittleabouttheactualvalueofwaterscarcitytothecommunityofreadership(Riffeetal.1998:36)oftheBuloke Times,whichiswhywelookedattheprominenceandcontentofarticles.
Thearticlescollectedwerethenfurthergroupedintoanumberofcategoriesorthemes.Wehavedonethisonasimple‘groupingbasis’wheretherecordedunits‘sharecommonattributes’(Riffeetal.1998:86).Wecouldhavechosenmorecomplexcategorisation,forexample,‘hierarchicalallocation’,butasallofourselectionscomeunderonemajorthemeofwaterissues/scarcity,thisdidnotseemrelevant.
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280 Coral Campbell, Erica Smith and Emma Siesmaa
Ourselectedthemesforarticleswere:• reportsofeducativeevents—eventswhichintendedto‘educate’
• educative—articleswhichtellpeople‘howto’docertainactivities(i.e.directlyinstructionalordidactic)
• outcome—reportingontheprogressofawater-relatedinitiativeorprogram
• politicalorregulatory—reportsonpoliticalissuesorregulationsrelatingtocopingwithdrierconditions
• miscellaneous—allotherarticleswithrelevancetowaterscarcity/drierconditions.
Thearticleswereanalysedonthebasisoftype,frequency,prominenceandclustering.
Findings
Thedatacollectedarerepresentedwithintwotableswhichsummarisethetrendswefoundaswecountedthenumberofarticlesrelatedtowaterscarcity.Table1isarawtallywhichreportsthenumberofeachcategoryofarticlerelatedtothedateofthenewspaperacrossthethreedesignatedmonths.Theshadingrefersto‘clumping’ofsomethemesacrosstime.
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The educative role of a regional newspaper 281Ta
ble
1:
Raw
tally
of a
rtic
les,
gro
uped
by
them
es a
gain
st d
ate
of is
sue
Dat
e of
th
e B
ulo
ke T
imes
n
ewsp
aper
re
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e
Rep
orts
of
edu
cati
ve
even
ts
Ed
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tive
Ou
tcom
eP
olit
ical
/re
gula
tory
Mis
cell
aneo
us
Tot
alT
ren
ds
3 February
22
32articlesacross
February
(7issues)
6February
11
24
10February
12
11
27
13February
22
15
17February
32
27
24February
11
2
27February
13
15
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282 Coral Campbell, Erica Smith and Emma Siesmaa
Dat
e of
th
e B
ulo
ke T
imes
n
ewsp
aper
re
leas
e
Rep
orts
of
edu
cati
ve
even
ts
Ed
uca
tive
Ou
tcom
eP
olit
ical
/re
gula
tory
Mis
cell
aneo
us
Tot
alT
ren
ds
3March
11
13
16articlesacross
March
(9issues)
6March
11
11March
11
13March
11
2
17March
21
14
20March
21
14
24March
Noarticles
27March
11
31March
Noarticles
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The educative role of a regional newspaper 283
Dat
e of
th
e B
ulo
ke T
imes
n
ewsp
aper
re
leas
e
Rep
orts
of
edu
cati
ve
even
ts
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Ou
tcom
eP
olit
ical
/re
gula
tory
Mis
cell
aneo
us
Tot
alT
ren
ds
3April
21
317articlesacrossApril
(7issues)
7April
11
9April
11
17April
13
15
21April
21
3
24April
21
3
28April
11
1May
11
13
3
Total
1416
196
1368
%(rounded)
20.5
23.5
289
19100
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284 Coral Campbell, Erica Smith and Emma Siesmaa
Table2showsthelocationofeachstorywithineacheditionofthenewspaper—thatis,its‘prominence’.Thetablealsoprovidesinformationonthetotalnumberofarticleswithinthedatededition,bothasrawscoresandasapercentageoftotalarticles,againprovidingsomeevidenceoftheimportanceoftheissueofwaterscarcityatthatparticularinstanceintime.
Table 2: Overview of articles relating to relative importance and prominence
Issue 2009
Number of articles †
Percentage of coverage
Story prominence (location)*
Article theme
Tuesday3February
2from27 7.4 p.9,p.12 Outcome
Friday6February
4from19 21 p.6–p.13 Varied:Political/regulatory;Outcome;
Educative;Political/regulatory
Tuesday10February
7from12 58 p.2–p.16 Varied:Miscellaneous;
Reportsofeducativeevents;Outcome;Educative;
Political/regulatory
Friday13February
5from19 26 p.2–p.11 Varied:Reportsofeducativeevents;Outcome;
Miscellaneous
Tuesday17February
7from14 50 p.1–p.12 Varied:Outcome;
Educative;Miscellaneous
Friday20February
0from20 - n/a n/a
Tuesday24February
2from17 11.8 p.9 Outcome;Miscellaneous
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The educative role of a regional newspaper 285
Issue 2009
Number of articles †
Percentage of coverage
Story prominence (location)*
Article theme
Friday27February
5from21 23.8 p.1–p.10 Varied:Educative;
Miscellaneous;Reportsofeducativeevents
Tuesday3March
3from18 16.6 p.7–p.15 Varied:Educative;
Miscellaneous;Outcome
Friday6March
1from22 4.5 Article1:p.12 Article1:Educative
Wednesday11March
1from28 3.6 p.9 Miscellaneous
Friday13March
2from14 14.2 p.6–p.7 Political/regulatory;
Miscellaneous
Tuesday17March
3from14 21.4 p.2–p.11 Reportsofeducativeevents
Miscellaneous;Educative
Friday20March
4from16 25 p.1–p.11 Reportsofeducativeevents;Educative;Outcome
Tuesday24March
0from22 - N/A n/a
Friday27March
1from23 4.3 p.2 Outcome
Tuesday31March
0from33 - N/A n/a
Friday3April
3from33 9 p.2–p.19 Outcome;Miscellaneous
Tuesday7April
1from25 4 p.13 Educative
Thursday9April
1from21 4.8 p.11 Political/regulatory
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286 Coral Campbell, Erica Smith and Emma Siesmaa
Issue 2009
Number of articles †
Percentage of coverage
Story prominence (location)*
Article theme
Friday17April
5from34 14.7 p.1–p.12 Political/regulatory;
Reportsofeducativeevents;Outcome
Tuesday21April
3from22 13.6 p.10–p.15 Educative;Reportsofeducativeevents
Friday24April
3from16 18.8 p.1–p.9 Outcome;Reportsofeducativeevents
Tuesday28April
1from28 3.6 p.10 Reportsofeducativeevents
Friday1May
3from16 18.8 p.1–p.9 Educative;Outcome;
Miscellaneous
†Articlesexcludedfromcountwereclassifieds,sport-relatedstories,advertisementsandtelevisionguides*StoryprominencewasbasedonamodelsuggestedbyRiffeetal.(1998)
Table1showsthatthelargestcategoryofrelevantarticles(28%)wasrelatedtoreportingontheprogressofaninitiativeorprogram(outcometheme).Thenextmostprominenttypeofarticle(23.5%)wasthe‘educativetheme’whichassistedreaderstounderstand‘howto’accomplishsometaskorother.Thethemesof‘reportsofeducativeevents’or‘miscellaneous’’followedcloselyintermsofcommonalityandthe‘politicalorregulatory’themedarticlesrepresentedlessthan10%ofthetotalnumberofrelevantarticles.
Acrossthethreemonths,therewere32articlesrelatingtowaterscarcityanddrierconditionsinthesevenissuesinFebruary(Table1).Thisaveragesoutataboutfourtofivearticlesperedition,ortousepercentageproportion,23%ofallnewspaperarticlesacrossFebruaryrelatedtothethemeofwaterissues/scarcity(Table2)(withpeaksof58%and50%intheeditionsof10Februaryand17February).InMarch,thenumberofarticlesdroppeddramaticallyto16articlesin
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The educative role of a regional newspaper 287
the9issues—fewerthan2articlesperedition,orproportionally8%oftotalcoverage.TheotherinterestingobservationisthattwoissuesinMarchcontainnoarticlesofwaterscarcityatall.InApril,therewere17articlesacross7issues,averagingtwotothreearticlespernewspaperissue,proportionally11%ofallnewspaperarticlesrelatedtowaterissuesorscarcity.
Ifweconsiderthe‘clumping’trends,wenotice,notunsurprisingly,thateducative,outcomeandmiscellaneousthemeswereclumpedmostlyaroundFebruarywhichalsowasthemonthwhenmostarticleswereincorporatedinthenewspaper.However,therewasasimilar,butlessstrong,clumpingof‘reportsofeducativeevents’articlesinthelatterpartofApril.
Theotherdatatostudyfromthistablearethe‘prominent’articleswhichfeatureonpageone.Usinglocationasanindicationoftheimportanceofthearticle,eightofthe68articlesonwaterissues/scarcitywerefoundonthefirstpage.Fourofthesearticlesranacrossbothpagesoneandtwo,buttherestwerecontainedwithinthefirstpage.Thearticleswerefairlyevenlyspreadacrossthethemes:reportsofeducativeeventstheme(2),educativetheme(2),outcometheme(2),political/regulatorytheme(1)andmiscellaneoustheme(1).
Table3providesanexampleofoneprominentarticleineachtheme.
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288 Coral Campbell, Erica Smith and Emma Siesmaa
Table 3: Examples of articles from each theme, which had significant prominence (page one)
Date & type of article Article heading and description
Reportsofeducativeevents
Capturing rain in bucketsfulThisarticledescribesaworkshoppresentedbyaCSIROstaffmemberaspartoftheongoingprogram‘HealthySoilsWorkshops’bythefarmers’developmentgroup.Thepresenterspokeaboutwateruseefficiencyanditsincreasingimportanceinfarmingsystems.AnotherCSIROstaffmemberalsodiscussedaspectsofsoilcover,tillageandcompactionintermsofwateruseefficiencyandcropgrowth.
Educative Water use challengeThisarticledescribesachallengesetforthbythelocalwaterauthority,inwhichindividualsareaskedtoworkouthowmuchwatertheyuseperdayandtrytoreduceit.Thearticledescribeshowtocalculatewaterusageandthenprovidesexamplesofhowwaterusagecouldbereduced.Thearticlealsoprovidesinformationonthewaterrebate.
Outcome Excitement builds at BirchipThisarticlerelatestoapreviousonewhichindicatedthatLakeTchumwouldsoonbefilled.ItprovidedinformationabouttheongoingworkoftheBirchipAquaticClubtoimproveandpreparethelakeforwater.Picturesaccompaniedthearticleshowingvariousscenesoftheworkingbeeinaction.
Political/regulatory Tchum Lake back in businessThisarticlediscussesthesupplyofchannelwatertotwolocallakes(TchumLakeandGreenLake).Bothlakesareusedforrecreationalpurposes.Thewaterauthorityindicatedthattheentitlementwouldnotberequiredfortownsorruralcustomers.TheTchumLakeAquaticClubcommitteepresidentprovidedcommentonthebenefitstothecommunity.
Miscellaneous Water, water everywhereThisarticlereportsonameetingoftheDonaldHistoryandNaturalHistorySocietywheremembersgaveapresentationofhistoricaltimeswhenthedistricthadplentyofwater.AphotographoffloodsinaDonaldstreetillustratesthearticle.
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The educative role of a regional newspaper 289
Thesearticlesarevariedinnature,withthetwoarticlesaboutLakeTchum,asmallrecreationallakejustoutsideBirchip,oneofthetownsintheregion,illustratingtheimportanceofvisiblebodiesofwatertothecommunities.
Discussion
Table1clearlyshowsthataroundaquarteroftheitemsareaboutreportingonoutcomes,andaboutaquarteraredirectlyeducative,providinginformationforreaderstoacton.Thesetypesofarticlemaybeconsideredto‘keepupmorale’,importantinaregionheavilyaffectedbydrought.Thereportingofanoutcomeforanyprojectoractionwouldbeconsideredapositivethingandcouldproduceanoptimisticresponsefromthereadership.Similarly,aneducativearticlecouldalsoprovideasenseofefficacyasitimpliesthepossibilityfor‘action’oramovementinapositivedirection.Reportsofeducativeeventsarticlesfeatureforone-fifthofthetime.Thesemaybeseenasattemptstoalertthecommunitytofurtherlearningopportunitiesintheimportantareaofcopingwithlesswaterandtospreadtheeffectsoftheseeventsbeyondtheaudiencewhoattendedtheevent.Thisisimportantasastrategyingettinginformationtothe‘hardtoreach’peoplethose,wehadbeentold,whowereunlikelytoattendcommunityevents(Smith&Campbell2009:539).Therelativelysmallproportionofarticlesaboutthepolitical/regulatoryenvironmentcouldsuggestthatthenewspaperassumesreaders’familiaritywiththeregulatoryenvironment,orsimplyalackofnewsontheissue.
WhilewaterscarcityisadominantproblemofthecommunitiesthatmakeupthereadershipoftheBuloke Times,itwouldappearthatthenewspaper’sauthorsgiveitsomeprominence,butdonotmakeittheoverwhelmingcontent.ThemonthofFebruary,inparticular,wasdominatedbywaterscarcityarticlesandperhapsthiscouldbeattributedtothefactthatFebruaryistraditionallythedriest
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290 Coral Campbell, Erica Smith and Emma Siesmaa
monthandwouldconstituteatimeofmajorconcernforthelocalcommunities.ThesocialimpactofdrynesswouldalsobefeltmostinFebruarywhentheheatcouldnotbealleviatedthroughtheuseofmorewater.Thefollowingmonthsseeasignificantdropinthenumberofarticles,with,inApril,theunusualsituationwheretwonewspaperissuescontainednoarticlesaboutwaterscarcity(noneinatotalof55articles).
Whenwelookatthe‘clumping’ofthemes,itisnotsignificantthatthreethemeswereclumpedinFebruary,sincethismonthhadthehighestpercentageofcontentofwaterissues/scarcityarticles.Therewas,however,aminorclumpingofthe‘reportsofeducativeevents’themeacrossfourissuesinApril.Nearlyhalfofallofthereportsofeducativeeventsthemedarticlesacrossthethreemonthsoccurredinthosefourissues.Itispossiblethatthesearticles,andtheeventswhichtheyreport,weretimedtocoincidewiththesowingseason,encouragingfarmerstothinkaboutthecropvarieties,fertiliseruseandsowingtechniques.
Lookingattheprominenceoftheissue,onlyeightofthe68articlesonwaterscarcitywereonthefrontpage,around12%.Ofthetotalnumberofarticlespublishedacrossthethreemonths(N=534),thisrepresentsabout1%.Itseemsatfirstglancesurprisingthatsuchaprominentworld-wideissue,waterscarcity,isnotfeaturedmorestrongly,particularlyasitwasatthetimehavingsuchdevastatingeffectsonthelocalcommunity.OnepossibleexplanationisthatthisregionofVictoriaisconsidereddrylandcountry—waterhasalwaysbeenscarce.Anotherexplanationisthe‘fatigue’inthecommunitywiththeissue;itwasperhapsjudgedthatpeoplewishedtoreadaboutothermatterswhichweremorepositive,particularlyonthefrontpageofthenewspaper.
Thefront-pagearticlesprovide,however,anotherinterestinginsight.Fouroftheseeightfront-pagearticleswerepredominantlyabout
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The educative role of a regional newspaper 291
aparticularfarmers’developmentgroupanditsactivities.Thisisastronglocalsubscription-basedorganisationwhichprovidesinformationandsupporttolocalfarmersthroughactivitiesforitsmembersbutalsoforthewidercommunity(Smith&Campbell2009:531).PreviousresearchbyOlienetal.(1995)statedthatanalysisofthecontentofalocalnewspapercanillustratewhoholdspowerwithinthecommunityandthedegreetowhichpowerisconcentratedwithindifferentgroups.WhenconsideringtheBuloke Times,wecanseethatthepaperdoesinfactfavourthislocalorganisationandplacesitsarticlestothefrontofthepaper.Thisnotonlyensuresthatreadersseethearticlesasbeingofgreaterimportance,butalsoensuresthatthelocalorganisationisconsideredtheprimarysourceofcredibleinformation.Thenewspaperappearstobefavouringoneparticularlocalgroupandmaybeinfluencingthewaythecommunityseesthatgroupaswellasreflectingthetraditionallocalpowerstructures.
Conclusion
Throughconsiderationofthedataandtheiranalysis,wecanattempttoanswerouroriginalresearchquestion:toinvestigatehowthepapercoveredtheissueofdroughtandcopingwithit,andwhatcontributionthenewspapermightmaketopeople’slearningabouttheissue.
Ingeneral,acrossthethreemonthsofthecollectionofthearticles,whilethepercentagecontentdidvary,itwouldbeaccuratetosaythatwaterscarcityandrelatedaspectsweresignificantforthereadersoftheBuloke Times.Wecanalsoaddthatthenewspaperwasmirroringtheconcernsandvaluesofthecommunity(Holder&Treno1997).
Inourdiscussion,weidentifiedseveralfactorsrelatingtothenewspaperanditsroleinthecommunity.Initscontent,webelievethatthenewspaperisreflectingthevaluethecommunityplaceson
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theissueofwaterscarcity.Itscoveragewasintenseinthemonthwhenwaterscarcitywouldbeexpectedtobeoneofthedominantlocalissues,butfellawayagainastimeprogressed.Thearticlestendedtofocusonpositivestoriesratherthannegativeones,reflectingthecommunity’sneedforimprovementsinmorale.
Theotherfactorindicatedbytheresearchwastheissueofpower.Asdiscussedearlier,someresearchers(e.g.Cohen2000)maintainthatlocaljournalistsoftenframearticlesinwaysthatreflecttraditionalpowerstructures.Mosco(1998)statedthat‘[c]ommunitymediacan…highlightthestrengthofparticulargroupswithinthecommunityaswellasdisenfranchiseothers’.Thenumberofarticlesrelatingtothefarmers’developmentgroupanditsactivitieswasfargreaterthananyothersinglegroup.Itisunclearwhichgroupsmayhavebeendisenfranchisedbutcertainlyothergroupsinthecommunity,suchasLandcaregroups,didnotreceivethesamepublicity.Notonlydidthenewspaperhighlightparticulargroups,butthroughconsistentcoveragemayinfacthaveacted‘asbrokersofpower,negotiatingwhoistobeempoweredandwhoisnot’(Olienetal.1995).Bypromotingtheactivitiesofthegroup,thenewspapermayhavebeenenhancingitsstatuswithinthecommunity,andassistinginthedevelopmentofthegroup,perhaps,butnotnecessarily,tothedetrimentofotherorganisations.
Whatcontributionmightthenewspapermaketopeople’slearningabouttheissue,andeventochangingbehaviour?Bylookingatthegroupingofthearticlesonwaterscarcity,wecanseethatthenewspaperhastakenonasignificantroleof‘informer’.Alargepercentageofthearticleswereeducative,providinginformationonoutcomesofprojectsoflocalinterest,reportingontheactivitiesofcommunitygroupsandalsoprovidinginstanceswherethenewspaperprovidesthe‘mouthpiece’forbodiesorindividualstoinstructthereader.However,betterinformationdoesnotnecessarilyleadtobehaviourchange(Marxetal.2008).Ourbroaderresearchinthe
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The educative role of a regional newspaper 293
communityindicatedthattherewasdifferentialaccesstoseveraltypesoflearningactivityamonggroupsandindividualsinthecommunity(Smith&Campbell2009),soclearlyanyeducativeoutletishelpfulinaddingtothemixofavailablelearningactivities.
Werecognisethelimitationsoftheresearchundertakenonthenewspapercollection.Howcontentisinterpretedorwhoseperspectiveor‘partyline’isbeingconsidered,cannotformpartofthispaper,apartfromrecognisingthroughtheanalysiswhetherparticulargroupswerebeingprivilegedinsomeway.Thecontentanalysisasperformedinthisstudycannotmakestatementsabouttheeffectsofthearticlesontheaudience(Wimmer&Dominick:139).Forthatinformation,wewouldneedtosurveythereadershiporundertakeinterviewswithindividualandgroupswithinthecommunitythatfocusspecificallyuponthewaysinwhichtheyusethenewspapertolearn.Differentmembersofthecommunitywouldbelikelytoprocesstheinformationdifferently(Flemingetal.2006).However,astrengthoftheresearchisthepriorfieldworkundertakeninthecommunitysothatinourinterpretationweareabletodrawupontheunderstandingsofthecommunityanditsconcernsgainedthroughthatresearch.Forexample,inthepriorfieldwork,wefoundthatmostofthoseinterviewedtendedtoholdthefarmers’developmentgroupasthesinglemostexpertsourceofinformationforfarmers.Thiswasconfirmedthroughthenewspaperanalysis,wherearticlesfromthisgroupwereplacedclosesttothefrontofthenewspaper.
Intermsofourclassificationofthetotalityoflearningstrategiesaboutwaterscarcityandbeingdrierinthecasestudy(Smith&Campbell2009:537),learningfromnewspapersfallswithinthecategory,‘Individuallearningthroughthereceiptofprovidedinformation’.However,learningfromnewspapersbothfeedsintoandfeedsuponmostoftheothercategories:forexample,theBuloke Times’articlesinthetheme‘reportsofeducativeevents’reportuponlearningeventsfromthecategories‘communityactivity’and‘farmers’
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294 Coral Campbell, Erica Smith and Emma Siesmaa
developmentgroups’.Hencethelearningopportunitiescouldbesaidtoworkinaniterativemanner.Thiscouldbeseengenerallyasproductive,althoughitcouldalsoreinforceexclusionasdiscussedabove.
Itispossibletoidentifysomecontributionsofthissmallresearchproject.Toourknowledgethisisthefirstpaperwhichusesnewspapercontentanalysistoexploretheissueofhowadrought-strickencommunitycopeswiththedrought.Moregenerally,webelieveourcategorisationoflearning-relatedcontentinnewspapersisunique,andcouldbeappliedtotheeducativeroleofalocalnewspaperaboutotherissuesofcommunityconcern,notjustdrought.Webelievethatthestructuredapproachdevelopedinthispapercouldbeofusetolocalnewspapersinenablingthemtoreflectontheireducativerole,andtocommunitygroupsandotherorganisationswhoseektoeducatemembersoftheircommunitiesmoreeffectivelyonissuesofconcern.
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Appendix—Expanded Table 2: Overview of articles relating to relative importance and prominenceIssue 2009 Number
of articles †
Percentage of coverage
Story prominence (location)*
Article theme
Tuesday3February
2from27 7.4 Article1:p.9Article2:p.13
Article1:OutcomeArticle2:Outcome
Friday6February
4from19 21 Article1:p.6Article2:p.6Article3:p.9Article4:p.13
Article1:Political/regul’yArticle2:OutcomeArticle3:EducativeArticle4:Political/regul’y
Tuesday10February
7from12 58 Article1:p.2Article2:p.9Article3:p.10Article4:p.10Article5:p.10Article6:p.12Article7:p.16
Article1:MiscellaneousArticle2:MiscellaneousArticle3:ReportsofeducativeeventsArticle4:OutcomeArticle5:EducativeArticle6:EducativeArticle7:Political/regul’y
Friday13February
5from19 26 Article1:p.2Article2:p.?Article3:p.?Article4:p.7Article5:p.11
Article1:ReportsofeducativeeventsArticle2:OutcomeArticle3:MiscellaneousArticle4:ReportsofeducativeeventsArticle5:Outcome
Tuesday17February
7from14 50 Article1:pp.1–2Article2:pp.1–2Article3:p.3Article4:p.3Article5:p.8Article6:p.9Article7:p.12
Article1:OutcomeArticle2:EducativeArticle3:MiscellaneousArticle4:MiscellaneousArticle5:OutcomeArticle6:EducativeArticle7:Educative
Friday20February
0from20 - n/a n/a
Tuesday24February
2from17 11.8 Article1:p.9Article2:p.9
Article1:OutcomeArticle2:Miscellaneous
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296 Coral Campbell, Erica Smith and Emma Siesmaa
Issue 2009 Number of articles
†
Percentage of coverage
Story prominence (location)*
Article theme
Friday27February
5from21 23.8 Article1:p.1Article2:p.4Article3:p.6Article4:p.7Article5:p.10
Article1:EducativeArticle2:MiscellaneousArticle3:EducativeArticle4:EducativeArticle5:Reportsofeducativeevents
Tuesday3March
3from18 16.6 Article1:p.7Article2:p.7Article3:p.15
Article1:EducativeArticle2:MiscellaneousArticle3:Outcome
Friday6March
1from22 4.5 Article1:p.12 Article1:Educative
Wednesday11March
1from28 3.6 Article1:p.9 Article1:Miscellaneous
Friday13March
2from14 14.2 Article1:p.6Article2:p.7
Article1:Political/regul’yArticle2:Miscellaneous
Tuesday17March
3from14 21.4 Article1:p.2Article2:p.10Article3:p.11Article4:p.11
Article1:Reportsofeducativeevents
Article2:MiscellaneousArticle3:EducativeArticle4:Educative
Friday20March
4from16 25 Article1:pp.1–2Article2:p.3Article3:p.9Article4:p.11
Article1:ReportsofeducativeeventsArticle2:EducativeArticle3:OutcomeArticle4:Reportsofeducativeevents
Tuesday24March
0from22 - n/a n/a
Friday27March
1from23 4.3 Article1:p.2 Article1:Outcome
Tuesday31March
0from33 - n/a n/a
Friday3April
3from33 9 Article1:p.2Article2:p.6Article3:p.19
Article1:OutcomeArticle2:MiscellaneousArticle3:Outcome
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The educative role of a regional newspaper 297
Issue 2009 Number of articles
†
Percentage of coverage
Story prominence (location)*
Article theme
Tuesday7April
1from25 4 Article1:p.13 Article1:Educative
Thursday9April
1from21 4.8 Article1:p.11 Article1:Political/regul’y
Friday17April
5from34 14.7 Article1:pp.1–2Article2:p.1Article3:p.2Article4:p.10Article5:p.12
Article1:Political/regul’yArticle2:ReportsofeducativeeventsArticle3:OutcomeArticle4:OutcomeArticle5:Outcome
Tuesday21April
3from22 13.6 Article1:p.10Article2:p.10Article3:p.15
Article1:EducativeArticle2:Reportsofeducativeevents
Article3:Reportsofeducativeevents
Friday24April
3from16 18.8 Article1:p.1Article2:p.6Article3:p.9
Article1:OutcomeArticle2:Reportsofeducativeevents
Article3:Reportsofducativeevents
Tuesday28April
1from28 3.6 Article1:p.10 Article1:Reportsofeducativeevents
Friday1May
3from16 18.8 Article1:p.1Article2:p.6Article3:p.9
Article1:EducativeArticle2:OutcomeArticle3:Miscellaneous
†Articlesexcludedfromcountwereclassifieds,sport-relatedstories,advertisementsandtelevisionguides
*StoryprominencewasbasedonamodelsuggestedbyRiffeetal.(1998)
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298 Coral Campbell, Erica Smith and Emma Siesmaa
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300 Coral Campbell, Erica Smith and Emma Siesmaa
About the authors
Coral Campbell is a senior lecturer in Deakin University, and has worked in the fields of science research, school education and higher education. Her current research relates to how people learn in the rural and regional areas and many of her research projects are related to this focus in country areas of Victoria, Australia. In particular, Coral has strong research interests in science education in individuals from birth to adolescents and the systems which support learning science enthusiastically.
Contact details
Faculty of Arts & Education, Deakin University, Pigdons Road, Waurn Ponds, Victoria 3216Tel: +61 3 5227 1485 Fax: +61 3 5227 2260Email: [email protected]
Professor Erica Smith has been researching vocational education and training (VET) and adult education for fifteen years. Prior to that, her careers included community work and human resource management. She has lived in rural and regional Australia, in two States, for almost 20 years. Her major research interests are VET policy, workplace training, apprentices and traineeships, VET practitioners, and young people’s movements between work and education.
Contact details
University of Ballarat, P.O. Box 663, Ballarat, Victoria 3353Tel: 61+ 3 5327 9665 Fax: 61+ 3 5327 9602Email: [email protected]
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The educative role of a regional newspaper 301
Emma Siesmaa, PhD Scholar and Research Assistant, is currently undertaking her doctorate within the School of Human Movement and Sport Sciences. Her thesis is investigating the impact of sport injuries and injury risk perceptions on children’s participation in sport, attracting an Australian Postgraduate Award scholarship and funding from Sport and Recreation Victoria. Emma has also extended her research into the field of Education and worked, more specifically, within various projects exploring issues in Vocational Education and Training.
Contact details
University of Ballarat, P.O. Box 663, Ballarat, Victoria, 3353Tel: 61+ 3 5327 6140Email: [email protected]