Components of early number sense, as identified in two Delphi studies and in the number sense literature related to mathematics difficulties, were assessed for 176 children in preschools and childcare centres across one local government area in Sydney, Australia, using tasks or modifications of tasks reported in the number sense literature. In addition, the children's receptive vocabulary was measured using The Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (third edition) and math reasoning was measured using Woodcock-Johnson III Tests of Achievement. Although the children demonstrated a broad range of skills, there were no significant differences between children attending childcare and preschools for any of the measures. However, boys performed significantly better than girls in quantitative concepts and girls performed better than boys in subitising. In discussing the data, a comparison is made of the skills demonstrated by children and skills that were highlighted in the two Delphi studies and in the early number sense literature as being essential components of number sense prior to school entry. Implications for kindergarten mathematics curricula and approaches to the teaching of early number skills are discussed.

The research reported in this paper used a modified Delphi procedure in an attempt to establish a consensus on tasks proposed to assess components of number sense identified as essential for early mathematics success by a broad range of academics with expertise in the area of early mathematics. Tasks included as measures of these components were based on assessment tasks developed by early mathematics researchers. Eighteen questionnaires were returned by academics from Australia, the UK, New Zealand, The Netherlands and the USA, all with published work in the areas of early mathematics and/or number sense. Both the proposed components and tasks in the questionnaires were limited to the number domain. The study revealed considerable agreement with a number of the proposed tasks and thus provided a way forward for the development of an early number sense assessment to be trialled with young children prior to their first year of formal schooling.

From preschool to high school, number sense is included as an important outcome in mathematics syllabi. It is a term associated with the development of concepts and skills in mathematics and as such appears frequently in the teaching literature. However number sense is a term yet to be operationally defined. The present study used a modified Delphi procedure to determine the level of agreement amongst six early mathematics experts from Britain, Europe and the United States, with respect to a variety of components of early number sense. The results of this study are discussed in relation to a similar Australasian study and the emerging literature on early number sense assessment. This study revealed some components of number sense worthy of further investigation in relation to early mathematical achievement but also confirmed a lack of consensus on what exactly constitutes early number sense.

Older workers tend to face negative stereotypes that impact on their employability and their training and promotional opportunities. In this paper, the determinants of attitudes of management to older workers in the retail sector are examined. The study finds that top management support, effective utilisation or deployment of older workers and monitoring of the percentage of older workers determines positive attitudes of managers towards older workers. Policy makers have proposed a number of solutions to the issue of labour shortages, including encouraging workers to remain in paid employment beyond the usual retirement age of between 55 to 60 years old. This prospect has made more feasible because of improvements in health knowledge and technologies, and increased longevity. The integration of greater numbers of older workers in the workforce raises a number of issues for employers. These include problems associated with age discrimination and diversity management. Evidence is that ageism exists in organisations despite the presence of legislation prohibiting age discrimination in employment. The paradox is that older people are viewed as unproductive and resistant to change. In reality, they are staying healthier for longer, maintaining active involvement in families and community and (many are) wanting to work longer (Borowski, Encel and Ozanne, 1997). This paper reports on research investigating organisational diversity management practices and their relationship to attitudes of employers in relation to older workers in the Australian retail sector. The first section of the paper examines a review of the literature around ageing and stereotypes. The second section describes the methodology employed. This is followed by the results and finally the discussion section where the implications of the results are discussed.

Many managers have a negative view of older workers. But with support from CEOs, diversity management programs and proper utilisation of experienced workers skills, a more positive image emerges, write Sally Howell, Donna M. Buttigieg and Wendy Webber. Copyright 2006 Sally Howell, Donna M. Buttigieg and Wendy Webber. No part of this article may be reproduced by any means without the written consent of the publisher.

Recent publications in Australia focus on “number sense” as an important component of mathematics instruction. The current study attempted to tap into local expert knowledge in the area of early mathematics in an effort to establish a consensus on which skills reflect the number sense typically acquired by school entry. A modified Delphi procedure was employed whereby participants were asked to indicate their level of agreement with a variety of skills as indicators of number sense in young children. The study raised questions about the efficacy of this type of participatory research when used in relation to an ill‐defined construct. It also revealed a lack of consensus among the group of academics who agreed to participate in the study.

In a 1999 paper Gersten and Chard proposed that number sense might be to mathematics what phonemic awareness is to reading. They explained the role of phonemic awareness in reading acquisition and its influence on reading research and argued that an understanding of the concept of number sense could be equally influential in the field of mathematics, in particular for the population of students at risk of developing mathematical disabilities (MD). The present paper examines the analogy in the light of existing literature in the area of number sense and concludes that while it may have some merit from a research point of view there are some inherent risks in the promotion of the analogy prior to the research community providing a definition of number sense and sufficient evidence that it is a prerequisite for mathematics success.