Compulsory schooling, such as exists in Australia, does not guarantee literacy in the nation. The literature has established that a minority of children do fail to learn to read and write effectively. Failure to learn to read presents a serious disability to those concerned. Programs such as Reading Recovery are used in schools to try and identify at risk children and work with them to reduce illiteracy. Traditional methods of addressing the literacy problem have not proven to be effective. Studies in New Zealand, the U.S.A. and in Australia have established that Reading Recovery is an effective program. However, there is no longitudinal evidence to establish whether it is effective in the long run in the A.C.T. This study sought to establish the long term effectiveness of the program in the A.C.T. It has compared discontinued Reading Recovery children three and five years after they had been discontinued from the program with two 'average ' children from their current class. The discontinued Reading Recovery sample was drawn by random. The two classmate control children were selected by the teachers as performing in the average band of class achievement in reading. Four research instruments were chosen to collect the data. These were, interviews with class teachers and the children themselves, running records, a modified standardized test and an oral retell. The study confirmed that Reading Recovery is effective in the A.C.T. and that gains made whilst on the program were sustained in subsequent years. This being the case, every child who is being diagnosed as 'at risk' should have access to Reading Recovery .

Jean-Baptiste Tavernier (1605-1689), aventurier français parti dès 1631 sur les routes de l’Asie, est l’une des figures majeures du Grand Siècle. Ses voyages en Asie – au nombre de six et dont il publie les relations dès 1676 – témoignent du nouvel engouement européen pour l’Asie et ses contrées exotiques et mystérieuses. Mais au-delà de ses qualités de conteur, Tavernier est avant tout un négociant : pierres de couleurs, perles, pièces de joaillerie et d’orfèvrerie, et surtout diamants provenant des fameuses mines de Golconde en Inde, tous ces objets témoignent de la richesse et de la variété des produits négociés par Tavernier. A chacune des étapes de ses périples, ses cargaisons suscitent curiosité, envie et fascination. Sa clientèle est riche et diversifiée et prouve la facilité avec laquelle Tavernier maîtrise l’art du négoce et celui de la diplomatie. Homme de son temps, acteur majeur des relations entre Orient et Occident en pleine époque de création des nombreuses compagnies des Indes orientales, témoin de l’évolution de la société et des grands conflits socio politiques du XVIIe siècle, Jean-Baptiste Tavernier reflète parfaitement l’évolution du Grand Siècle et les diversités de son approche. Quel est l’héritage de ce personnage essentiel du commerce des pierres précieuses et de l’histoire de la joaillerie ? / Jean-Baptiste Tavernier (1605-1689), a French adventurer who left for Asia in 1631, is one of the major figures of the Grand Siècle. His voyages to Asia – six in total and told thanks to his travelogues he published for the first time in 1676 – bear witness of the new European interest for the Asian continent and its exotic and mysterious cultures. But beyond his qualities as a storyteller, Tavernier was first and foremost a merchant : colored stones, pearls, items of jewelry and gold, and especially diamonds from the famous Golconda mines in India, are examples of the opulent goods bought and sold by Tavernier. At each step of his expeditions, his cargoes arouse curiosity, envy and fascination. His clients are wealthy and eclectic and prove the ease with which Tavernier másters the arts of trading and diplomacy. A man of his time, playing a major role in the forging of relations between the East and the West during the creation of the various East Indian Companies, a witness to social changes and the great sóciopolitical conflits of the XVIIth century, Tavernier’s trajectory mirrors perfectly the evolution of the Grand Siècle and the particularities of his time. What is the legacy of this essential character in the History of jewelry and the precious gemstones trade?