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Cannabis And Cognitive Function: Relevant To Psychosis, Nadia Solowij

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Abstract from 'Brainwaves'- The Australasian Society for Psychiatric Research Annual Meeting 2006, 6-8 December, Sydney, Australia

From Neoliberalism To Neoliberalisation: Consolations, Confusions, And Necessary Illusions, Noel Castree

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Of late, I have been conducting a review of empirical research that analyses the relationships between neoliberalism and the nonhuman world.When published, the review will, I hope, be a useful way-station in advancing our understanding of these relationships. In a short space of time there has been a proliferation of research into the `nature of neoliberalism and the neoliberalisation of nature' (McCarthy and Prudham, 2004). Until recently neoliberalism had been the topical preserve of critically minded urban, economic, and development geographers. Now, though, a cohort of environmental geographersöalso critically mindedöhave turned their attention to how the non- human world affects …

Effects Of Sure Start Local Programmes On Children And Families: Early Findings From A Quasi-Experimental, Cross Sectional Study, Jay Belsky, Edward Melhuish, Jacqueline Barnes, Alastair H. Leyland, Helena Romaniuk

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Objective To evaluate the effects of Sure Start local programmes (SSLPs) on children and their families. To assess whether variations in the effectiveness of SSLPs are due to differences in implementation. Design Quasi-experimental cross sectional study using interviews with mothers and cognitive assessment of children aged 36 months who speak English. Setting Socially deprived communities in England: 150 communities with ongoing SSLPs and 50 comparison communities. Participants Mothers of 12 575 children aged 9 months and 3927 children aged 36 months in SSLP areas; mothers of 1509 children aged 9 months and 1101 children aged 36 months in comparison communities. …

The Impact Of Pre-School On Children's Development: Using Research To Inform Policy, Kathy Sylva, Edward Melhuish, Pam Sammons, Iram Siraj-Blatchford, Brenda Taggart

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Presentation made at The Final Workshop for Evidence-based Policy Research in Education, 6-7 July 2006, London, United Kingdom

The Effective Pre-School Provision In Northern Ireland [Eppni] Project: Summary Report 1998-2004, Edward Melhuish, Louise Quinn, Karen Hanna, Kathy Sylva, Pam Sammons, Iram Siraj-Blatchford, Brenda Taggart

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

The Effective Pre-school Provision in Northern Ireland (EPPNI) project investigated the effects of pre-school education and care on children's development for children aged 3-8 years old. The EPPNI team collected a wide range of information on over 800 children who were studied longitudinally until the end of Key Stage 1. Data were collected on children's developmental profiles (at ages 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 years), background characteristics related to their parents, the child's home learning environment, and the pre-school settings children attended. Eighty pre-school settings were drawn from a range of providers (nursery schools/classes, playgroups, private day nurseries, …

Evaluating Sure Start, Edward Melhuish, Jay Belsky, Alastair Leyland, Angela Anning, Zarrina Kurtz, Jane Tunstill, Mog Ball, Pamela Meadows, Jacqueline Barnes, Martin Frost, Beverley Botting

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Sure Start local programmes are a cornerstone in the Government's effort to break the inter-generational cycle of disadvantage. Their principal goal is to enhance the functioning of children under four years and their families by improving services provided in over five hundred small communities that are among the 20 per cent most deprived in England.

Exploring The Early Expectations And Ambitions Of First Generation Female Students Within An Australian University, Sarah Elizabeth O'Shea

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

No abstract provided.

A Novel In Vitro Exposure Technique For Toxicity Testing Of Selected Volatile Organic Compounds, Shahnaz Bakand, Chris Winder, Christian Khalil, Amanda Hayes

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Exposure to vapours of volatile chemicals is a major occupational and environmental health concern. Toxicity testing of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) has always faced significant technological problems due to their high volatility and/or low solubility. The aim of this study was to develop a practical and reproducible in vitro exposure technique for toxicity testing of VOCs. Standard test atmospheres of xylene and toluene were generated in glass chambers using a static method. Human cells including: A549-lung derived cell lines, HepG2-liver derived cell lines and skin fibroblasts, were grown in porous membranes and exposed to various airborne concentrations of selected VOCs …

In Vitro Cytotoxicity Of Formaldehyde And Glutaraldehyde Mixtures In Human Cells, Shahnaz Bakand, Chris Winder, Christian Khalil, Amanda Hayes

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

The cytotoxicity of formaldehyde, glutaraldehyde and their binary mixtures was determined using the MTS (tetrazolium salt; Promega) in vitro assay. Cytotoxicity endpoints were investigated in human cells including; pulmonary type II-like epithelial cell lines (A549), hepatoma cell lines (HepG2) and skin fibroblasts. In order to study the cytotoxic effects of airborne formaldehyde, standard atmospheres at concentrations below 10 ppm (12.3 mg/m³) were generated using a dynamic diffusion method. Formaldehyde was bubbled through serum free culture media and cell viability was investigated after treating cells with formaldehyde air samples. HepG2 cells were found to be more sensitive (IC_{50 …}

Geographical Knowledges, Universities, And Academic Freedom, Noel Castree

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

I want to offer some perspectives on the university as an institution, on the conditions of knowledge production that should prevail in that institution, and on how those conditions affect the kinds of geographical knowledges circulating within and beyond universities. In recent years, there has been a lot of published debate in geography books, journals, e-lists, and newsletters about making the professional knowledges we collectively produce more `relevant'.

Western Environmentalism Today: Paradoxes, Problems And Challenges, Noel Castree

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

It's forty years since the birth of the modern environmental movement in the West and beyond. After a thrilling late 1960s infancy and a rather successful 1970s adolescence, the movement should have enjoyed an early adulthood full of achievement. Yet its development was thoroughly arrested as the 1980s gave way to the 90s. For many environmentalists, the apparent greening of governments, firms and consumers after the first Earth Summit was simply a sham. For instance, veteran American campaigner Tom Athanasiou (1996) regarded Rio and its aftermath as little more than "a long flatulence".1 Fifteen years on, however, there are suddenly …

Dive In 2005 - A Cd Rom In 'Student Speak' For First Year Students, Pauline Lysaght, Russell Walton

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

This paper reports on the development of a CD-ROM for undergraduate students beginning their first year of study in 2005 in the Faculty of Education at the University of Wollongong. The CD (entitled Dive In 2005: A Guide for Beginning Education Students) includes information about many aspects of university life ranging from general policies, procedures and resources to facultyspecific items that support the academic and social life of Education students. An innovative feature of Dive In 2005 is the degree of involvement of “experienced” undergraduate students at every level of its production. By drawing on the wisdom of these continuing …

Vygotskyan Inner Speech And The Reading Process, John F. Ehrich

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

There is a paucity of Vygotskian influenced inner speech research in relation to the reading process. Those few studies which have examined Vygotskian inner speech from a reading perspective tend to support the notion that inner speech is an important covert function that is crucial to the reading process and to reading acquisition in general. However, Vygotskian notions on inner speech, in particular, syntactic and semantic aspects of inner speech (e.g., predication, word sense and agglutination), have not been investigated in relation to the study of the decoding aspects of silent reading. In this paper, an argument is presented that …

Teachers’ Conceptions Of Teaching At A Gulf University: A Starting Point For Revising A Teacher Development Program, L. Smith

University of Wollongong in Dubai - Papers

As universities are increasingly attracting students from a wider range of cultural and ethnic backgrounds, one of the challenges faced by educational developers is preparing academics to teach in a cross-cultural environment. In order to do this, teacher development programs often need to be adapted and up-dated. A widely-recognised starting point in this process is the examination of teachers’ conceptions of teaching. This paper presents a small-scale, qualitative study which looks at the conceptions of teaching held by lecturers from different ethnic and educational backgrounds at a multicultural university in the United Arab Emirates. The university in question is a …

Teaching Games For Understanding (Tgfu); A Model For Pre Service Teachers, Gregory J. Forrest, Paul I. Webb, Philip J. Pearson

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

Teaching Games for Understanding (TGfU) has been present in the Australian sporting community for the last ten years and more recently as the focus of physical education lessons in some Australian schools’ curriculum, especially in NSW. However, the effectiveness of TGfU as a teaching method is limited by the skill of its practitioners in developing the appropriate games and questions to generate understanding opportunities for their students. If practitioners do not develop these skills, there may be limited opportunities for their students to gain skills in critical analysis, deep knowledge and deep understanding, essential in any productive pedagogy.

Linking Teaching Games For Understanding And Quality Teaching In Nsw Secondary Schools, Philip J. Pearson, Paul I. Webb, Kim Mckeen

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

A discussion paper entitled Quality teaching in NSW public schools (Department of Education and Training, 2003) has been developed to improve teaching practice and hence student learning outcomes. The model of pedagogy outlined in this document focuses on the three dimensions of intellectual quality, quality learning environment and significance.

Elements associated with these dimensions such as deep understanding, higher order thinking, student direction and inclusivity can be difficult for teachers to implement into practical lessons. When effectively implemented TGfU is one strategy that allows teachers to address these elements when teaching games in physical education and sport. TGfU places an …

The Perception And Production Of Phones And Tones: The Role Of Rigid And Non-Rigid Face And Head Motion, Denis Burnham, Jessica Reynolds, Eric Vatikiotis-Bateson, Hani Yehia, Valter Ciocca, Rua Haszard Morris, Harold Hill, Guillaume Vignali, Sandra Bollwerk, Helen Tam, Caroline Jones

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

There is evidence, mostly with phones (consonants & vowels), that visual concomitants of articulation facilitate speech perception. Here the visual concomitants of lexical tone are considered. In tone languages fundamental frequency variations signal lexical meaning. In a word identification experiment with auditory-visual words differing only in tone, Cantonese perceivers performed above chance in a Visual Only condition. A subsequent study showed augmentation of word pair discrimination in noise in an Auditory-Visual compared to an Auditory Only condition for Cantonese, tonal Thai speakers, and even non-tone Australian speakers). The source of this perceptual information was sought in an OPTOTRAK production study …

Evaluating Online Mathematics Resources: A Practical Approach For Teachers, Boris Handal, Parvan Handal, Anthony J. Herrington

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

Gradually Internet-based educational resources are making their way into the school mathematics curriculum (Handal & Herrington, 2003). Online resources are potentially useful compared to normal courseware because of their abundance, availability at no cost, platform-free accessibility, and their wide reaching accessibility. On the other hand, a major limitation of online resources is their lack of appropriate pedagogy, coupled with poor instructional design and layout. According to Alessi and Trollip (2001, p. 392), “The tendency for the Web to be used only for presentation of materials greatly restricts its instructional potential”.

Classsim: Preparing Tomorrows Teachers For Classroom Reality, Lisa K. Kervin, Brian Ferry, Lisa A. Carrington

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

This paper reports on an on-line simulation that we have developed to support our pre-service teacher education program. The purpose of this paper is three fold: first it reports on the need identified within the literature for pre-service teacher education to make stronger connections between the theory of their university experience with classroom reality; second it reports on the creation of a prototype version of simulation software (ClassSim) developed to engage pre-service teachers in decision-making processes within a virtual classroom environment; third it reports on our research where the software was used with a cohort of 186 pre-service teachers.

Scaffolding Learners In Authentic, Problem-Based E-Learning Environments: The Geography Challenge, Janice A. Herrington, Gwyn J. Brickell

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

The affordances of online learning technologies have enabled more widespread development of learning environments that facilitate the exploration and solving of complex and realistic problems. In this paper, we describe the design of a real world geography problem, embedded within a web environment that is facilitated by an onsite excursion for data collection. The learning environment has been designed to deliberately address known problems associated with the problem solving approach, specifically in regard to three issues, and uses scaffolding prompts and supports embedded within the environment to facilitate student learning. The paper describes the theoretical foundations for the approach, the …

Young, Fast And Dead: A Fresh Perspective From The Early Driving Group, Amanda Burrell, Tonia L. Gray

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

Risk taking behaviour is synonymous with adolescence. Moreover, epidemiological statistics associated with early driver deaths in Australia paint a disturbing picture. There is considerable debate about the effectiveness of advertising and marketing as a prophylactic to unsafe driving behaviours. This paper discusses the search for innovative approaches to road safety campaigns by accessing the perceptions of the novice driver group. A case scenario was developed by reviewing current literature on adolescent health behaviour, risk awareness, road safety and marketing communication. Initial findings from a pilot study with members of the early driving group, imply that they, as members of the …

Fostering Communities Of Practice During The Creation Of An Online Classroom-Based Simulation, Brian Ferry, Lisa K. Kervin

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

Working with and managing a team can be a challenge in any project development. This paper reports on how a team of researchers, an instructional designer, programmers and graphic artists worked within a community of practice, as simulation software was created and further developed. The simulated classroom represented in this software was designed to enhance the initial practicum experience of pre-service teachers. The teaching of literacy skills in primary schools framed the pedagogical focus of the software – one of the priority areas within primary schooling. We report on how research associated with each iteration of the simulation prototype software …

Teaching Science Concepts In Higher Education Classes With Slow Motion Animation (Slowmation), Garry Hoban, Brian Ferry

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

Clay animation is a form of stop motion animation but is rarely used as a teaching approach in higher education classes because it is too tedious and time consuming. “Slow Motion Animation” (Slowmation) is a simplified form of clay animation that is different in four ways and can be completed in 1-2 hour tutorial or workshop: (i) models of science concepts are made and manipulated in the horizontal plane; (ii) a range of materials can be used; (iii) the animations are played at 2-6 frames per second; and (iv) science concepts are annotated with factual text. This study demonstrates how …

Using The Internet For Professional Development: The Experience Of Rural And Remote Professionals, Anthony J. Herrington, Janice A. Herrington

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

The retention of professionals employed in rural and remote areas of Australia is a critical factor in community growth and sustainability. Retaining professionals depends to a large extent on the availability of support and professional development that is becoming increasingly accessible through the internet. This paper describes a research study that used survey and interview methods to indicate how a range of ten professional groups employed in rural and remote Australia, are accessing the internet for professional development. The findings indicate that email, the world wide web, discussion, chat and listservs were commonly used, however, the ability of professionals to …

From Surviving To Thriving: An Induction Program For Early Career Teachers Of Personal Development, Health And Physical Education, Gregg S. Rowland, Douglas Hearne, Ann Mccormack

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

This paper is a discussion of a project with both face-to-face and online components designed to support early career teachers from the key learning area of Personal development.

Transfer Of Online Professional Learning To Teachers' Classroom Practice: An Analysis Of Eight Cases, Anthony J. Herrington, Janice A. Herrington, Garry Hoban, Doug Reid

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

Professional learning is an important process in enabling teachers to update their pedagogical knowledge and practices. The use of online technologies to support professional learning has a number of benefits in terms of flexibility and scalability. However, it is not clear how well the approach impacts on teachers’ classroom practices. This paper outlines a research study conducted on behalf of a state-based Department of Education to evaluate the transfer of professional learning from online modules about the integration of ICT to the practices of K-12 classroom teachers.

A Partnership For Ipod Pedagogy: Using The Technology Of Millennial Learners Across Educational Contexts, Lisa K. Kervin, Doug Reid, Jeff Vardy, Carroll Hindle

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

This paper explores collaboration between researchers at the tertiary level, with primary school teachers and their students as iPods are integrated into learning experiences. Embarking on this partnership, it is our aim to weave value-added, mutually beneficial and collaborative relationships into our on-going professional interactions as we work towards the development of a pedagogical framework to support classroom teachers in using iPods and podcasting in their educational settings. Such collaborative relationships have been promoted as a way to foster professional relationships, provide learning opportunities for educators, encourage change and develop common understanding across contexts.

Appropriate pedagogy and procedures to assist …

A Technology-Enhanced Multiliteracies Learning Design For Geography Education, Lori Lockyer, Barry Harper

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

Educators are being challenged to prepare students to effectively participate in our increasingly globalised society. Contemporary views of pedagogy suggest supporting learners by providing scaffolds for their engagement in real world tasks - tasks that provide opportunities to both explore and apply their learning through multi-modal expressions' within their diverse contexts. This article describes a project that draws upon the emerging views of multiliteracies in the design of a K-12 education excursion program. The multiliteracies learning design developed for .the program is applied to specific discipline-focused learning objectives and implemented within a technology-enhanced environment, which provides learners with access to …

Questioning The Net Generation: A Collaborative Project In Australian Higher Education, Gregor Kennedy, Kerri-Lee Krause, Kathleen Gray, Terry Judd, Susan J. Bennett, Karl A. Maton, Barney Dalgarno, Andrea Bishop

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

This paper describes a project, which has been supported by the Carrick Institute for Learning and Teaching in Higher Education, that aims to identify how the technologybased tools of a new generation of students can be successfully used by higher education. Recent commentaries propose that Universities are ill-equipped to educate a new generation of learners whose sophisticated use of emerging technologies is incompatible with current teaching practice. This project will investigate this proposed gap between learners’ and teachers’ use of technologies and identify the implications for higher education. This paper presents the rationale of the project, highlighting its critical stance …

An Examination Of The Enablers And Inhibitors Surrounding The Establishment Of A School University Partnership: The Grays Point Project, Julie Kiggins, Lisa K. Kervin, Philip Rouland

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

Collaboration between academics, staff and students is promoted as a way to foster professional relationships, foster change and develop common understanding across both the school and university contexts. In a time when education is under frequent criticism it is necessary to break down the barriers between the two contexts and work together collegially. It is within this climate that a small team of academics from the Faculty of Education at the University of Wollongong and teachers from Grays Point Public School (a southern suburb of Sydney) have launched a collaborative research project. As we begin this professional journey we have …