Digital Commons Network^™

Well-Being, Burnout And Competence : Implications For Teachers., Hitendra Pillay, Richard Goddard, Lynn Wilss

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Traditionally, the teaching role has been one of nurturing and developing students’ potential. However, teachers’ work today comprises a complex mix of various factors that include teaching; learning new information and skills; keeping abreast of technological innovations and dealing with students, parents and the community. These are demanding roles and there are growing concerns about teacher well-being and competence. In particular, teachers are experiencing increasing levels of attrition, stress and burnout. This study investigated the relationship between burnout and competence for a sample of mid-career teachers in primary and secondary schools in Queensland. The results break new ground in reporting …

Changing Perceptions Of Knowledge : Evaluation Of An Innovative Program For Pre-Service Secondary Teachers., Neil Hooley, Rod Moore

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Pre-service programs for secondary teachers have traditionally involved method subjects, where participants are inducted into the curriculum practices of two disciplinary or subject areas. In 2003, Victoria University of Technology, Melbourne, enrolled a small group of fourteen pre-service teachers into an innovative Graduate Diploma of Secondary Education that directly challenged these program assumptions. Method subjects were collapsed into an integrated study of the theory, skills and practices of classroom work and connections were drawn between all enrolled subjects or knowledge. Another key feature of the program involved all pre-service teachers being placed at the one school for their partnership experience, …

Modernist And Postmodernist Arts Of Noise, Part 2: From The Clifton Hill Mob To Chamber Made Opera’S Phobia, Linda Kouvaras

Sound Scripts

This paper will continue to trace negotiations outlined in Part 1 of the music/noise dichotomy as expressed in modernist and postmodernist works.1 Drawing connections with the trajectory of "glitch" in popular music since the 1970s. The paper will examine a number of key ways in which the music/noise dichotomy has been addressed as a borderline dispute between, for example, the embodied and the disembodied, the scored and the unscored, the accidental and the intentional, sense and nonsense, culture and nature. Two key figures from the highly influential group of sound artists who came together at Melbourne's Clifton Hill Community Centre …

Modernist And Postmodernist Arts Of Noise, Part 1: From The European Avant-Garde To Contemporary Australian Sound Art, David Bennett

Sound Scripts

The broad aim of the paper that follows is to test the claim of critics such as Miriam Fraser and Steve Connor that the modernist deconstruction of the music/noise dichotomy has entered a distinctively postmodern phase. The article below therefore traces the history and poetics of this dichotomy from the modernist avant-garde to contemporary Australian postmodernist Sound Art, moving from a discussion of the ideas of Russolo, Cage, Boulez and Schaeffer, to a close reading of Ros Bandt's "Stack" (2000- 01). These themes as expressed in contemporary Australian composition are then explored in Part Two.

Cbd Economic Enhancement Project : Final Report, Beth Walker, Beverley Webster, Anna Wildy

Research outputs pre 2011

The City of J oondalup engaged the Small & Medium Enterprise Research Centre at Edith Cowan University to review the activities of the business community in the Central Business District (CBD) in order to support the City's strategic development plan. This report provides data to inform the future strategic decisions for the City concerning how it will grow and develop its CBD. The project aimed to identify the key indicators of current economic activity within the CBD, which could then be used to assist in the development of a more targeted approach to continuous growth and development strategies for the …

Paediatric Palliative And Supportive Care: Caring For Life: The Needs Of Children And Families In Western Australia, Leanne Monterosso, Linda Kristjanson, Marianne Phillips, Sue Rowell

Research outputs pre 2011

Palliative care is the relief of symptoms, regardless of their impact on the underlying disease process. The philosophical underpinning of current international paediatric palliative and supportive care models is that palliative and supportive care should be offered to all children with life threatening or chronic illnesses/disabilities with complex care needs. This approach allows the integration of cure-directed treatment and palliative care. allowing children to benefit from both philosophies of care. In Australia, there is increasing recognition of the need for the development of appropriate paediatric palliative care services, especially in Western Australia where supportive care services for children with life-limiting …

Tackling Talk : Teaching And Assessing Oral Language, Rhonda Oliver, Yvonne Haig, Judith Rochecouste

Research outputs pre 2011

Tackling Talk was a collaborative research project sponsored by several bodies: the English Teachers Association (ETA), the Australian Literacy Educators' Association (ALEA) through Quality Teacher Program funding and the Association of Independent Schools of WA (AISWA). A team of researchers from the Centre for Applied Language and Literacy Research (CALLR), Edith Cowan University, guided teachers from the public and independent sectors through an action research program involving online/ electronic materials, professional development sessions and personal mentoring. Some 49 teachers from 28 schools from both metropolitan and regional districts of Western Australia were involved in the project.

Diversity In Information And Communication Technologies: The Cost Of Lost Opportunities, Susan Gail Webb

Research outputs pre 2011

The Information and Communication Technology (ICT) industry develops products that are used by many people regardless of gender, age, social status, ethnicity, or religion. Technology has had a significant impact on the way that information is produced, stored and communicated, especially in the fields that have traditionally been heavy producers of information such as libraries and education institutions. Though all types of people use technology, not all types of people are involved in the design and development of technology. Women represent just twenty percent of Australian ICT professionals. They often receive less pay than their male colleagues and are greatly …

Exploring System Factors That Influence Community Development In Online Settings, Christopher Brook, Ron Oliver

Research outputs pre 2011

This paper presents an exploration of the community experience in online settings where the development of a learning community was a key instructional aim. The inquiry used the Learning Community Development Model (Brook & Oliver, 2003) to guide the exploration of the community experience in online settings. The paper reports the findings of a multi-case study that sought to investigate system factors that influence the development of online communities of learning.

A Critical Exploration Of The School Context For Young Adolescents Completing Primary Education, Sasha Stumpers, Lauren Breen, Julie Ann Pooley, Lynne Cohen, Lisbeth Pike

Research outputs pre 2011

Many schools have adopted relational approaches to attend to the social context in which learning transpires. More recently however, such approaches and their supporters have been criticized for not examining the school context in its entirety and the student experience within this context. The current research sought to critically explore young adolescents' experiences within the context of their school. Fifteen year seven students in an Australian primary school were interviewed about their experiences of their school context. The data were analysed using a thematic analysis and a question-ordered matrix was constructed to aid the detection of themes and sub-themes from …

Developing A Framework Of Training For The Older Small Business Owner : Final Report, Beth Walker, Beverley Webster, Julia Turner

Research outputs pre 2011

This study was conducted as a result of the critical issue of the ageing population and the implications this will have on the workforce. An employment option for older workers is to become self-employed and to start their own small businesses, rather than to continue working in mainstream employment, which becomes increasing difficult as employees age. The option of self-employment may be a viable option for older people as uncertainty of employment tenure in mainstream employment continues to increases over time and is a way to utilise work skills and competencies that have been acquired over years of work experience. …

The Impact Of Digital Persona On The Future Of Learning: A Case Study On Digital Repositories And The Sharing Of Information About Children At Risk In Western Australia, Mark Balnaves, Joseph Luca

Research outputs pre 2011

Modern databases and digital depositories have the capacity to store vast amounts of information on individuals. In the case of normal everyday affairs, of course, there may be many databases and many organizations involved in collecting information on individuals. There are two types of digital persona possible in these environments —active persona and passive persona (Clarke, 2001). In this paper the authors will report on initial results from an exploratory study on attitudes towards information sharing in Western Australian education and explore the role of active and passive digital persona in information sharing. Many organizations collect information on students, ranging …

Eccentric Torque-Velocity Relationship Of The Elbow Flexors, Dale Chapman, Michael Newton, Kazunori Nosaka

Research outputs pre 2011

No abstract provided.

Can Sense Of Community Inform Social Capital?, Julie Ann Pooley, Lynne Cohen, Lisbeth Pike

Research outputs pre 2011

This paper examines the theoretical linkage between social capital and sense of community through research studies within four contextual areas. Social capital (SC) can be conceptualized as all the interactions between individuals in a community, and has been examined in various groups and communities. Sense of community (SoC) is a psychological construct that we argue is a correlate of social capital. Sense of community reflects the feelings of attachment and belonging that an individual has towards a community. Through qualitative and quantitative research carried out across the lifespan in four communities in Western Australia (i.e., Perth community, adolescent Jewish community, …

Outcome Evaluation Of The School Drug Education Project: Final Report Presented To The School Drug Education And Road Aware Project, Therese Shaw, Margaret Hall, Donna Cross, Hamilton Greg

Research outputs pre 2011

In 2002, Curtin University's Western Australian Centre for Health Promotion Research provided a report which explored the feasibility of a range of options to evaluate the impact of the School Drug Education Project (SDEP) on students' drug use, perceptions of drug-related harm and attitudes towards drug use. Given the difficulties of achieving a prospective design, this proposal recommended comparing retrospective measures of SDEP participation, level of SDEP training and dose of SDEP implementation with Years 8-12 student drug-related outcome data collected from four large Western Australian studies conducted somewhat concurrently with the School Drug Education Project.

It was hypothesised that …

2005 Survey Report On The Wellbeing Of The Professions: Policing, Nursing And Teaching, Institute For The Service Professions, Edith Cowan University

Research outputs pre 2011

This report assesses the wellbeing of the professions of policing, nursing and teaching in Western Australia. The findings are derived from surveys of how individuals think about their occupations, their colleagues and employers. The level of wellbeing affects the ease of attracting and retaining staff and the quality of delivered services.

We present and discuss summary results of responses to questionnaires sent in 2005 to 5,180 police, 6,000 nurses and 9,000 teachers. Each of the professions is here regarded as a single group. The number of respondents is sufficient to allow many more detailed analyses to be performed and reported …

An Observational Study Of Bail Decision-Making, Alfred Allan, Maria Allan, Margaret Giles, Deirdre Drake, Irene Froyland

Research outputs pre 2011

Pre-trial detention of defendants has important legal, human rights and practical implications for defendants, their families, and society and therefore the area justifies research scrutiny. However, there is a dearth of empirical studies of bail decision-making and most of them have been retrospective studies. Prior studies have nevertheless identified a number of purported shortcomings in bail legislation and decision-making. The rarely used observational methodology employed in this study provided data that are not normally available from official records. The first appearances of 648 defendants were observed in the lower courts in metropolitan Perth (Western Australia) to identify factors that play …

A Feminist Jungian Analysis Of The Representations Of Teenage Females In Films 1950s To 1970s, Lea O'Dea

Theses : Honours

This thesis is framed within the broad study of film theory and analysis. It is my research into the representations of teenage females in mass media films made and released in the USA and Australia in the years before and after the Sexual Revolution of the 1960s and Women's Liberation Movement that began in the 1970s. This work is significant primarily in that it is an analysis specifically of teenage females who feature as lead characters in films. The sample of films has been chosen because as mass media, mainstream films their distribution is indicative of their acceptance within the …

An Examination Of The Transitional Support Needs For Young People Leaving Detention, Kirsten Janke

Theses : Honours

A successful transition from detention to living in the community is a critical step in preventing young people from recidivism and entrenchment in criminal activity (Utting & Vennard, 2000). According to Outcare, an organisation that provides support services to offenders, ex-offenders and their families, there seems to be difficulty accommodating newly released young people in existing accommodation services: additionally, many of these young people are not able to access existing support services which contributes significantly to recidivist behaviour. The purpose of undertaking this qualitative study was to examine the transitional support needs for young people leaving detention. The investigation adopted …

Monitoring Different Types Of Resistance Training Using Session Rating Of Perceived Exertion, Favil Singh

Theses : Honours

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of using the session rating of perceived exertion (RPE) scale to measure physical effort during different types of resistance training exercises and to examine the validity of this scale in rating the entire resistance training sessions of different workouts and intensities. Fifteen male subjects (26.7 ± 4.3 years) performed three different types of resistance training protocols. All protocols consisted of the same five exercises (bench press, back squat, bench pull, shoulder press, and leg extension) but the intensities, rest periods, and numbers of repetitions were different. The strength protocol consisted …

End User Preference Of Customisable Features Within A Course Management System, Diana Taylor

Theses : Honours

Customisation is the means by which people alter and change various elements of their environment with the purpose of making it more suited to their immediate needs. This aids in creating a more personalised experience. People are extremely diverse in terms of age, gender, nationality, and with the dominant presence of technology people also have various levels of computer skills and experience. In the context of computer environments, customisation provides the ability to cater for a diverse user group, providing tools and options that assist with specific tasks, improve accessibility and achieve greater user satisfaction. Carter, MacLean, Lovstard & Moran …

Parental Monitoring And The Role Of Community Norms And Neighbourhood, Katrina Sims

Theses : Honours

This study used a qualitative approach to explore parent perceptions of community norms for keeping track of children's activities, within a low socio-economic neighbourhood. Semi-structured interviews based on a questionnaire used by Kerr and Stattin (2000) were used to explore parent beliefs about three sources of parent information: solicitation, parental control and child disclosure. A sample of eight mothers of children aged nine to twelve from two low socio-economic neighbourhoods in Perth, Western Australia were interviewed. Thematic analysis revealed four themes: shared emotional connections, influence, control versus trust, and communication. Results indicated that parents used varied methods of monitoring children …

Gay And Lesbian Psychological Well-Being: A Thesis Comprising; Psychological Health In Adults From Sexual Minorities (Literature Review); And, A Comparative Exploratory Study Of The Psychological Well-Being Of Gay Male, Lesbian, And Heterosexual Australian Metropolitan Adults (Research Project), Stephen D. Brown

Theses : Honours

Research into the psychological health of members of sexual minorities has been biased towards a medical model of illness and several methodological difficulties need to be considered to critically interpret findings in this area. This review presents relevant literature on sexual minority stressors, positive coping by sexual minority members, and the mixed findings of between-groups comparative research. The medical model bias is evident in an analysis of the measures of psychological health used in research involving sexual minorities. The thesis of considering psychological health of sexual minorities from the broader perspective that includes both well-being and pathology, and of using …

Nurses' Perceptions Of The Pharmacological Management Of Acute Pain Experienced By Patients Hospitalised In The General Ward Setting, Susan Slatyer

Theses : Honours

This study explored and described the experiences and perceptions of nurses managing acute pain in a Western Australian public hospital. The focus was nurses practising in the general ward setting and using current prescribing guidelines. The aim of this research was to explore nurses' attitudes, beliefs and knowledge about pain and pain pharmacology and how this practice setting influences efficient pain management. Qualitative methodology was selected for its ability to explore complex issues in order to build nursing knowledge and guide nursing practice. This study used a descriptive, exploratory design based on a phenomenological approach. The sample comprised ten Registered …

Does Alcohol Use Cause Intimate Partner Violence? The Role Of Alcohol In Intimate Partner Violence: Perspectives Of Women In Domestic Violence Refuges, Angeline C. Swan

Theses : Honours

Studies consistently find an association between alcohol use and intimate partner violence (IPV) and many explanations for this association have been offered. The purpose of this review was to examine the nature of this association and determine the extent to which it is understood. Two questions were addressed. Is there conclusive evidence that alcohol use plays a causal role in IPV? What evidence supports the various theories put forward to explain the association between alcohol use and IPV? The current research indicates that alcohol is a contributing factor to IPV that needs to be understood in terms of other interacting …

A Qualitative Exploration Of The Transition Experience Of Students From A High School To A Senior High School In Rural Western Australia, Amiee-Jade Pereira

Theses : Honours

This review outlines literature on the normative high school transitions that occur during adolescence. Research examines factors affecting the school transition experience (e.g., school size, structure, feeder patterns, and the additive affect of multiple school transitions), student outcomes (e.g., academic performance, self-esteem and psychological symptomatology), and student perceptions of their transition experience. Research limitations include the focus on American, metropolitan schools undergoing the elementary to middle school transition, and the utilisation of quantitative methodologies. Future research needs to examine the experience of students from different countries, both metropolitan and rural, undergoing school transitions. Qualitative methodologies should also be utilised to …

Habermas's Public Sphere : Politics And Australian News Media, Tim Balfour

Theses : Honours

Jurgen Habermas’s theory of an eroded public sphere is common to media studies that address the functions and shortfalls of news media in society. The theory tackles many aspects of society, but is most usually associated with the mass media and its role in facilitating informed public debate among private persons coming together as a public to hold institutions of power to account. The term has been used to such a degree that its authority is taken as rote, which has subsequently reduced the complexity, subtleties and strength of Jurgen Habermas’s original arguments. In turn, this has caused critics to …

Lost Wisdom: An Exploration Of The Experiences Of Women Who Chose To Birth At Home, Lee-Anne Raeside

Theses : Honours

Childbirth literature was explored firstly to gain a historical understanding of childbirth practices over the last century and secondly to explore the influences that determine a woman's birth choice. A shift from midwife-based care to medical-based care has resulted in the majority of births occurring in hospital. This shift has promoted the perspective that childbirth is a risky pathological event to be feared. However, professional perspectives of childbirth vary from birth being seen as a natural and challenging process to birth as a risky event that requires medical intervention. Women's perspectives are shaped by both professional perspectives and a natural …

Between The Red Tent And The Red Haze : Representations Of Perimenopause, Sheena Maureen Mcchlery

Theses : Honours

Perimenopause is a relatively new word in our language. It is found in a variety of texts, from medical literature to popular literature and the Internet. In this thesis, I explore some current representations of perimenopause. To do so, I utilise feminist analyses of representations of premenstrual syndrome and menopause. A feminist theoretical framework guides my methodology and organisation and interpretation of data. My methodology includes an extensive literature review of feminist theorising around premenstrual syndrome and menopause, as well as discourse analysis of textual representations of perimenopause and the use of a reflexive journal as a 'perimenopausal' woman. My …

Girl Du Jour - Girl Of The Day, Sarah Perfrement

Theses : Honours

Girl du jour explores and discusses a select group of women's lives, as well as factors influencing the development of young women's identities. The project offers a personal and intimate insight into the women's lives through the use of documentary/photojournalism whilst also incorporating the choreographed image. Girl du jour explores the group of young women's lives both theoretically and visually, making reference to the performance of identity, women's issues, body image (including young women and the influence of the fashion industry) and motherhood. The women depicted are exposed in their intimate, public and social lives are depicted in an attempt …