Digital Commons Network^™

Where Is The Evidence? Realising The Value Of Grey Literature For Public Policy & Practice: A Discussion Paper, Amanda Lawrence, John Houghton, Julian Thomas, Paul R. Weldon

Dr Paul Weldon

The internet has profoundly changed how we produce, use and collect research and information for public policy and practice, with grey literature playing an increasingly important role. The authors argue that grey literature (i.e. material produced and published by organisations without recourse to the commercial or scholarly publishing industry) is a key part of the evidence produced and used for public policy and practice. Through surveys of users, producing organisations and collecting services a detailed picture is provided of the importance and economic value of grey literature. However, finding and accessing policy information is a time-consuming task made harder by …

Barriers And Facilitators For Colorectal Cancer Screening Practices In The Latino Community: Perspectives From Community Leaders, Ana Natale-Pereira, Jonnie Marks, Marielos Vega, Dawne Mouzon, Shawna Hudson, Debbie Salas-Lopez

Debbie Salas-Lopez MD, MPH

BACKGROUND: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second-leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States and the third most commonly diagnosed cancer among Latinos. While Latinos represent one of the fastest-growing ethnic groups in the United States, their participation in cancer prevention and treatment trials is low. METHODS: Thirty-six Latino community leaders participated in five focus groups that examined factors affecting CRC screening practices among Latinos. RESULTS: The top four barriers identified were low knowledge and awareness of CRC, language barriers, lack of insurance, and undocumented legal status. Additional barriers included seeking health care only when sick, fatalism, fear, denial …

Perspectives On Cancer Screening Among Latino Community Members And Internal Medicine Residents, Debbie Salas-Lopez, Dawne Mouzon, Jonnie Marks, Neil Kothari, Ana Natale-Pereira

Debbie Salas-Lopez MD, MPH

BACKGROUND: Latinos have lower rates of cancer screening, partially because of cultural beliefs that conflict with those of health care professionals. Moreover, established programs for training physicians in cultural competency often fail to incorporate input from the community.

METHODS: To explore beliefs about cancer and cancer screening among Latino community members and internal medicine residents. Three focus groups of Latino community members (n = 31) and one focus group of internal medicine residents (n = 9) were conducted to compare ideas regarding cancer and cancer screening.

RESULTS: We identified clear disconnects between residents and Latino community members regarding their understandings …

Investigating Synergies Between Literacy, Technology And Classroom Practice, Lisa Kervin, Irina Verenikina, Pauline Jones, Olivia Beath

I. Verenikina

The ways educators incorporate technologies into their classroom literacy experiences and the implications these present for professional practices have been the focus of discussion for some time. We believe it timely to re-examine these debates in a period of 'digital reform' as we consider the realities teachers report as they use technology as a tool in literacy classrooms. In doing this, we acknowledge the potential of new technologies such as laptops, wireless connectivity, Interactive White Boards and mobile communication devices to reshape pedagogic activity within primary classrooms but aim to capture the reality reported by active practitioners. In this paper …

From Theory To Practice: What Does The Metaphor Of Scaffolding Mean To Educators Today?, Irina Verenikina

I. Verenikina

The current emphasis on rising educational standards in Australian society (eg A Commonwealth Government Quality Teacher Initiative, 2000) has stimulated a growing interest in Vygotsky's socio-cultural theory widely renowned for its profound understanding of teaching and learning. The metaphor of scaffolding commonly viewed as underpinned by socio-cultural theory and the zone of proximal development in particular, has become increasingly popular among educators in Australia (Hammond, 2002). Teachers find the metaphor appealing as it "offers what is lacking in much literature on education - an effective conceptual metaphor for the quality of teacher intervention in learning" (Hammond, 2002, p.2). However, there …

Intersection Of Trajectories: A Newcomer In A Community Of Practice., Irina Verenikina, Anthony Herrington, Matthew Campbell

I. Verenikina

No abstract provided.

Considering The Work Of Martin Nakata's "Cultural Interface": A Reflection On Theory And Practice By A Non-Indigenous Academic, Colleen Mcgloin

Colleen McGloin

This is a reflective paper that explores Martin Nakata's work as a basis for understanding the possibilities and restrictions of non-Indigenous academics working in Indigenous studies. The paper engages with Nakata's work at the level of praxis. It contends that Nakata's work provides non-Indigenous teachers of Indigenous studies a framework for understanding their role, their potential, and limitations within the power relations that comprise the "cultural interface". The paper also engages with Nakata's approach to Indigenous research through his "Indigenous standpoint theory". This work emerges from the experiential and conceptual, and from a commitment to teaching and learning in Indigenous …

Project Finance: Transactional Evidence From Australia, Michael Regan

Michael Regan

The international project finance market is experiencing a period of significant change. The new Basel III capital adequacy rules will make it harder for banks to provide long-term project finance, and alternative sources of finance such as the shadow banking sector, fund managers, sovereign wealth funds, and institutional investors will take time to bridge the financing gap. In the meantime, it is difficult to source project finance for tenors beyond seven years, risk premiums are higher, and finance is difficult to source. Recent innovations in the form of the European Investment Bank’s Project Bond Initiative, and the ASEAN Infrastructure Fund …

Communicating Cardiovascular Disease Risk: An Interview Study Of General Practitioners' Use Of Absolute Risk Within Tailored Communication Strategies, Carissa Bonner, Jesse Jansen, Shannon Mckinn, Les Irwig, J. Doust, Paul Glasziou, Kirsten Mccaffery

Paul Glasziou

Background: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention guidelines encourage assessment of absolute CVD risk - the probability of a CVD event within a fixed time period, based on the most predictive risk factors. However, few General Practitioners (GPs) use absolute CVD risk consistently, and communication difficulties have been identified as a barrier to changing practice. This study aimed to explore GPs' descriptions of their CVD risk communication strategies, including the role of absolute risk. Methods. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of 25 GPs in New South Wales, Australia. Transcribed audio-recordings were thematically coded, using the Framework Analysis method to …

Communicating Cardiovascular Disease Risk: An Interview Study Of General Practitioners' Use Of Absolute Risk Within Tailored Communication Strategies, Carissa Bonner, Jesse Jansen, Shannon Mckinn, Les Irwig, J. Doust, Paul Glasziou, Kirsten Mccaffery

Jenny Doust

Background: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention guidelines encourage assessment of absolute CVD risk - the probability of a CVD event within a fixed time period, based on the most predictive risk factors. However, few General Practitioners (GPs) use absolute CVD risk consistently, and communication difficulties have been identified as a barrier to changing practice. This study aimed to explore GPs' descriptions of their CVD risk communication strategies, including the role of absolute risk. Methods. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of 25 GPs in New South Wales, Australia. Transcribed audio-recordings were thematically coded, using the Framework Analysis method to …

General Practitioners' Use Of Absolute Risk Versus Individual Risk Factors In Cardiovascular Disease Prevention: An Experimental Study, Jesse Jansen, Carissa Bonner, Shannon Mckinn, Les Irwig, Paul Glasziou, Jenny Doust, Armando Teixeira-Pinto, Andrew Hayen, Robin Turner, Kirsten Mccaffery

Paul Glasziou

Objective: To understand general practitioners' (GPs) use of individual risk factors (blood pressure and cholesterol levels) versus absolute risk in cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk management decision-making. Design: Randomised experiment. Absolute risk, systolic blood pressure (SBP), cholesterol ratio (total cholesterol/high-density lipoprotein (TC/HDL)) and age were systematically varied in hypothetical cases. High absolute risk was defined as 5-year risk of a cardiovascular event >15%, high blood pressure levels varied between SBP 147 and 179 mm Hg and high cholesterol (TC/HDL ratio) between 6.5 and 7.2 mmol/L. Setting: 4 GP conferences in Australia. Participants: 144 Australian GPs. Outcomes: GPs indicated whether they would …

General Practitioners' Use Of Absolute Risk Versus Individual Risk Factors In Cardiovascular Disease Prevention: An Experimental Study, Jesse Jansen, Carissa Bonner, Shannon Mckinn, Les Irwig, Paul Glasziou, Jenny Doust, Armando Teixeira-Pinto, Andrew Hayen, Robin Turner, Kirsten Mccaffery

Jenny Doust

Objective: To understand general practitioners' (GPs) use of individual risk factors (blood pressure and cholesterol levels) versus absolute risk in cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk management decision-making. Design: Randomised experiment. Absolute risk, systolic blood pressure (SBP), cholesterol ratio (total cholesterol/high-density lipoprotein (TC/HDL)) and age were systematically varied in hypothetical cases. High absolute risk was defined as 5-year risk of a cardiovascular event >15%, high blood pressure levels varied between SBP 147 and 179 mm Hg and high cholesterol (TC/HDL ratio) between 6.5 and 7.2 mmol/L. Setting: 4 GP conferences in Australia. Participants: 144 Australian GPs. Outcomes: GPs indicated whether they would …

Ethically Ambiguous Negotiation Tactics (Eants): What Are The Rules Behind The Rules?, John Wade

John Wade

This paper will briefly discuss the following: • A catalogue of the EANTs in use in negotiation and litigation. • How common are these behaviours amongst lawyers? • What are the attempted controls (or not) of these EANTs in different cultures?---market isolation, law, and “ethics”? • Focussing on attempted ethical controls, what are the five (often overlapping) historic schools of “ethics”? • Which school of “ethics” do various written codes of law societies predominantly reflect? –answer: pragmatism and self interest. • If the epidemic of EANTs needs to be reduced, should pragmatism and self interest be taught and modelled more …

Mechanisms Which Help Explain Implementation Of Evidence-Based Practice In Residential Aged Care Facilities: A Grounded Theory Study, Malcolm Masso, Grace Mccarthy, Alison Kitson

Malcolm Masso

BACKGROUND: The context for the study was a nation-wide programme in Australia to implement evidence-based practice in residential aged care, in nine areas of practice, using a wide range of implementation strategies and involving 108 facilities. The study drew on the experiences of those involved in the programme to answer the question: what mechanisms influence the implementation of evidence-based practice in residential aged care and how do those mechanisms interact?

METHODS: The methodology used grounded theory from a critical realist perspective, informed by a conceptual framework that differentiates between the context, process and content of change. People were purposively sampled …

Using Formative Feedback To Identify And Support First Year Chemistry Students With Missing Or Misconceptions. A Practice Report, Gwen Lawrie, Anthony Wright, Madeleine Schultz, Timothy Dargaville, Glennys O'Brien, Simon B. Bedford, Mark Williams, Roy Tasker, Hayden Dickson, Christopher Thompson

Anthony Wright

Students entering tertiary studies possess a diverse range of prior experiences in their academic preparation for tertiary chemistry so academics need tools to enable them to respond to issues in diversity in conceptual models possessed by entering students. Concept inventories can be used to provide formative feedback to help students identify concepts that they need to address to improve construction of subsequent understanding enabling their learning. Modular, formative learning activities that can be administered inside or outside of class in first year chemistry courses have been developed. These activities address key missing and mis-conceptions possessed by incoming student. Engagement in …

A Comparison Of Theory And Practice In Market Intelligence Gathering For Australian Micro-Businesses And Smes, Pauline Ross, Carol Mcgowan, Lee Styger

Lee Styger

Recent government sponsored research has demonstrated that there is a gap between the theory and practice of market intelligence gathering within the Australian micro, small and medium businesses (SMEs). Typically, there is a significant amount of information in literature about "what needs to be done", however, there is little insight in terms of how market intelligence gathering should occur. This paper provides a novel insight and a comparison between the theory and practices of market intelligence gathering of micro-business and SMEs in Australia and demonstrates an anomoly in so far as typically the literature does not match what actually occurs …

A Practice-Based Approach To Student Reflection In The Workplace During A Work-Integrated Learning Placement, Christopher Sykes, Bonnie Amelia Dean

Christopher Sykes

In the Work-Integrated Learning (WIL) curriculum, reflection on workplace activities is widely used to support student learning. Recent critiques have demonstrated the limitations of current approaches to support students' reflective learning of workplace practices. By employing a practice-based approach, we seek to refocus WIL reflection on workplace practices, emphasising the 'embedded (social), engaged (practice) and embodied (material) aspects' of students' reflective practices in the workplace. We argue that reflection-in-the-midst-of-action includes an often-overlooked phenomenological contribution that shifts attention from cognition to action. This study uses a case study of one typical WIL student to illustrate the importance of reflection-in-the-midst-of-action and the …

The Design Of Teaching Protocols That Develop Creativity, Innovation And Innovative Thinking Within Higher Education Business Schools - A Transfer Of Best Practice From Design And Engineering Education Principles, Lee Styger

Lee Styger

Typically, the construct of innovation within business education has focused around the concept of developing innovative and creative leaders of business. This is particularly so in the higher educational fields and specifically so within the context of the global market positioning of many MBA programs currently. However, in many cases, it would appear that business schools are typically embarking on a journey of curriculum development from the point of the core teaching of business methodologies (i.e. silo thinking), rather than incorporating best practice from other disciplines such as those found in leading design and engineering education, where, for example, applied …

From Theory To Practice In Rail Geotechnology, B Indraratna, Sanjay Nimbalkar, N Tennakoon, Q D. Sun

Buddhima Indraratna

In recent times the increase in axle loads and train speeds have posed serious geotechnical issues with ballasted railway tracks, both in Australia and the world. The large deformations and degradation of ballast under cyclic and impact loads, and the low bearing capacity of compacted ballast and impaired drainage often exacerbate track maintenance. In recent times in Australia, geosynthetics have been trialed in ballasted tracks constructed on soft and saturated formations to help improve stability and longevity. Comprehensive field studies on instrumented tracks at Bulli (near Wollongong) and Singleton (near Newcastle) supported by RailCorp and ARTC, were carried out to …

Perceptions Of Family Physician Trainees And Trainers Regarding The Usefulness Of A Virtual Community Of Practice, Stephen Barnett, Sandra C. Jones, Sue Bennett, Donald C. Iverson, Andrew Bonney

Sandra Jones

Background: Training for Australian general practice, or family medicine, can be isolating, with registrars (residents or trainees) moving between rural and urban environments, and between hospital and community clinic posts. Virtual communities of practice (VCoPs), groups of people sharing knowledge about their domain of practice online and face-to-face, may have a role in overcoming the isolation associated with general practice training. Objective: This study explored whether Australian general practice registrars and their supervisors (trainers) would be able to use, and would be interested in using, a VCoP in the form of a private online network for work and training purposes. …

Whither 'Training And Development' In Vietnam?: Learning From United States And Japanese Mncs' Practice, Anne Cox, Malcolm Warner

Anne Cox

This paper focuses on training and development (T&D) policies and practices to explore how multinational companies (MNCs) localise their human resources within their subsidiaries in a developing country. It uses qualitative research methods to examine three US and three Japanese MNCs operating in the automotive and fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry in Vietnam. The paper identifies both home- and host-country effects as significant factors in the transfer of MNCs' T&D policies and practices. Clear home-country effects are evident in rigorous attempts of both US and Japanese MNCs to transfer and implement formalised and centrally controlled training programs. Host-country effects manifest …

Cognitive Processes In Object-Oriented Requirements Engineering Practice: Analogical Reasoning And Mental Modelling, Linda Dawson

Associate Professor Linda Dawson

This chapter presents a background in cognitive processes such as problem-solving and analogical reasoning for considering modelling from an object-oriented perspective within the domain of requirements engineering. This chapter then describes a research project and the findings from a set of four cases which examine professional practice from perspective of cognitive modelling for object-oriented requirements engineering. In these studies, it was found that the analysts routinely built models in their minds and refined them before committing them to paper or communicating these models to others. The studies also showed that object-oriented analysts depend on analogical reasoning where they use past …