Digital Commons Network^™

The Scholarly Output Of Universities And Academics In The Asia-Pacific Region Who Publish In Major Finance Journals: 2000-2007, Elvis Jarnecic, Reuben Segara, Lydia Segara, Joakim P. Westerholm

Australasian Accounting, Business and Finance Journal

The study examines the scholarly output of all universities and their finance academics in the Asia-Pacific region. We evaluate the scholarly output of 1,341 research academic staff across 300 leading Asia-Pacific universities in the period 2000 to 2007. A significant contribution of our study is that it presents ranking league tables for finance journals with respect to journal quality. The necessity of well defined ranking tables help university executive management, government policy and funding bodies in better assessing research performance. The study also constructs a new measure called to Research Productivity Dependency (RPD) index, which acts as a risk management …

Examining The Gender Gap In Educational Outcomes In Public Education: Involving Pre-Service School Counsellors And Teachers In Cross-Cultural And Interdisciplinary Research, Wilhelmina J. Vialle, Paul Thompson, Mary Ann Clark

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

International educational statistics have reported a gender gap in educational outcomes, with boys falling behind girls in regard to grades, high school graduation and university enrollment and retention. This study involved pre-service teachers and school counsellors in Colleges of Education at three universities on three continents carrying out focus groups with public school students, interviews with educators, and examining national and international quantitative data to investigate this issue from a local and a cross cultural perspective. Common themes were found in each country and implications for addressing the problem considered.

Key Issues And Future Directions In The Nexus Of Literacy Research, Policy And Practice., Pauline J. Harris

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

Relationships among literacy research, policy and practice continue to constitute a contentious issue in the context of literacy policy reforms in Australia and overseas. Referring to these relationships as the Literacy Nexus, this paper explores the nexus in terms of research/policy relationships; policy/practice relationships; and practice/research relationships. The paper provides a review of related literature on these relationships, based on Australian and U.S. research studies and reports published since 2000; and highlights key issues inherent in these relationships. These issues include ways in which literacy research is used in literacy policy and the consequences of this use for the fields …

Communication About Organ Donation Intentions: Formative Research For A Social Marketing Program Targeting Families, Sandra C. Jones, Samantha L. Reis, Kelly L. Andrews

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

With the introduction of the Australian Organ Donation Register (AODR), responsibility regarding organ donation decisions primarily rests with the individual. However, family members can be instrumental in facilitating or hindering the rate of organ donation by objecting to or confirming the individuals wishes. Attitudes and beliefs of family members have been shown to be a strong influence on peoples intentions to donate. Numerous studies have also demonstrated that family communication about organ donation can improve the rate of organ donation. We surveyed 23 matched pairs of undergraduate university students and their parents and found that attitudes to organ donation were …

The Relationship Between Driving Anxiety And Driving Skill: A Review Of Human Factors And Anxiety-Performance Theories To Clarify Future Research Needs, Joanne Taylor, Frank P. Deane, John Podd

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

This article examines theory and identifies gaps in research related to the role of driving skills in driving anxiety. Increasingly, investigators have examined the clinical features of driving anxiety and the more severe situation of driving fear and phobia, but the possible involvement of driving skills has been neglected. This is surprising given the potential implications for skills training and remediation in the assessment and treatment of some of those who experience driving anxiety, fear, and phobia. The largest body of relevant research comes from the driving and human factors literature on the relationship between anxiety and driving performance. The …

Conceptualising The Policy Practice And Behavioural Research Relationship, Mark Lawrence, Heather Yeatman

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Background: Policy is frequently identified in the behavioural nutrition and physical activity research literature as a necessary component of effective research and practice. The purpose of this commentary is to promote a dialogue to contribute towards the further development of conceptual understandings and theories of the relationship between policy practice and behavioural research and how these twoactivities might work synergistically to improve public health outcomes.Methods: Drawing on policy and public health literature, this commentary presents a conceptual model of the interaction and mediation between nutrition and physical activity-relevant policy and behavioural nutrition and physical activity research, environments, behaviours and public …

You Have To Make Something Of All That Rubbish, Do You? An Empirical Investigation Of The Social Process Of Qualitative Research, Stacy M. Carter, Christopher F. Jordens, Catherine Mcgrath, Miles Little

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

In this article, we examine participants' talk about qualitative research. We provide empirical support for post-structural theorizations of the interview and propose three distinct but related dimensions of qualitative research: emotional, purposive/relational, and epistemic/ontological. In this study, participants often became upset but constructed participation as enjoyable and cathartic. The purpose of participation was to assist the communities to which one belonged. Participation was an active, reflexive practice that reconstructed the self and changed knowledge about one's self. This latter epistemic/ontological dimension of participation appeared to be the most compelling for participants, but it is also the hardest to observe, with …

Field Observations And Empirical Research, Koko Warner, Olivia V. Dun, Marc Stal

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

The Environmental Change and Forced Migration Scenarios (EACH-FOR) project is a systematic attempt to detect the degree to which, and the pathways through which, environmental stressors affect migration.

Influencing Policy And Practice Through Research On Early Childhood Education, Brenda Taggart, Iram Siraj-Blatchford, Kathy Sylva, Edward Melhuish, Pam Sammons

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

This paper presents the scientific evidence from one study that has informed Early Years policy in the U.K. It begins with a description of the policy context in the early 1990s and shows how research was used to inform a decade of policy innovation. There have been many studies of ways that research has informed practice but fewer on instances of research shaping policy. This paper is one step in that direction, as advocated by Whitty (2007) and Huw, Nutley and Smith (2001).

Turning Up The Heat: Collaboration As A Response To A Chilly Research Climate, Wendy Beck, Kerry Dunne, Josie Fisher, Jane O'Sullivan, Alison Sheridan

Faculty of Law, Humanities and the Arts - Papers (Archive)

This paper characterises the composition and activities of our academic writing group. The group consists of five women of disparate disciplinary backgrounds who meet regularly to present current work and receive constructive comment and encouragement, much of which is motivated and informed by a shared feminist consciousness, an appreciation of the role of collaboration and openness to multidisciplinary work. In these respects, our group comprises a creative response to a 'chilly' higher education environment where the pressures increase to publish or perish, at the same time as we face higher teaching loads and more administration. Different contexts will result in …

The Case Study Methodology In Place Management Research And Practice, Gregory M. Kerr, Gary I. Noble, John Glynn

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to assist those in the relatively new field of place management to undertake sound and appropriate research for which there is a current need. Approach: This paper identifies and provides an interpretation of key terms associated with research in the social and behavioural sciences and then recommends the case study methodology as being appropriate for research in place management. Findings: Based on a review of the literature this paper offers a viewpoint about the meaning and application of the terms ‘methodology’, ‘methods,’ ‘ways’, ‘strategies’ and ‘approaches’ when they are applied to research. Research …

Protecting The Diversity Of The Depths: Environmental Regulation Of Bioprospecting And Marine Scientific Research Beyond National Jurisdiction, Robin M. Warner

Faculty of Law - Papers (Archive)

As scientific knowledge of marine areas beyond national jurisdiction increases and developments in oceans technology permit greater access to the high seas water column and the deep seabed, new and more intensive uses of these areas occur with consequential impacts on the marine environment. The discovery of hydrothermal vents in 1977 revealed communities of organisms with unique genetic and biochemical properties which can be used for a seemingly limitless catalogue of medical, pharmaceutical and industrial applications. Similar repositories of genetic and biochemical resources have been discovered in other deep sea environments such as cold water seeps and it is expected …

What Determines The Research Output Of Australian Universities?, Abbas Valadkhani, Simon Ville

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

This paper develops and estimates a cross-sectional model for forecasting research output across the Australian university system. It builds upon an existing literature that focuses either on institutional comparisons or studies of specific subjects, by providing discipline-specific results across all of the ten major disciplinary areas as defined by Australias Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST). The model draws upon four discipline-specific explanatory variables; staff size, research expenditure, PhD completions, and student-staff ratios to predict output of refereed articles. When compared with actual averaged output for 2000-2004, the results are highly statistically significant.

General Practice Research Training: Impact Of The Australian Registrar Research Workshop On Research Skills, Confidence, Interest And Involvement Of Participants, 2002-2006, Karin Ried, Brett D. Montgomery, Nigel P. Stocks, Elizabeth A. Farmer

Graduate School of Medicine - Papers (Archive)

Background. An intensive 3-day training programme, the ‘Registrar Research Workshop’ (RRW), has aimed to build research capacity among Australian general practice registrars since 1994.

Objectives. To investigate the impact of the RRW on participants' skills, confidence, interest in research and research activity.

Methods. Cross-sectional postal survey in 2006 of five groups of registrars who participated in the annual workshop in 2002–2006 (response rate: 64%; 77 of 121). Outcome measures included research experience and skills prior to and after the workshop; impact of the workshop on capacity, confidence, attitude and interest in research; and research involvement as measured by publications and …

Management Implications Of Recent Research Into The Effect Of Bitou Bush Invasion, Kristine O. French, Emilie-Jane Ens, Carl Gosper, Elizabeth Lindsay, Tanya J. Mason, Ben Owers, Natalie A. Sullivan

Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)

We review recent research into the impact of bitou bush (Chrysanthemoides monilifera spp. rotundata (DC.) Norl.) on coastal ecosystems which suggest this weed is having widespread impacts on ecosystem services, flora and fauna. Increased decomposition rates and altered nutrient cycling accompany changes in plant community structure and composition. Changes in invaded habitats influence invertebrate and bird assemblages. We summarise research that shows that the establishment phase of seedlings is the key phase where bitou bush outcompetes native species through both resource and interference competition mechanisms.

On Becoming A Practitioner-Researcher In Remote Northern Australia: Personal Commitment And Resources Compensate For Structural Deterrents To Research, Anne Cusick, Natasha Lannin

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Aim. This study critically explores the experience of one clinician who developed the practitioner-researcher role in a remote hospital. Participant. One occupational therapist working in rehabilitation who had never previously done or been trained for research but who completed and published a randomized controlled trial. Setting. Government hospital rehabilitation ward in remote northern Australia. Method. Data from a reflective journal and project records were content analysed using a conceptual framework of the metropolitan practitioner-researcher experience. Results. The participant’s experience was similar to that of metropolitan practitioner-researchers as it was not just a matter of doing research, but rather one of …

Constructing A Research Based Pre-Care Model To Improve Mental Health Interventions For Young People, Lindsey Harrison, Sue Webster

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

ObjectiveThis study had two aims. Firstly, to explore how young people experienced the onset of mental health problems and to investigate their initial interactions with the health system; and secondly, to use thesefindings to construct a pre-care model that can be used by nurses and other health care professionals todesign appropriate interventions.DesignGrounded theory method was used to develop a theory of young peoples experience of the pathway to mental health care. Data were obtained through in-depth semi-structured interviews.SettingParticipants were recruited through two community health centres in a Sydney metropolitan area healthservice.SubjectsThe purposive sample consisted of eight males and twelve females …

Demographic Changes In Is Research Productivity And Impact, Mohamed Khalifa, Kathy Ning

University of Wollongong in Dubai - Papers

No abstract provided.

Utility As A First Principle For Education Research: Reworking Autonomy In Australian Higher Education, Jan Wright, Trevor Gale

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

The focus of this paper is on the community impact of education research, specifically as this is conceived within a changing context of research assessment in Australia, first mooted by the previous Federal Coalition (conservative) Government within a new Research Quality Framework (RQF), and now to be reworked by the Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) initiative by the incoming Federal Labor (progressive) Government. Convinced that a penchant for the utility of research will not go away, irrespective of the political orientations of government, our interest is in exploring: the assumption that research, particularly in areas such as education, should …