Digital Commons Network^™

Forensic Readiness For Wireless Medical Systems, Brian Cusack, Ar Kar Kyaw

Australian Digital Forensics Conference

Wireless medical devices and related information systems are vulnerable to use and abuse by unauthorized users. Medical systems are designed for a range of end users in different professional skill groups and also people who carry the devices in and on their bodies. Open, accurate and efficient communication is the priority for medical systems and as a consequence strong protection costs are traded against the utility benefits for open systems. Flexible security provisions are required and strong forensic capabilities built into the systems to treat the risk. In this paper we elaborate the problem area and discuss potential solutions to …

Mindfully Teaching In The Classroom: A Literature Review, Nicole J. Albrecht, Patricia M. Albrecht, Marc Cohen

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The practice of mindfulness is being used with increased frequency in schools around the world. In the current literature review we outline some of the core concepts and practices associated with mindfulness and discuss studies analysing the process of mindfulness teacher training. Preliminary research in this emerging field suggests that mindfulness has the potential to improve classroom management, teacher-student relationships and instructional strategies. Mindfulness instructors recommend that before teachers can feel comfortable and effectively teach mindfulness in the classroom they need to embody and practice mindfulness in their own lives. It is proposed that in order to improve our knowledge …

Understanding Teacher Attraction And Retention Drivers: Addressing Teacher Shortages, Jennifer A. Ashiedu, Brenda D. Scott-Ladd

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The attraction and retention of teachers is a problem faced by schools worldwide and possibly more so in the public sector. One possible solution to this problem is likely to be better targeting of attraction and retention drivers of value to teachers. This paper presents the findings from a qualitative study conducted in Australia. The study used electronic in-depth interviews and an online survey to interrogate the reasons teachers are attracted to the profession and what drives their decision to either stay or leave. Participants in the study were both serving and retired teachers. The majority of respondents cited intrinsic …

The Teachers’ Role In Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Programs: Implications For Teacher Education., Laura Scholes, Christian Jones, Colleen Stieler-Hunt, Ben Rolfe, Kay Pozzebon

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

In response to the diverse number of child sexual abuse (CSA) prevention programs currently implemented in school contexts, this paper examines key considerations for selecting such initiatives and the multiplicity of understandings required to inform facilitation of contextually relevant prevention curriculum. First, the paper examines concerns about the lack of explicit professional development for educators concerning child protection, and the need to develop understandings about prevention program best practices within pre-service and in-service training. Second, drawing on a systematic review of literature, the paper identifies five key considerations to inform teachers’ selection and facilitation of CSA prevention curriculum in school …

Protocol For A Randomized Controlled Trial Evaluating The Effect Of Physical Activity On Delaying The Progression Of White Matter Changes On Mri In Older Adults With Memory Complaints And Mild Cognitive Impairment: The Aibl Active Trial, E V Cyarto, N T Lautenschlager, P M Desmond, D Ames, C Szoeke, O Salvado, Matthew Sharman, Kathryn A Ellis, P M Phal, C L Masters, C C Rowe, Ralph Martins, Kay L Cox

Research outputs 2012

Background: Older adults free of dementia but with subjective memory complaints (SMC) or mild cognitive impairment (MCI) are considered at increased risk of cognitive decline. Vascular risk factors (VRF), including hypertension, heart disease, smoking, hypercholesterolemia and lack of physical activity (PA) have been identified as modifiable risk factors contributing to cognitive decline, and white matter hyperintensities (WMH) are associated with VRF, SMC and cognitive impairment. Findings from a growing number of clinical trials with older adults are providing strong evidence for the benefits of physical activity for maintaining cognitive function, but few studies are investigating these benefits in high-risk populations. …

Teacher Education Partnerships: An Australian Research-Based Perspective, David Lynch, Richard Smith

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This article reviews literature about partnerships between teacher education faculties and schools that indicates not just heightened interest in recent years, but also significant progress. Despite interest and progress, conceptual and practical difficulties remain in establishing, developing, nurturing and implementing successful partnerships so that core interests of partners are satisfied. Against this background, the article examines the experiences of an Australian teacher education faculty that sought to enhance its arrangements with local schools by reorganizing and staging a teacher education program through a community of practice. Data drawn from a study of the emergent partnership confirm the trends in the …

Are They Ready? Final Year Pre-Service Teachers' Learning About Managing Student Behaviour, Judith H. Peters

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This paper presents findings from a study addressing final year pre-service teachers’ perceptions of their confidence and competence in managing student behaviour. Data were collected by means of a written survey administered shortly after the end of their last professional experience. Themes derived from analysing survey responses are examined in relation to seven principles identified by the MCEETYA funded Student Behaviour Management Project as best practice in Australia (De Jong, 2005). The findings reveal that although the majority of participating pre-service teachers felt confident and competent to manage student behaviour, their reporting of strategies indicated a narrow ‘behaviourist’ conception of …

Professional Pathways Of Aboriginal Early Childhood Teachers: Intersections Of Community, Indigeneity, And Complexity, Alma Fleet, Kerrie Wechmann, Ryan Whitworth

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Little information is available about the employment trajectories of Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander peoples pursuing university professional qualifications. This article describes a context in which cultural space, issues of identity, pragmatics of employment, family and community and a bureaucratic regulatory environment intersect to create scenarios that are multi-facetted and layered in complexity. As has been demonstrated clearly in other arenas (Richardson & Watt, 2006), the move towards professional teacher education qualification is not linear or straightforward. To add to the knowledge base in this area, the focus in this study is on university graduates of a teacher education degree …

Education Direct: An Alternative Entry Pathway To Pre-Service Teacher Education, Kevin Pilkington, Graeme Lock

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Universities in Australia are offering alternative entrance pathways to attract students from a range of backgrounds. These alternative pathways will undoubtedly be reviewed due to the recommendation in the Review of Australian Higher Education (Bradley, Noonan, Nugent & Scales, 2008) concerning increasing the diversity of university entrants.

This paper discusses an alternative entry pathway, Education Direct (ED), offered by the School of Education at Edith Cowan University, and commences with a review of the literature about such pathways. The next section explores the development and nature of the ED pathway, before outlining the research design and identifying the research questions, …

Community Participation Group Interventions For Children And Adolescents With Neurodevelopmental Disabilities : A Systematic Review ; And, Community Participation For Girls And Women Living With Rett Syndrome, Jaimi Andrews

Theses : Honours

Community participation group interventions for children and adolescents with neurodevelopment disabilities : A systematic review

Objective: To describe the effectiveness of community integration interventions on community participation, self-esteem and quality of life for children and adolescents with a neurodevelopment intellectual disability.

Method: Electronic searches of five databases and manual searches of reference lists were conducted. Community integration interventions which targeted friendship development, recreation participation, quality of life and self-esteem were included.

Results: Thirteen studies were included in this review. A variety of study designs and interventions were used. Following interventions, all but one study reported significantly increased …

Teaching Students With Disabilities: A Web-Based Examination Of Preparation Of Preservice Primary School Teachers, Jennifer Stephenson, Sue O'Neill, Mark Carter

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

With increasing expectations that preservice teachers will be prepared to teach students with special needs in regular classrooms, it is timely to review relevant units in teacher education courses. Units relevant to special education/inclusion in primary undergraduate teacher preparation courses in Australian tertiary institutions, delivered in 2009, were examined. Information was gathered through a series of Google searches, and available information was very limited for some units. Sixty-one units in 34 courses met criteria for inclusion. Units typically ran for one semester with 30-40 hours of instruction. Just under half the instructors for whom relevant information was available had an …

Critically Reflective Leadership, Christine L. Cunningham

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Critical Reflective Practice (CRP) has a proven reputation as a method for teacher-researchers in K-12 classrooms, but there have been few published examples of this method being used to document school leaders’ work-based practice. This article outlines adaptations made by the author from an original CRP method to a Critically Reflective Leadership (CRL) method that she developed to document her own lived experiences as a principal and then director of an American International School in South America. The method described in this paper may be useful for school leaders who wish to become practitioner-researchers in their own work places. The …

Elementary Teacher Education In Papua New Guinea: Towards A Culturally Connected Perspective Of Teaching, Casper Hahambu, Joanne M. Brownlee, E. Anne Petriwskyj

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Global and national agendas for quality education have led to reforms in Papua New Guinea’s (PNG) elementary education, but criticism of the learner-centred Western pedagogies has emerged. One key influence on quality teacher education relates to perspectives of teaching. Existing research shows teachers’ beliefs and perceptions of teaching influence their practice, however to date little research has investigated perspectives of teaching for elementary education in PNG. This single exploratory case study investigated the perspectives of teaching for eighteen elementary teacher trainers as they studied for a Bachelor of Early Childhood (Teacher Education). The study, drawing on an interpretivist paradigm, analysed …

Service-Learning: A Valuable Component Of Pre-Service Teacher Education, Dianne J. Chambers, Shane Lavery

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

There is recognition that involvement in service-learning can impact positively on the development of pre-service teachers professionally, culturally and academically (Billig & Freeman, 2010; Anderson, 1998). This article explores and describes the experiences of pre-service teachers in the School of Education at the University of Notre Dame Australia (UNDA) who are undertaking two service learning units as part of their teacher education. This research is based on qualitative data collected from pre-service teachers on completion of their service learning units. Initially, service-learning as a concept is explored with particular reference to four basic elements identified in the literature (Jacoby, 1996; …

The Transforming Power Of Narrative In Teacher Education, Esther Yim-Mei Chan

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The focus of this study is to examine pre-service teachers’ experiences of learning through narrative inquiry that gives insight into how teachers’ development and knowledge construction can be improved. The article begins by inquiring into the learning culture in the Hong Kong context and explaining how the examination system affects knowledge construction. Then it discusses the use of narrative curricula to promote students' thinking and self-reflection. A case, explored through a teacher educator's interpretations of experience, is presented to demonstrate how narrative inquiry is able to change the learning habits of pre-service teachers and what it can do to transform …

Teacher Professional Development: Who Is The Learner?, Kirsten Petrie, Clive Mcgee

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

One of the challenges in in-service teacher education is how teachers can be given professional development (PD) that enables them to respond to national curriculum and policy change. In recent years primary teachers in New Zealand have been inundated with Ministry of Education-funded professional development programmes to help them implement a plethora of curriculum policy and reform initiatives. This paper explores how the design and delivery of one PD programme, the Physical Activity Initiative (PAI), positioned and supported teachers as learners. An evaluation of the programme sought data from 25 teachers and 14 advisers to schools. The focus was the …

Lifespan Resilience Research Group (Lrrg), Julie Ann Pooley, Myra Taylor, Bronwyn Harman, Craig Harms

ECU Research Week

No abstract provided.

Suicide Gatekeeper Training For Mental Health Professionals And Paraprofessionals As A Community Based Prevention Strategy, Andrew Guilfoyle

ECU Research Week

No abstract provided.

Differences In Risk Factors Between Early And Late Trauma Death After Road Traffic Accidents, Hideo Tohira, Ian Jacobs, David Mountain, Nicholas Gibson, Allen Yeo

Research outputs 2012

We aimed to determine the differences in risk factors between early and late trauma death after road traffic accidents. We identified road traffic accident victims from our trauma registry. We defined death that occurred within five days after an accident and death that occurred between 6 and 30 days as early and late trauma death, respectively. We derived two logistic regression models by using early or late trauma death as an outcome measure. We considered a variable significant at the 5% level; significant variables were considered risk factors for early and/or late trauma death. Overall, there were 1,201 victims; 134 …

Tracking Onslow: A Community In Transition. Edition 1, 2012, Kayt Davies, Jasmine Amis, Jon Hopper, Claire Ottaviano, Aine Ryan

Tracking Onslow: a community in transition

Onslow, the town and community you live in, is in for a lot of changes over the next few years. Gas projects will bring new faces, while many old faces are leaving, and new money will buy new things. Will this mean that Onslow loses some of it’s ramshackle, rustic charm? Will it attract hordes of new tourists who’ll crowd out the old crew?

Maybe, maybe not — either way we want to know what you think.

This project is a collaboration between the journalism program at Edith Cowan University and the Shire of Ashburton and it’s all about tracking …

Profiling Plasma Peptides For The Identification Of Potential Ageing Biomarkers In Chinese Han Adults, Jiapeng Lu, Yuqing Huang, Youxin Wang, Yan Li, Youjun Zhang, Jingjing Wu, Feifei Zhao, Shijiao Meng, Xinwei Yu, Qingwei Ma, Manshu Song, Naibai Chang, Alan H. Bittles, Wei Wang

Research outputs 2012

Advancing age is associated with cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus and cancer, and shows significant inter-individual variability. To identify ageing-related biomarkers we performed a proteomic analysis on 1890 Chinese Han individuals, 1136 males and 754 females, aged 18 to 82 years, using weak cation exchange magnetic bead based MALDI-TOF-MS analysis. The study identified 44 peptides which varied in concentration in different age groups. In particular, apolipoprotein A-I (ApoA1) concentration gradually increased between 18 to 50 years of age, the levels of fibrinogen alpha (FGA) decreased over the same age span, while albumin (ALB) was significantly degraded in middle-aged individuals. In addition, …

Work Integrated Learning And Business Education: A Legitimate Reverse Mapping Approach?, David Holloway, Donell Holloway

Research outputs 2012

This paper investigates whether work integrated learning (WIL) can be effectively implemented by using students existing workplace experiences (full-time or part-time). Students had to be in a work placement as a precondition for unit enrolment. The learning outcomes focussed on the ‘authenticity’ and relevance of University based learning when mapped against students ‘real world’ work experiences. Students were asked to reassess, question and integrate their individual (and collective) work-based experiences and acquired ‘real life’ knowledge against their business-based university learning. Students concluded that the learning topics had provided critical and personally useful insights into their own and the wider work …

Ethical Research In Indigenous Australian Contexts And Its Practical Implementation, Graeme Gower

Research outputs 2012

This paper is based on a three year longitudinal case study involving a number of Indigenous Australian communities in metropolitan, rural and remote settings. It will briefly discuss current ethical guidelines which have been developed by the National Health & Medical Research Council (NHMRC) for the conduct of research involving Indigenous Australian subjects (2003). These guidelines are in addition to the National Statement on ethical conduct in research involving humans (1999) and are aimed at incorporating values and principles of Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander cultures in the conduct of research. In the case of Indigenous communities, research has historically …

Skilled Labour Supply And Demand In Resource Rich Regions In Australia, Susanne Bahn, Rosalyn Cameron

Research outputs 2012

The demand for specific skills for the current resources boom in Australia is placing extreme pressure upon the Australian workforce and economy to supply this labour for billion dollar resource sector projects primarily in Western Australia and Central Queensland. This paper is a conceptual think piece which overviews the current demand and supply of specialised labour for the Australian resources sector before presenting two resource rich region case studies. The first is the mining sector in Western Australia and the second is the coal seam gas/liquefied natural gas (CSG/LNG) industry in Central Queensland. This is followed by a mapping of …

What Knowledge, Skills And Attitudes Should Strategic Hrm Students Acquire? A Delphi Study, Alan Coetzer, Helen Sitlington

Research outputs 2012

Much work has been done to identify competencies that HR practitioners need for a strategic HR role. However, little, if any, attention has been paid to the knowledge, skills and attitudes (KSAs) required of graduates entering the strategic HRM (SHRM) field. This study focuses on this area of neglect by employing the Delphi method to address the question: What core KSAs should SHRM students acquire? Three sequential questionnaires were administered to elicit opinions of leading academics and senior HR practitioners on KSAs that are important and to build consensus on the core KSAs. These processes generated ranked lists of 10 …

Systematic Review Of Predictive Performance Of Injury Severity Scoring Tools, Hideo Tohira, Ian Jacobs, David Mountain, Nicholas Gibson, Allen Yeo

Research outputs 2012

Many injury severity scoring tools have been developed over the past few decades. These tools include the Injury Severity Score (ISS), New ISS (NISS), Trauma and Injury Severity Score (TRISS) and International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-based Injury Severity Score (ICISS). Although many studies have endeavored to determine the ability of these tools to predict the mortality of injured patients, their results have been inconsistent. We conducted a systematic review to summarize the predictive performances of these tools and explore the heterogeneity among studies. We defined a relevant article as any research article that reported the area under the Receiver Operating …

Psycho-Educational Group Intervention For Family Caregivers Of Hospitalized Palliative Care Patients: Pilot Study, Peter Hudson, Elizabeth Lobb, Kristina Thomas, Rachel Zorden, Tom Trauer, Karen Quinn, Anne Williams, Michael Summers

Research outputs 2012

Background: Family caregivers of patients requiring palliative care commonly experience physical, social, and psychological burdens. Although family caregivers are acknowledged as valid service recipients of palliative care, many have unmet needs, and systematic reviews have shown there are limited evidence-based supportive interventions. Objectives: This study aimed to develop and pilot test a psycho-educational group education program delivered in the inpatient specialist palliative care setting and designed to prepare primary family caregivers for the role of supporting a relative receiving hospital-based palliative care. Methods: (1) Development of education session and delivery protocol by the research team and expert panel; (2) pilot …

The Trajectories And Correlation Between Physical Limitation And Depression In Elderly Residents Of Beijing, 1992-2009, Xia Li, Wei Wang, Qi Gao, Lijuan Wu, Yanxia Luo, Zhe Tang, Xiuhua Guo

Research outputs 2012

Background Physical limitation and psychological distress have been reported to be related, but studies describing the change of instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs) and depression syndrome over time or exploring the link pattern for their development are limited. The study was to assess distinctive patterns for the development of physical limitation and depression and to explore their correlation to form a proper prevention strategy. Methods Dual trajectory analysis was conducted using data from the Beijing Longitudinal Study of Aging (BLSA) 1992–2009 hosted by Xuanwu hospital for subjects with full information on depression and physical limitation for all available visits. …

Internalising Symptoms: An Antecedent Or Precedent In Adolescent Peer Victimisation?, Leanne Lester, Donna Cross, Julian Dooley, Therese Shaw

Research outputs 2012

The transition period from primary to secondary school is a critical time in adolescent development. The high prevalence of adolescent mental health problems makes understanding the causal pathways between peer victimisation and internalising symptoms an important priority during this time. This article utilises data collected from self-completion questionnaires four times over 3 years from 3,459 students’ aged 11–14 to examine directional relationships among adolescents as they transition from primary to secondary school, and investigates gender differences in these associations. The findings suggest depression in males is both a precedent and antecedent for victimisation over the transition period, whereas for females …

Anxiety, Depression And Comorbid Anxiety And Depression: Risk Factors And Outcome Over Two Years, Osvaldo Almeida, Brian Draper, Jane Pirkis, John Snowdon, Nicola Lautenschlager, Gerard Byrne, Moira Sim, Nigel Stocks, Ngaire Kerse, Leon Flicker, Jon Pfaff

Research outputs 2012

Background: This study aimed to determine: (1) the prevalence of depression, anxiety, and depression associated with anxiety (DA); (2) the risk factor profile of depression, anxiety, and DA; (3) the course of depression, anxiety, and DA over 24 months. Methods: Two-year longitudinal study of 20,036 adults aged 60+ years. We used the Patient Health Questionnaire and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale anxiety subscale to establish the presence of depression and anxiety, and standard procedures to collect demographic, lifestyle, psychosocial, and clinical data. Results: The prevalence of anxiety, depression, and DA was 4.7%, 1.4%, and 1.8%. About 57% of depression …