Education Commons^™

The Effectiveness Of Primary Schools In England In Key Stage 2 For 2002, 2003 And 2004, Edward Melhuish, Helena Romaniuk, Pam Sammons, Kathy Sylva, Iram Siraj-Blatchford, Brenda Taggart

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

This report covers children's progress during Key Stage 2 in all primary schools in England over a three year period (2002-2004). Value added multilevel models are used to investigate children's progress in Key Stage 2 by controlling for prior attainment, as well as several background influences. These analyses allow measurement of the extent to which children's progress can be attributed to the primary school attended. Primary schools where children make significantly greater progress than predicted (on the basis of prior attainment and intake characteristics) can be viewed as more effective and schools where children make less progress than predicted can …

Master-Planned Estates And Suburban Complexity, Robyn Dowling, Pauline M. Mcguirk

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

The establishment of new residential neighbourhoods - by builders, developers, government and residents - has been one of the defining features of twentieth century suburbs in general and western Sydney in particular. Recent years have witnessed a number of changes in the processes establishing these neighbourhoods: in the organisations and relationships providing them; in the political and planning processes governing their provision; in the ideologies underpinning them; and in the practices of everyday life constituting them. One of the more recent forms of residential neighbourhood is seen to exemplify these changes: master-planned communities, master-planned residential developments, or, in our preferred …

Stigma And Discrimination Related To Hiv/Aids: A Study Of The Iranian Community In The Sydney Metropolitan Area, Hassan Hosseinzadeh, Syeda Z. Hossain

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Abstract presented at the XVI International AIDS Conference, 13-18 August 2006, Toronto, Canada

Stigma And Discrimination Related To Hiv/Aids, Hassan Hosseinzadeh, Syeda Z. Hossain

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Abstract presented at the Fifth Health Research Conference 2006, 9-10 November 2006, Leura, Australia

Protocol For The Immediate Delivery Versus Expectant Care Of Women With Preterm Prelabour Rupture Of The Membranes Close To Term (Ppromt) Trial [Isrctn44485060], Jonathan Morris, Christine Roberts, Caroline Crowther, Sarah Buchanan, David Henderson-Smart, Glenn P. Salkeld

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Background: Preterm prelabour rupture of membranes (PPROM) complicates up to 2% of all pregnancies and is the cause of 40% of all preterm births. The optimal management of women with PPROM prior to 37 weeks, is not known. Furthermore, diversity in current clinical practice suggests uncertainty about the appropriate clinical management. There are two options for managing PPROM, expectant management (a wait and see approach) or early planned birth. Infection is the main risk for women in which management is expectant. This risk need to be balanced against the risk of iatrogenic prematurity if early delivery is planned. The different …

Informed Choice For Screening: Implications For Evaluation, Les Irwig, Kirsten Mccaffery, Glenn P. Salkeld, Patrick Bossuyt

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Evaluation of screening should reflect consumer priorities. We need to make more effort to find out what they really are.

Meeting The Challenge Of Assessing In A Standards Based Education System, Jim S. Tognolini

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

The purpose of this report is to address a number of issues about assessment that have emerged as a consequence of the changes that have taken place since the inception of new Western Australian Certificate of Education (WACE) courses in Years 11 and 12 and to provide advice on how these issues might be resolved in the light of the recommendations of the Andrich report.

Factors Associated With Self-Efficacy For Condom Use And Sexual Negotiation Among South African Youth, Jennifer Sayles, Audrey Pettifor, Mitchell D. Wong, Catherine L. Mac Phail, Sung-Jae Lee, Ellen Hendriksen, Helen Rees, Thomas Coates

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Objectives: To use logistic regression modeling to identify factors associated with high self-efficacy for sexual negotiation and condom use in a sample of South African youth. Methods: The Reproductive Health and HIV Research Unit (RHRU) National Youth Survey examined a nationally representative sample of 7409 sexually active South African youth aged 15 to 24 years. We used logistic regression modeling in this sample to identify factors associated with the main outcome of high self-efficacy. Results: Among female respondents (n = 3890), factors associated with high self-efficacy in the adjusted model were knowing how to avoid HIV (odds ratio [OR] = …

Roles Of Rifampicin In Drug-Drug Interactions: Underlying Molecular Mechanisms Involving Nuclear Receptor Pxr, Jiezhong Chen, Kenneth Raymond

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Rifampicin, an important drug in the treatment of tuberculosis, is used extensively despite its broad effects on drug-drug interactions, creating serious problems. The clinical importance of such interactions includes autoinduction leading to suboptimal or failed treatment. The concomitantly administered effects of rifampicin on other drugs can result in their altered metabolism or transportation that are metabolised by cytochromes P450 or transported by p-glycoprotein in the gastrointestinal tract and liver. This review paper summarises recent findings with emphases on the molecular mechanisms used to explain these broad drug-drug interactions. In general, rifampicin can act on a pattern: rifampicin activates the nuclear …

Online Forum Discussion Interactions As An Indicator Of Student Community, Shane Dawson

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Given the current diversity of communication tools at an educator's disposal, what role (if any) does the discussion forum play in the development of a strong sense of community among students? This study sought to investigate the relationship between discussion forum interaction and perceived student sense of community. The results of the study demonstrate that while mere quantity of discussion forum postings is not an indicator of community development, a significant relationship is observed when contributions are codified into the various discussion interaction types (learner -learner; learner - content; system), An implication emerging from these findings is the ability for …

"The Real Work Is What They Do Together": Peer Support And Birth Parent Change, Laura Frame, Amy Conley Wright, Jill Duerr Berrick

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

This article examines a peer support intervention with birth parents in the child welfare system. Literature on the emotional change process for child welfare-involved parents, peer-support intervention-outcome studies in child welfare, and findings on peer support in related fields is reviewed. The Mendocino County Family Services Center (MCFSC) model is described, and findings from an exploratory study are presented and discussed. This model engages parents in a sequence of services based on developmental stages. The study used focus groups, interviews, and observation to understand the key components of the MCFSC peer support intervention, and the experience of birth-parent participants with …

The Effects Of Training In Behaviour Modification Strategies On Stress, Burnout, And Therapeutic Attitudes In Frontline Inpatient Mental Health Nurses, Hamish J. Mcleod, Lisa Densley, Kate Chapman

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Psychiatric nursing is a stressful profession associated with high levels of burnout. Previous research has demonstrated that burnout in psychiatric nurses can be reduced via training that improves behaviour modification skills. However, the minimum amount of training required to demonstrate a beneficial effect is unclear. We evaluated the impact of a 4-day behaviour modification training program on stress, burnout, and therapeutic attitudes in nurses who were in frequent daily inpatient contact with patients with severe mental illnesses. Nurses working in the same wards served as a control group. Training improved therapeutic attitudes but did not alter self ratings of job-stress …

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

Ethics And Health Technology Assessment: Handmaiden And/Or Critic?, Annette J. Braunack-Mayer

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Objectives: This study examines the content and role of ethical analysis in health technology assessment (HTA) and horizon scanning publications. It proposes that ethical analysis in HTA is of at least two different types: an ethics of HTA and an ethics in HTA. Methods: I examine the critical differences between these approaches through the examples of the analysis of genetic screening for breast cancer and home blood glucose testing in diabetes. I then argue that, although both approaches subscribe to similar views concerning HTA and ethics, they use different theoretical and methodological traditions to interpret and explain them. Results and …

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 …

What Makes A Good Gp? An Empirical Perspective On Virtue In General Practice, Annette J. Braunack-Mayer

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

This paper takes a virtuist approach to medical ethics to explore, from an empirical angle, ideas about settled ways of living a good life. Qualitative research methods were used to analyse the ways in which a group of 15 general practitioners (GPs) articulated notions of good doctoring and the virtues in their work. I argue that the GPs, whose talk is analysed here, defined good general practice in terms of the ideals of accessibility, comprehensiveness, and continuity. They regarded these ideals significant both for the way they dealt with morally problematic situations and for how they conducted their professional lives …

Monitoring And Evaluation Of The Effective Implementation Of The Foundation Phase (Meeifp) Project Across Wales, Iram Siraj-Blatchford, Kathy Sylva, Janet Laugharne, Emmajane Milton, Frances Charles

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

The Foundation Phase (FP) is a Welsh Assembly Government, national reform covering the combined 3-5 Early Years and Key Stage 1 provision (children aged between three and seven). In September 2004, the first stage of the pilot commenced in 41 pilot settings across the 22 local authorities in Wales for 3-5 year olds only. The 41 pilot settings will continue in 2005-2006 with Year 1 children (and some Year 2 children where mixed classes are operating) coming on board in the maintained sector and similarly Year 2 in 2006-2007.

The Foundation Phase proposes a continuum of learning for children from …

Model Of Outcomes Of Screening Mammography: Information To Support Informed Choices, Alexandra Barratt, Kirsten Howard, Les Irwig, Glenn P. Salkeld, Nehmat Houssami

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Objective: To provide easy to use estimates of the benefits and harms of biennial screening mammography for women aged 40, 50, 60, and 70 years. Design: Markov process model, with data from BreastScreen Australia, the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, and the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Main outcome measure: Age specific outcomes expressed per 1000 women over 10 years. Results: For every 1000 women screened over 10 years, 167-251 (depending on age) receive an abnormal result; 56-64 of these women undergo at least one biopsy, 9-26 have an invasive cancer detected by screening, and 3-6 have ductal carcinoma in …

Pre-School Experience And Literacy And Numeracy Development At The End Of Key Stage 1, Louise Quinn, Edward Melhuish, Karen Hanna, Iram Siraj-Blatchford, Pam Sammons, Brenda Taggart, Aidan Doyle

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

This longitudinal study assesses the attainment and development of children followed from the age of 3 until the end of Key Stage 1 (age 8). Over 700 children were recruited to the study during 1998 and 1999 from 80 pre-school centres in Northern Ireland. Both qualitative and quantitative methods are used to explore the effects of pre-school experience on children's cognitive attainment and social/behavioural development at entry to school and any continuing effects on such outcomes up to 8 years of age. In addition to the effects of pre-school experience, the study investigates the contribution to children's development of individual …

Identifying And Monitoring Changes In Special Educational Needs In The Early Years, Karen Hanna, Edward Melhuish, Louise Quinn, Kathy Sylva, Iram Siraj-Blatchford, Pam Sammons, Brenda Taggart

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

This longitudinal study assesses the attainment and development of children followed from the age of 3 until the end of Key Stage 1 (age 8). Over 700 children were recruited to the study during 1998 and 1999 from 80 pre-school centres in Northern Ireland. Both qualitative and quantitative methods are used to explore the effects of pre-school experience on children's cognitive attainment and social/behavioural development at entry to school and any continuing effects on such outcomes up to 8 years of age. In addition to the effects of pre-school experience, the study investigates the contribution to children's development of individual …

Social Work Education In Australia: At The "Crossroads", Peter J. Camilleri

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

The term 'crossroads' is being used in two senses in this paper. The first refers to the Australian Government's recent Review of Higher Education (referred to as 'Crossroads Report') and the impact that the changes will have on the higher education sector and consequently social work education. And secondly, 'crossroads' is being used in the sense that social work education is being restructured by the changes occurring in universities. Social work programs are expected to be more 'entrepreneurial', more research oriented ('publish or perish'), and more efficient in teaching methodology (this has meant emphasis on technology, use of adjunct staff …