Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

‘Don’T Let Anyone Bring Me Down Again’: Applying ‘Possible Selves’ To Understanding Persistence Of Mature-Age First-In-Family Students, Janine Delahunty, Sarah Elizabeth O'Shea

Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education) - Papers

This article applies the framework of possible selves to the motivation and persistence behaviours of one group of university students. We draw on possible selves to consider how particular goal-focused actions and life experiences may significantly shape movements towards imagined futures. Utilising a narrative approach from longitudinal data, this article considers the ways in which possible selves were articulated by five first-in-family students, all of whom were mature-aged women returning to formal learning. A series of vignettes enabled us to explore how students themselves conceived of this movement into university, and how hoped-for selves were considered and enacted (or not). …

Understanding Collaborative Teacher Teams As Open Systems For Professional Development, Kylie Lipscombe, Kellie A. Buckley-Walker, Peter Mcnamara

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Teacher collaboration continues to be deeply grounded within effective professional development. Teacher teams, where small groups of teachers work together in teaching and learning, have become progressively more popular and are considered one of the most effective approaches to improvement and growth. However, teacher teams are situated within a school system where interrelated sets of elements, such as resources and priorities, interact and impact on their work. These interactions can both enable and constrain the necessary conditions of members working effectively together but also their capabilities in producing a meaningful impact on the school organization. As such, paying attention to …

Towards Sustainable Technology-Enhanced Innovation In Higher Education: Advancing Learning Design By Understanding And Supporting Teacher Design Practice, Sue Bennett, Lori Lockyer, Shirley Agostinho

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Improving teacher design promises to be a scalable, sustainable approach to building capacity amongst a workforce faced with complex and evolving drivers of change in higher education worldwide. While design has long been recognised as a routine part of teaching, there has been renewed interest in supporting and understanding the design work that teachers do to foster innovation, particularly in technology-enhanced learning, at institutional scale by influencing teachers' practices. Re-framing teaching as design usefully emphasises the creative problem-solving needed to balance pedagogical, logistical and technical considerations within specific educational contexts, tailored to learners' needs. There is potential for this re-framing …

Understanding The Root Causes Of Natural Disasters, Florian Roth, Christine Eriksen, Timothy Prior

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Every year disasters take lives, cause significant damage, inhibit development and contribute to conflict and forced migration. Unfortunately, the trend is an upward one. In May 2017, policy-makers and disaster management experts from over 180 countries gathered in Cancun, Mexico, to discuss ways to counter this trend. In the middle of the Cancun summit, news arrived that large parts of Sri Lanka were devastated by floods and landslides, killing at least 150 and displacing almost half a million people. Email Twitter68 Facebook52 LinkedIn21 Print Every year disasters take lives, cause significant damage, inhibit development and contribute to conflict and forced …

Understanding Carers' Lived Experience Of Stigma: The Voice Of Families With A Child On The Autism Spectrum, Timothy Broady, Gerard J. Stoyles, Corinne Morse

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Existing research suggests that there are several unique challenges associated with caring for a child on the autism spectrum. Despite a growing evidence base regarding autism spectrum disorders and their increasing prevalence, children on the autism spectrum and their families continue to perceive stigmatisation from various sources throughout the community. These perceptions of stigma can profoundly impact the quality of life of these children and their carers alike. This exploratory study sought to investigate carers' perceptions of stigma in caring for a child with high functioning autism. Fifteen carers from Sydney and the South Coast regions of New South Wales, …

Toward A Sociomaterial Understanding Of Writing Experiences Incorporating Digital Technology In An Early Childhood Classroom, Lisa K. Kervin, Barbara Comber, Annette Woods

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

This article examines the resources, tools, and opportunities children enact as they engage with teacher-devised writing experiences within their classroom space. We begin with discussion about classroom writing time from the perspective of both the teacher and children of one Grade 1/2 composite class. We also reveal resources within the classroom space to consider the expertise available during writing times. We then examine a 5-week unit that focused on multimodal text construction. Using optical flow computer vision analysis to examine the movement of children during four video-recorded independent writing instances, we provide commentary about how the classroom writing experiences have …

A Contribution To Understanding The Impact Of Variations In Body Mass On Fractionating The Metabolic Burden Of Military Load Carriage, Heather Bowes, Catriona A. Burdon, Nigel A.S. Taylor

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

Purpose: The oxygen cost associated with load carriage is dependent upon both its mass and its placement about the body. For occupations in which load carriage is routinely performed, and involves identical loads for all individuals, the relative metabolic cost varies inversely with body mass. However, whilst we understand the average impact of varying load placement, our appreciation of its impact on a morphologically diverse, contemporary workforce is very limited. Methods:The relationship between load placement and body mass was evaluated in 65 men (23.0 y [SD 3.0]; 80.5 kg [SD 1.7]: range 56.0-109.8 kg), matched for height-adjusted adiposity (59.3 mm …

Children Talking About Writing: Investigating Metalinguistic Understanding, Honglin Chen, Debra Myhill

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Much of the literature on explicit teaching about language has suggested that equipping students with metalinguistic knowledge is as an important means of enhancing students' participation in learning. Yet in the context of international jurisdictions which are placing a renewed emphasis on knowledge about language, there is a notable lack of research into the nature of learners' metalinguistic understanding about writing, as evident in their ability to reflect on written language. Using an analytical framework shaped by Vygotsky's and Hallidayan theories of concept formation and language learning, this paper provides insights into the nature of metalinguistic understanding as manifested in …

The Process Of Designing For Learning: Understanding University Teachers' Design Work, Sue Bennett, Shirley Agostinho, Lori Lockyer

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Interest in how to support the design work of university teachers has led to research and development initiatives that include technology-based design-support tools, online repositories, and technical specifications. Despite these initiatives, remarkably little is known about the design work that university teachers actually do. This paper presents findings from a qualitative study that investigated the design processes of 30 teachers from 16 Australian universities. The results show design as a top-down iterative process, beginning with a broad framework to which detail is added through cycles of elaboration. Design extends over the period before, while, and after a unit is taught, …

Students' Perceived Understanding And Competency In Probability Concepts In An E-Learning Environment: An Australian Experience, M Zamalia, Anne L. Porter

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

Student understanding and competency in probability have been investigated from different perspectives. Competency is often measured in the form of tests. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether perceived understanding and competency can be calibrated and assessed together using Rasch measurement tools. The study comprised 44 students who enrolled in the STAT131 Understanding Uncertainty and Variation course at University of Wollongong, Australia. Their voluntary participation in the study was through the e-learning Moodle platform where tests and assessment were administered online. Data were analysed using the Rasch measurement models. The study revealed majority of the students had little …

Cultures And Disasters: Understanding Cultural Framings In Disaster Risk Reduction By F. Kruger, G. Bankoff, T. Cannon, B. Orlowski And E.L.F. Shipper, Christine Eriksen

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Book review of: Cultures and Disasters: Understanding Cultural Framings in Disaster Risk Reduction F. Krüger, G. Bankoff, T. Cannon, B. Orlowski and E.L.F. Shipper. Routledge, London and New York, 2015, xv + 282 pp, ISBN 978 0 415 74560 4 (paperback).

Investigating Product-Oriented Versus Process-Oriented Worked Examples To Support Understanding Of Quality Teaching Principles, Gerardo Sozio, Sharon K. Tindall-Ford, Shirley Agostinho, Fred Paas

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Abstract presented at the 8th Cognitive Load Theory Conference, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA, June 15th - 17th, 2015.

Conceptualizing Metalinguistic Understanding In Writing | Conceptualización De La Competencia Metalingüística En La Escritura, Debra Myhill, Susan M. Jones

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

This paper will present a theoretical analysis of research on metalinguistic understanding, illustrating how current research does not yet adequately address metalinguistic development in writing. Existing research on metalinguistic understanding has focused more on language acquisition, oral development and bilingual learners. Research on metalinguistic understanding in writing has tended to look more closely at young learners developing writing skills in spelling, transcription and orthography. Thus, theoretical accounts of metalinguistic understanding are currently insufficient to explain developing metalinguistic mastery of composing text and the relationships between declarative and procedural metalinguistic knowledge in writing. If we are to understand better the nature …

Understanding The Effects Of Crime On Women: Fear And Well-Being In The Context Of Diverse Relationships, Natalia K. Hanley, Leah Ruppanner

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

The risk-fear paradox, whereby people who experience the least criminal victimisation report the greatest fear of crime, has been established in the extant literature. That this paradox is gendered, notably that women report greater fear yet are less likely to experience crime, has also been consistently identified. However, there remains a largely unanswered call to explore further the distinctive experiences of women and men. There are likely to be substantial within-group differences as well as between-group differences in experiences of crime and reported fear of crime. For instance, women may experience fear differently by relationship type. Specifically, women in non-traditional …

Living With Invasive Plants In The Anthropocene: The Importance Of Understanding Practice And Experience, Lesley M. Head, Brendon M. Larson, Richard Hobbs, Jennifer M. Atchison, Nicholas J. Gill, Christian Kull, Haripriya Rangan

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

The role of humans in facilitating the rapid spread of plants at a scale that is considered invasive is one manifestation of the Anthropocene, now framed as a geological period in which humans are the dominant force in landscape transformation. Invasive plant management faces intensified challenges, and can no longer be viewed in terms of 'eradication' or 'restoration of original landscapes'. In this perspectives piece, we focus on the practice and experience of people engaged in invasive plant management, using examples from Australia and Canada. We show how managers 1) face several pragmatic trade-offs; 2) must reconcile diverse views, even …

Understanding The Active Ingredients Of Smart Recovery: Perceptions Of Group Members And Group Facilitators, Peter James Kelly, Amanda Baker, Frank P. Deane

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Abstract of a presentation at the ADDICTION 2015: the Australian & New Zealand Addiction Conference, Gold Coast, Australia, 20-22 May.

Does Using Active Learning In Thermodynamics Lectures Improve Students' Conceptual Understanding And Learning Experiences?, Helen Georgiou, Manjula Sharma

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Encouraging 'active learning' in the large lecture theatre emerges as a credible recommendation for improving university courses, with reports often showing significant improvements in learning outcomes. However, the recommendations are based predominantly on studies undertaken in mechanics. We set out to examine those claims in the thermodynamics module of a large first year physics course with an established technique, called interactive lecture demonstrations (ILDs). The study took place at University of Sydney, where four parallel streams of the thermodynamics module were divided into two streams that experienced the ILDs and two streams that did not. The programme was first implemented …

Building Capacity Through Ethical Understanding And Practice, Michaela Baker, Erin Corderoy, Laura Ann Hammersley, Kate Lloyd, Kathryn Mclachlan, Anne-Louise Semple, Karolyn L. White

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Fostering ethical understanding and practice in Work Integrated Learning (WIL) and other forms of experiential learning is integral to preparing students for engagement with society beyond university (Campbell, 2011; Campbell & Zegwaard, 2011a; Campbell & Zegwaard, 2011b). Ethical practice is a fundamental aspect of Macquarie University's Professional and Community Engagement (PACE) initiative, and our research and practice to date have examined how ethical understanding can be translated into ethical practice by students (Baker et al., 2013). This paper details further developments in our endeavour to prepare students for ethical complexities and build their capacity to respond to them. It also …

Reaching 'An Audience That You Would Never Dream Of Speaking To': Influential Public Health Researchers' Views On The Role Of News Media In Influencing Policy And Public Understanding, Simon Chapman, Abby Haynes, Gemma Derrick, Heidi Sturk, Wayne Hall, Alexis B. St George

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

While governments and academic institutions urge researchers to engage with news media, traditional academic values of public disengagement have inhibited many from giving high priority to media activity. In this interview-based study, the authors report on the views about news media engagement and strategies used by 36 peer-voted leading Australian public health researchers in 6 fields. The authors consider their views about the role and importance of media in influencing policy, their reflections on effective or ineffective media communicators, and strategies used by these researchers about how to best retain their credibility and influence while engaging with the news media. …

Mature Aged "Baby Boomer" Students' Contributions To Understanding Nursing Education, Sandra Walker, Trudy Dwyer, Teresa Sander, Lorna Moxham, Marc Broadbent, Kristin Edwards

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

Background: Mature aged nursing students of the 'Baby Boomer' generation are important for health workforce retention and planning because once graduated, they are viewed as being more loyal to the profession and consequently likely to remain in the nursing workforce. A challenge though, related to this group is providing them with a fulfilling and worthwhile work integrated learning experience that enables them to engage with their new profession. Methods: An exploratory study was conducted using an online survey with open-ended questions to explore the supports for and barriers to the learning opportunities of "baby boomer" aged undergraduate-nursing students (n = …

Understanding Place As 'Home' And 'Away' Through Practices Of Bird-Watching, Carrie Wilkinson, Gordon R. Waitt, Leah Maree Gibbs

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

Bird-watching is an increasingly popular leisure activity. Previous research has taken for granted the identity of people who watch birds, often categorised by their level of skilled practice as 'dude', 'birder' or 'twitcher'. Feminist geographers encourage us to explore identity work as an outcome of the reciprocal relationships between practices and place. Our feminist approach illustrates that the practices of bird-watching are always much more than categorising birds as species. This paper illustrates how the practices of bird-watching are integral to the making and remaking of sense of place as 'home' and 'away', to sustain identities beyond accepted categories of …

Questions And Answers: Understanding The Connection Between Questioning And Knowledge In Game-Centred Approaches, Gregory J. Forrest

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Over the last 20 years, there has been considerable enthusiasm for approaches to teaching games and sports that use a game-centred approach (GCA). GCA is an umbrella term for pedagogical approaches and models that have game play and reflection on game play as central elements of the learning process. However, they should not be confused with the games concept approach used in Singapore and reported on in Chapter 3. The underlying philosophy of the GCA approaches described here is that students need to develop an understanding of how to play rather than an overriding focus on what to do when …

Understanding Demographics Influence On Teleconsultation Acceptance In Hospital: A Mixed-Method Study, Nurazean Maarop, Khin T. Win, Sukdershan Singh Hs

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

The aim of this study is to explore and understand the influence of demographic factors on teleconsultation acceptance in Malaysian government hospitals. The materials of this study are based on an exploratory mixed-method study involving semi-structured interviews with key informants and questionnaires survey of health care providers. The prominent influence of demographic aspects over the acceptance of teleconsultation technology from the mixed methods standpoint is further discussed. The findings of both results provide evidence to suggest that teleconsultation acceptance differs across the types of hospital, distance between referring and referral hospital, role of teleconsultation, and user's computer ability. Interestingly, user's …

Understanding Students' Use And Value Of Technology For Learning, Karley Beckman, Sue Bennett, Lori Lockyer

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Despite significant research in the field of educational technology, there is still much we do not fully understand about students' experiences with technology. This article proposes that research in the field of educational technology would benefit from a sociological framing that pays attention to the understandings and lives of learners. Within a broader study that aimed to investigate students' use and value of technologies guided by Bourdieu's sociological theory, this article reports on qualitative embedded case study data of 12 students in years 9 and 10 from two Australian secondary schools. The article provides detailed accounts of students' experiences with …

An Assessment Of The Bhutanese Traditional Medicine For Its Ethnopharmacology, Ethnobotany And Ethnoquality: Textual Understanding And The Current Practices, Phurpa Wangchuk, Stephen G. Pyne, Paul A. Keller

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

Ethnopharmacological relevance : This study involves the assessment of the Bhutanese traditional medicine (BTM) which was integrated with the mainstream biomedicine in 1967 to provide primary health care services in the country. It caters to 20-30% of the daily out-patients within 49 traditional medicine units attached to 20 district modern hospitals and 29 Basic Health Units in the country. Aim of the study : This study presents the ethnopharmacological, ethnobotanical and the ethnoquality concepts in relation to mainstream Tibetan medicine and describes the current practices of BTM. Materials and methods : Experienced BTM practitioners (Drung-tshos and Smen-pas) were selected using …

The Added Value Of Understanding Informal Social Networks In An Adaptive Capacity Assessment: Explorations Of An Urban Water Management System In Indonesia, Silva Larson, Kim S. Alexander, Riyanti Djalante, Dewi G.C Kirono

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

Social networks play an important role in environmental governance regimes, and they are a key to the adaptive capacity of systems that deal with complex, contextual and multi-faceted issues. Urban water systems are typical examples of complex systems facing many pressures, such as increased population, water quality deterioration, and climate change. This paper explores social networks of the key stakeholders engaged in urban water management, in Makassar City, Indonesia, in the context of exploring ways to improve management of an increasingly complex urban water system. Three social networks were explored; those constituted by formal and informal interactions and networks perceived …

Understanding Indigenous Consultation And Engagement In Engineering Education, Thomas Goldfinch, Jade Kennedy

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

BACKGROUND Higher education participation rates among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are significantly lower than for other Australians (Behrendt, Larkin, Griew, & Kelly, 2012). In addition, Indigenous Australian participation rates in engineering and other technology related fields are lower than for other fields such as law, health and education (DEEWR, 2008). This presents a substantial challenge for engineering education to increase participation rates among Indigenous Australians towards those of other Australians. Engineering schools and Industry have responded with an array of outreach, scholarship, and support programs which have taken small steps towards this (BHP Billiton, 2012; EAA, 2013; Rio …

Understanding The School Community's Response To School Closures During The H1n1 2009 Influenza, Annette J. Braunack-Mayer, Rebecca Tooher, Joanne Collins, Jackie M. Street, Helen S. Marshall

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Background

During the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic, Australian public health officials closed schools as a strategy to mitigate the spread of the infection. This article examines school communities’ understanding of, and participation in, school closures and the beliefs and values which underpinned school responses to the closures.

Methods

We interviewed four school principals, 25 staff, 14 parents and 13 students in five schools in one Australian city which were either fully or partially closed during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic.

Results

Drawing on Thompson et al’s ethical framework for pandemic planning, we show that considerable variation existed between and within schools …

Understanding The Factors Controlling The Removal Of Trace Organic Contaminants By White-Rot Fungi And Their Lignin Modifying Enzymes: A Critical Review, Shufan Yang, Faisal I. Hai, Long D. Nghiem, William E. Price, Felicity Roddick, Maria T. Moreira, Saleh F. Magram

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

White-rot fungi (WRF) and their lignin modifying enzymes (LME) can degrade a wide range of trace organic contaminants (TrOC), which are suspected to cause adverse health effects in humans and other biota. Recent studies have successfully applied either whole-cell WRF or their extracellular culture extract to remove TrOC from the aqueous phase. TrOC removal by a WRF system is dependent on a range of factors including molecular structure of the TrOC, fungal species and their specific LME, culture medium composition, and methods to enhance fungal degradation capacity; however, the specific relationships between these factors have not been systematically delineated. The …

Soil Chemistry: Understanding Phosphorus In The Environment, Paul Milham, Warwick Dougherty, Robert John Morrison, Robert Graham Clark, Ronald Smernik, Ashlea Doolette, Lucy Burkitt, Damian Collins, Rebeca Alvarez, Andrew Thomas

Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)

It is an essential ingredient in food production, but poor management means bad news downstream. Understanding the way phosphorus behaves in the environment calls for soil and plant biology, and some new soil chemistry.