Digital Commons Network^™

The Effect(S) Of Word Processing Software On The Equality Of The Composing Process, Product, And Attitudes Of Adult Academic Esl (English As A Second Language) Writers, L. J. Oliver

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The focus of this study was on the effect of word processing on the quality of the composing process, product, and attitudes of adult academic ESL writers. Twenty adult ESL students, comprising an ‘intact’ EAP (English for Academic Purposes) group, completed a number of written assignments as part of their ESL unit, using either word processing or conventional ‘pen and paper’ composition methods. Their handwritten and word processed work was analysed and compared through the use of an holistic/analytic scale of writing quality. In addition to this analysis of the ‘finished product’, texts were analysed in terms of the frequency, …

Tense, Aspect And Time Concepts In English And Bahasa Indonesia: Pedagogical Implications, S. Suwono

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The aim of the study has been to provide theoretical foundations on which padagogical approaches to the teaching of English tense-aspect complexes to EFL teacher trainees in Indonesian tertiary institutions can be based. The study investigates how expression of time and related concepts in English and Bahasa Indonesia (BI) can be compared with particular regard to pedagogical implications. Two major areas of investigation have been explored: 1. questions relevant to the general linguistic theory of tense and aspect and how the two languages compared fit into such a general theory; ii. questions relevant to how the teaching of English tense-aspect …

Wandering Scholars, Graveyards And Pearly Gates, Steve Hunter

Research outputs pre 2011

No abstract provided.

Silence (And Its Voluble Partner), Andrew Taylor

Research outputs pre 2011

Silence may traditionally have been golden, but how is it valued today? Can it survive the impact of a technology which can, and does, bring the apparently irresistible seductions of noise to the remotest parts of the world, and which invades the most reclusive aspects of our lives? And what place has silence in a culture such as ours which classifies it as "unproductive"?

But what is silence anyway?

Professor Taylor considers two ways in which, from the Romantic period onward, silence has been conceived. One tradition equates silence with Truth itself; the other considers it the condition which enables …

Factors Related To The Amount Of Time Children Spend In Leisure Reading, Dorothy Doig

Theses : Honours

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the amount of time children spend in leisure reading and the variables of reading achievement, reading attitude, amount of television viewed, access to interesting materials in the home, competing leisure interests and gender. The subjects were 115 Year 6 children from 4 classes in Perth's northern suburbs. Reading achievement was measured using PAT Comprehension and PAT Vocabulary, Form A, Part 5. The Elementary Reading Attitude Survey measured attitude to recreational reading and attitude to academic reading, The Leisure Activities Questionnaire provided information on the amount of time devoted to …

Spelling In The Secondary School: A Review Of The Current Situation, Joan Rodrigues

Theses : Honours

The purpose of this study was to discover the strategies being employed by secondary school teachers to assist students with spelling difficulties. Teachers in the English and social studies departments of three Perth high schools were interviewed and asked to indicate the criteria they used to identify students with spelling problems and the teaching methods they employed to help those students overcome their problems. They were also asked to identify the causes of spelling difficulty. Staff at the local district offices and the Ministry of Education were interviewed to establish what support services were available for teachers who wished to …

Factors In The Non-Recognition Of Overseas Qualifications: The Case Of Medical Practitioners, Christine V. Farag

Theses : Honours

The overseas qualified doctor is a potential threat to the state-sanctioned control practising doctors have over medical knowledge in Australia. The nonrecognition of qualifications of many migrant and refugee doctors, in particular from non-English speaking background (NESB) countries, presses them into a subordinate relationship lo that of registered practitioners. The ownership of medical knowledge is limited lo state-recognised practitioners, thus allowing them to maintain significant economic and social advantage within the general community. The relationship between qualified practitioners and the state is indicative of a particular dynamic in which some individuals are able to exclude others by mechanisms of social …

The Pursuit Of Fulfilment: Desire In Peter Carey's Illywhacker, Jonas Byford

Theses : Honours

This paper is a close textual analysis exploring the different levels at which desire is manifest in Peter Carey's lllywhacker. It attempts to show how desire, and the expectation of its fulfilment, have the effect of propelling the narrative and implicating the reader in the text. It is also the aim of the paper to argue that, despite aU Ilfywhacker's gestures to the contrary. and its expectation of fulfilment, at no level is this desire realized in the novel. It should be stated that this is not an evaluative judgement...

The Educational Aspirations Of Upper Primary Non English Speaking Background Students In A Mainstream Government School, Shirley Lienert

Theses : Honours

Researchers have described Non English Speaking Background (NESB) students as educationally disadvantaged but recent statistics show that some NESB students are actually outstripping their English Speaking Background (ESB) peers in educational achievement. In this study 121 students in upper primary classes in a Western Australian government school were surveyed so that NESB and ESB students could be identified and the proportion of NESB students within the sample group established. Information was gathered from both NESB and ESB students by administering a sociogram, the Lawseq test and a Likert scale questionnaire with variables of attitudes towards school, attitudes towards teachers1 influence …

Teachers' Concerns About Implementing Environmental Education Through Their Classroom Programmes, Karen Malone

Theses : Honours

This study examined the concerns of teachers when implementing environmental education into classroom programmes. A metropolitan district of Perth was used for data collection. Four schools and thirteen teachers participated in the study. The measure of concern was calculated using the Stages of Concern Questionnaire. The concerns were then subjected to a SAS computing analysis· programme to determine the relationship between level of concern and predetermined factors. These factors were personal factors: teaching experience; knowledge of the principles of environmental education; colleague support and year level taught; and school-level factors: the presence of school policies; participation in inservices or workshops; …

Reading "Academic Writing", Mary Scott

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Helping studetns learn how to learn is now a concern for most U.K. institutions of higher education. The study skill given most emphasis is "academic writing", no doubt because it is on the quality of their written assignments that students' success or failure larely turns.

Contextualizing The Competency-Based Schooling, Victor V. Soucek

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

To a classroom teacher the current debate about work-related competencies might appear far removed from his/her classroom and have no significance for teacher education. Yet the proposed policy changes are likely to affect the work and the professional status of teachers in a very direct way. As Whitty and Willmott (1991: 312) point out, one of the fundamental problems of competency-based teaching/training (CBT) approach consists in the difficulty to define just how narrow or broad the competencies might be. A too narrow definition based on observable work-related skills might indicate a radical departure from the traditional role teachers played in …

How Do Aboriginal Students Account For Their Lack Of Academic Success In W.A. Secondary Schools, Jeffrey Jon Mcquade

Theses : Honours

The provision of education to Aboriginal students has been the subject of many reports and inquiries over the years, each expressing various degrees of concern about aspects of Aboriginal participation and retention in the school system and the generally low levels of academic performance achieved by Aboriginal children. Numerous theoretical explanations have been proposed to account for the serious inequities which continue to exist between the academic performance of Aboriginal children and their non-Aboriginal peers. Some of these are reviewed in this thesis so as to provide a conceptual framework in order that readers may judge the results of this …

The Effect Of Word Processing On The Revising/Editing Strategies Of Primary Esl Writers, L. John Oliver

Theses : Honours

The focus of this study was on the effect of word processing on the revising and editing strategies of primary ESL writers. Six year 5/6 'intensive' ESL students completed a number of written tasks, using both computer and conventional 'pen and paper' methods. Their handwritten and word processed work was analysed and compared in terms of the frequency, nature and extent of changes made. Statistical analysis of these data, as well as audio-taped verbal protocols, interviews, and observational notes, was used to determine the effect(s) of word processing on the revising/editing strategies of these students. Of the four major revision …

The Development Of A Test Of Concept Identification, Semantic And Syntactic Performance For Use With Hearing Impaired Children, Heather Joan Hussey

Theses : Honours

The purpose of this study was to develop the Concept Identification Instrument (CII); an instrument for measuring prelinguistically deaf children's concept identification, semantic and syntactic abilities in a reading situation. Analysis of the related literature suggested that isolation of some of the factors which contribute to the problems faced by deaf children in reading development, such as concept identification, may lead to improved chances of understanding, reducing or eliminating reading problems and improving reading outcomes for these children. The subjects were 21 prelinguistically deaf children who attended or had previously attended the Speech and Hearing Centre for Deaf Children (WA) …

The Impact Of Dramatic Improvisational Strategies On The Oral Comprehension Skills Of Children With A Low Socio-Economic Background, Heather A. Timms

Theses : Honours

Children with a low socio-economic background frequently fail to reach a high level of scholastic performance during their school years. The school milieu is a potential contributor to this scenario, as schools are generally designed for the attributes, needs, and skill levels that are characteristic of children from middle socio-economic backgrounds. As a result, these children require specific intervention to enable them to function within this 'alien' system. Drama offers unique and exciting possibilities in this field. Previous research endorses the use of improvisational strategies for this specific purpose; and the theories propounded by learning and language theorists and drama …

Prose Fiction Preferences Of Lower Secondary Urban Aboriginal Boys, Stephen James White

Theses : Honours

The purpose of this study was to investigate the prose fiction preferences of lower secondary urban Aboriginal boys. The Likert scale scores from the 2 x 4 factorial design were analysed using an ANOVA test of significance. It was found that the research group significantly preferred action genres to non-action genres, Aboriginal characterisations to white Australian characterisations, and contemporary story extracts to traditional story extracts.

Postmodernist Writings, Realist Readings: Peter Carey's Bliss And The Tax Inspector, Antonio Jose Dos Santos Simoes Da Silva

Theses : Honours

No abstract provided.

The A.D.E. Taxonomy Of Spreadsheet Application Development, Maria Jean Hall

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Spreadsheets are a major application in end-user computing, one of the fastest growing areas of computing. Studies have shown that 30% of spreadsheet applications contain errors. As major decisions are often made with the assistance of spreadsheets, the control of spreadsheet applications is a matter of concern to enduser developers, managers, EDP auditors and computer professionals.

The application of appropriate controls to the spreadsheet development process requires prior categorisation of the spreadsheet application. The special-purpose A.D.E. (Application, Development, Environment) taxonomy of spreadsheet application development was evolved by mathematical taxonomic methods to categorise spreadsheet development projects to facilitate their management and …

An Evaluation Of The Procedures Used To Assess And Remediate The Perceived Writing Difficulties Of Undergraduate Students In The Faculty Of Education At Edith Cowan University, Les Puhl

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The standards of written literacy of teacher-education students at Edith Cowan University are perceived by many staff to be inadequate. The Faculty of Education's response to this perceived inadequacy is to carry out a mandatory skills-based remedial writing programme for students whose literacy competencies are judged to be deficient, The instrument used to assess the students' literacy competencies is the English Skills Assessment test. The students' performances in the various skills which the test purports to measure, also determine the area in which they are given remedial instruction if the results of the test suggest this is necessary. However, many …

On The Power Of Language And The Language Of Power, Ian Malcolm

Research outputs pre 2011

No abstract provided.

The Effect Of Outlines, Headings And Summaries On The Recall Of Informational Text, John S. Latham

Theses : Honours

The purpose of this study was to investigate various text-based ways of assisting Year Seven readers to enhance their recall of informational texts. The theory that was tested in this investigation is that text-based reading aids which secure the activation and rehearsal of relevant form and/or content schemata for written texts will enhance the recall of the content and structure of those texts. To investigate the comparative impact of the text conditions, 105 Year Seven students from a large primary school in a northern suburb of the Perth Metropolitan Area were ranked on the basis of their reading comprehension scores. …

Doubling, Splitting And Fragmentation In Bleak House, Mary Cleopatra Lloyd Da Silva

Theses : Honours

This thesis draws mainly on psychoanalytic theories, and explicates the doubling leitmotiv in Bleak House (1971), which portrays Victorian personality as split and its society as fragmented. This is seen as a suggestion of Dickens' conception of human identity as fragile and vulnerable. Each autonomous character represents a single aspect of personality, so that conflict, when it occurs, is in fact intra-psychic, rather than inter-psychic. The study investigates the problem of the dual or split personality via the quest for identity, and addresses Dickens' perceived need to reward self-effacing characters and punish the assertive. It explores the psychological ramifications of …

The Improvement Of The Teaching Of Informational Writing: A Study Of Six Teachers, Lisbeth Berridge

Theses : Honours

The purpose of this study was to focus on the progressive stages through which six teachers moved in their efforts to improve children's writing of informational texts. An action research approach was used to control and monitor the work of the researcher and the six teachers as they sought to improve their classroom practice in the teaching of writing. The essential features of the approach were for the teachers to collaborate with the researcher in: a) discussing their problems and in devising suitable solutions; b) formulating a working hypothesis; c) working out an appropriate plan comprised of the steps of …

How Can We Know About Knowing In Educational Administration?, Felicity Haynes

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Colin W. Evers & Gabriele Lakomski (1991) Knowing Educational Administration. Pergamon Press, 250 p.

The Effect Of Expository Writing As A Pre-Reading Activity On Comprehension Of Expository Text, W. B. Day

Theses : Honours

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of a pre-reading expository writing task on comprehension of expository text. It was undertaken in order to ascertain the usefulness of writing as a pre-reading activity in the development of schema theoretic reading teaching strategies. The theoretical position of the study was that writing before reading would activate prior knowledge in the form of content and structure in the working memory of the reader and thereby enhance reading comprehension. The sample, comprised selected from a small, of 51 year 6/7 students, school in the outskirts of was the metropolitan area. …

Deconstructing Alice's 'Wonderlands': The Non-Sense Of Nonsense?, Beverley Farr

Theses : Honours

The profusion of literary criticism surrounding the Alice books affirms the heterogeneous nature of the texts 'Which resist the imposition of an exclusive, closed interpretation. A deconstructive reading of the texts demonstrates the tendency of the books toward multiple meanings, revealing how they are transgressive of notions of coherence and structure. Utilising some of the concepts of Jacques Lacan to examine the texts beyond the traditional analytic readings, language is shown to be a signifying chain of desire, structured like the unconscious. Alice becomes Lacan's split subject, banished to the world of language where she finds herself enmeshed in an …

An Investigation Of Communication Strategy Use In Reception, Kaye Malcolm

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This thesis is a theoretical and empirical investigation of communication strategy use in the receptive behaviour of second/foreign language learners. The investigation is descriptive in design, and seeks to describe the phenomenon of communication strategies both as a constituent of communicative discourse and as a part of that discourse, in inter-relationship with other constituents. The theoretical framework for the research is an interactional one. Description is sought from analysis of the dynamics of communication. The need for a study on communication strategy use in reception lies in the fact that second/foreign language learners see reception as being particularly problematic, and …

Selected Topics In Limos Kalinga Grammar, Naomi J. Saggers

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The Grammar is of the Limos Kalinga dialect, referred to by its speakers as Linimos. It . is one of ten Kalinga dialects belonging to the Central Cordilleran subgroup. An estimated 70,000 to 80,000 Kalingas live in the mountainous Kalinga subprovince of Kalinga Apayo in northern Luzon, Republic of the Philippines. Linimos itself is spoken by about 8,000 people living in about ten villages along the lower Saltan river in the municipality of Pinokpok . The Grammar comprises an Introduction, followed by a survey of the basic grammar of the language. This survey includes a chapter on word classes, including …

Literacy In Perspective., Ken Willis

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

One aim of this Joint National Conference of the Australian Reading Association and the Australian Association of Teachers of English is to develop a National Literacy Policy. An essential pre-requisite to developing a policy on literacy is a definition of the term ''literacy''. This paper argues that if this definition is stated in general terms it will be of questionable value, as it will be open to multiple interpretations dependent on the context.