Education Commons^™

Childhood Tetanus In Australia: Ethical Issues For A Should-Be-Forgotten Preventable Disease, Paul N. Goldwater, Annette J. Braunack-Mayer, Richard G. Power, Paul H. Henning, M S. Gold, Terence G. Donald, Jon N. Jureidini, Christine F. Finlay

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

• Refusal of a parent to have a child vaccinated against tetanus raised ethical issues for the treating clinicians.

• The clinicians felt their duty to the child was compromised, but recognised that our society leaves the authority for such decisions with the parents.

• As there was no reason, other than different beliefs about vaccination, to doubt the parent's care for the child, the clinicians limited their response to providing strong recommendations in favour of vaccination.

• Other issues raised by this case include community protection, and the costs to the community of treating a vaccine-preventable disease.

Sharing Patient Information Between Professionals: Confidentiality And Ethics, Annette J. Braunack-Mayer, Ea Mulligan

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

• Careful consideration of the ethical implications is required before patient information should be shared without the patient's knowledge.

• Routine and apparently uncontroversial releases of information can be perceived as problematic by patients.

• The ethics of such "ordinary" breaches of confidence can be explored by considering the patient's autonomy, the patient's best interests, and the public interest in preserving or breaching confidentiality.

• Patient autonomy can be supported and ethical problems may be avoided when patients are given as much information as possible about foreseeable information disclosures.

Pre-School Experience And Cognitive Development At The End Of Year 1, Louise Quinn, Edward Melhuish, Kathy Sylva, Pam Sammons, Iram Siraj-Blatchford, Brenda Taggart, Karen Hanna, Graham Sweeney

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

This longitudinal study assesses the attainment and development of children followed between the ages of 3 and 7 years. Over 700 children were recruited to the study during 1998 and 1999 from 80 pre-school centres. Both qualitative and quantitative methods (including multilevel modelling) 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 7 years of age. In addition to the effects of preschool experience, the study investigates the contribution to children's development of individual and family characteristics such as gender, …

A Literature Review On The International State Of Knowledge Of Drug Testing At Work, With Particular Reference To The U.S, Peter Francis, Natalia K. Hanley, David Wray

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Over the last forty years there has been a substantial growth in workforce drug testing. Most notably, this proliferation has occurred across U.S. industry and federal organisations. Developments in the U.S. have become the catalyst for an international debate on the issue of substance use in the workplace and ways of responding to it.

Vygotsky's Socio-Cultural Theory And The Zone Of Proximal Development, Irina Verenikina

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Vygotsky's life goal was to create a psychology adequate for the investigation of consciousness. He stated that consciousness is constructed through a subject’s interactions with the world. Consciousness is neither reducible to behaviour nor separate from it, but instead is an attribute of the organisation of practical activity. It is the process that organises behaviour. Vygotsky introduced the idea of externally mediated activity that involves the use of external means to reach a goal. This led to the idea that mental processes could only be understood if we understand the tools and signs that mediate them. Wertsch believed that it …

Replacing Traditional Lectures, Tutorials And Exams With A Knowledge Building Community (Kbc): A Constructivist, Problem-Based Approach To Pre-Service Primary Teacher Education, Brian L. Cambourne, Julie Kiggins, Brian Ferry

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

This paper reports on a journey that begun in 1997 when a small group in the Faculty of Education at the University of Wollongong agreed to trial an alternative model of teacher education known as the Knowledge Building Community (KBC) Project. This alternative model of teacher education was based upon three learning principles, community learning, school-based learning and problem-based learning. Since the first students began in 1999 the original model has undergone several revisions and is now best described as a ?negotiated-evaluation-of-a-non-negotiable-curriculum-based-on-a-constructivist-model-of-learning-and-knowledge-building?. The aim of the KBC Program has been to deal with the perennial problem of contextualising students' professional …

Teaching As A Craft: Making Links Between Pre-Service Training And Professional Practice, Lisa Kervin, Jan Turbill

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

It is acknowledged in the literature and in professional practice that there are "gaps" between the theory of pre-service teacher education and the realities of classroom practice. The report from the 2002 National Meeting of Professional Educators identified tensions between theory and practice and suggested that teachers were "living these out in everyday learning environments" as a "creative tension" (Cumming, 2002, p. 3). We believe the challenge for teacher educators is to assist beginning teachers in making links between pedagogical theory they have accrued in their pre-service training and practice they are attempting to put into place in their classrooms. …

Schema Construction Among Pre-Service Teachers And The Use Of It In Mathematics Teaching: A Case Study, Mohan Chinnappan

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Recent developments about cognitions underlying mathematical learning are beginning to suggest that the activation and appropriate use of prior knowledge by students is, to a large measure, controlled by the quality of organisation of that knowledge. Thus, teaching needs to support the construction of well-connected mathematical knowledge. An important assumption here is that teachers need to construct a repertoire of subject-matter knowledge that is rich and well connected before they can help their students build similar mathematical knowledge. Thus, mathematics knowledge building is an important issue in teacher preparation programs. This paper reports on a study about the knowledge state …

Exacerbation Of Tgf-Β-Induced Cataract By Fgf-2 In Cultured Rat Lenses, Anna Cerra, Kylie Mansfield, Coral Chamberlain

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Purpose: Culturing rat lenses with transforming growth factor-beta (TGFβ) results in the formation of anterior, opaque subcapsular plaques which exhibit many of the features of human subcapsular cataract. The present study was undertaken to determine whether this process is influenced by the presence of fibroblast growth factor (FGF), a normal component of the lens environment in situ.

Methods: Rat lenses were cultured for 4-8 days with TGFβ-2, alone or in combination with FGF-2, PDGF-AA, or the growth factor inhibitors poly(4-styrenesulfonic acid) (PSS) and suramin. Responses were assessed by monitoring opacification, by routine histology and immunolocalization of markers for fibrotic change …

Professional Learning In Different Contexts Of Mathematics Teacher Education, Ian Putt, Elizabeth Warren, Anthony Herrington

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Editorial

Mathematics Teachers' Beliefs And Curriculum Reform, B Handal, Anthony Herrington

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

This paper discusses the role of mathematics teachers’ beliefs and their impact on curriculum reform. It is argued that teachers’ beliefs about the teaching and learning mathematics are critical in determining the pace of curriculum reform. Educational change is a complex process in which teachers hold strong beliefs about the quality and the process of innovation. Curriculum implementation may only occur through sufferance as many teachers are suspicious of reform in mathematics education given its equivocal success over the past decades. It is not surprising then that many teachers, when they come to enact the curriculum in their classes, rely …

Teachers Function Schemas And Their Role In Modelling, Mohan Chinnappan, Mike Thomas

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

An important element in teaching is the quality of content and pedagogical knowledge that teachers use in the design and delivery of their lessons. In this paper we present a framework for investigating how this knowledge is structured and how it relates to the mathematical modelling process. The framework is then used to compare an experienced teacher’s knowledge and teaching of functions with that of four trainee teachers. The data show that the experienced teacher has built up knowledge that is dominated by conceptual rather than procedural aspects of functions, whereas the prospective teachers have structures often lacking a strong …

Benefits And Barriers To The Consumption Of A Vegetarian Diet In Australia, Emma Lea, Anthony Worsley

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine consumers' perceived benefits and barriers to the consumption of a vegetarian diet.

Design: Survey (written questionnaire) that included questions on perceived benefits and barriers to the consumption of a vegetarian diet.

Setting: South Australia.

Subjects: Six hundred and one randomly selected South Australians.

Results: The main perceived barriers to adopting a vegetarian diet were enjoying eating meat and an unwillingness to alter eating habits. This was the case for men, women and all age groups, although there were sex and age differences present in over half of the barrier items. For …

Regional Development Politics Along Australia's Eastern Seaboard, Phillip O'Neill, Pauline M. Mcguirk

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Despite its enduring nature, there is remarkably little published analysis about Australia's period of contemporary prosperity. It is clear that the post -war Keynesian-Fordist foundations for accumulation in Australia have been displaced. Prima facie evidence suggests that this displacement centres on econormc advantage within the nation's finance, property and business services sectors. Evidence also suggests that a new territorial configurations of Australia's urban and regional economies has accompanied this sectoral shift and, in turn, new spatial distributional flows have been generated. The paper examines whether a new urban-centric economic configuration has emerged. Economic reterritorialisations in Australia have necessarily produced new …

A Comparative Analysis Of Indigenous Peoples' Interests And National Park Issues In Arctic Sweden, Michael J. Adams

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Despite a number of high-profile joint-managed national parks, in Australia there are substantial unresolved issues between indigenous interests and conservation agencies. Conservation agencies have done little comparative international research. This period of Fellowship travel was to commence international field research on comparative analyses of indigenous peoples' interests and national park issues. The focus was investigation and analysis of the Swedish environment agency's policy history and outcomes concerning Saami people's [indigenous Scandinavians] use of national parks in the Laponia World Heritage Area for reindeer herding, hunting and gathering, and other cultural activities. Sweden has a highly comparable economic and social profile …

The Effects Of Frequency And Predictability On Eye Fixations In Reading: An Evaluation Of The E-Z Reader Model, Laurent Sparrow, Sebastien R. Miellet, Yann Coello

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

We tested whether the E-Z Reader model can be generalised to the French language. The simulation showed that the model can account for the frequency effect. The predictability effect is moreover accurate for word skipping, but not for fixation times. We think that this model is psychologically plausible for certain aspects of reading and we have used it to evaluate the performance of dyslexic readers.

An Online Subject Delivered With Help From An "Absent Ceo", James Meek, Shirley Agostinho

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

This paper examines recent modifications to a masters-level subject in the area of technology-based learning. It shows how a scenario built around a fictitious consultancy company was joined to a new content set. Particular attention is given to a structuring device aimed at strengthening motivation in the addition of an unseen Chief Executive Officer (CEO) character. This device, coupled with reconfiguration of the lecturer as a company adviser, has become a primary driver of subject activity. We explain the rationale for adopting our approach and describe how it was implemented. Preliminary reflections are considered and the paper concludes by outlining …

Effects Of Supplementation With Purified Red Clover (Trifolium Pratense) Isoflavones On Plasma Lipids And Insulin Resistance In Healthy Premenopausal Women, Sarah Blakesmith, Philippa Lyons-Wall, Caroline George, George Joannou, Peter Petocz, Samir Samman

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Consumption of isoflavone-rich soyabean protein is reported to reduce total and LDL-cholesterol, but the specific components responsible are undetermined. In a previous crossover trial we showed that purified isoflavones, derived from red clover (Trifolium pratense), raised HDL₃-cholesterol in premenopausal women; however, these findings were inconclusive due to period and carryover effects. In an attempt to overcome this problem, we utilised a parallel study designed to re-examine the effects of purified isoflavones on plasma lipoproteins and markers of insulin resistance in premenopausal women. Twenty-five healthy premenopausal women participated in a double-blind, randomised, parallel study. The treatment group …

"Social Drivers" As Predictors Of Yoghurt Consumption In China, A Lowe, Anthony Worsley

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

A survey of yoghurt consumption by female consumers in Beijing showed 42% consuming often, 26% occasionally and 32% never. Consumers were generally younger and more driven by materialistic values than non-consumers. "Social drivers" are presented as a 1001 for marketers to predict the use of consumer products.

New Zealanders' Attitudes To Milk: Implications For Public Health, Carol A. Wham, Anthony Worsley

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Objective: To identify consumer attitudes and beliefs about (liquid) milk that may be barriers to consumption.

Design: Two random-quota telephone surveys conducted in Auckland one year apart. Respondents were questioned about their usual milk intake and their attitudes to milk. The questionnaire included attitude items that reflected the main themes of consumer interest in milk.

Setting: New Zealand.

Subjects: Seven hundred and thirteen respondents in the baseline survey and a separate sample of 719 respondents in the follow-up survey.

Results: At least one-third of the respondents consumed less than a glass (250ml) of milk a day. Non-consumption was highest in …

Consumers' Sensory And Nutritional Perceptions Of Three Types Of Milk, A E M Bus, Anthony Worsley

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Objective: To identify consumer perceptions of whole milk, reduced-fat milk and soy milk, and to investigate demographic influences on perceptions and types of milk consumption.

Design and setting: Questionnaires covering nutritional and sensory perceptions of three types of milk.

Subjects: Three hundred and sixty-one randomly selected shoppers in Melbourne, Australia.

Results: Generally, respondents held positive perceptions about milk. Milk was considered as having good sensory properties, providing a good source of nutrients, and being a convenient and safe product. However, despite these findings, misperceptions and unawareness about the nutrient content of milk were prevalent. Negative perceptions were most common for …

Testing The Relationship Between Personality, Computer Self-Efficacy And Computer Anxiety, Shae-Leigh C. Vella, Peter Caputi, Rohan Jayasuriya

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

This paper discusses research in progress that examines the relationship between personality, computer self- efficacy and computer anxiety. An extension of the model proposed by Thatcher and Perrewe (2002) is discussed. This extended model considers the role of personality in determining the antecedents of variables affecting computer anxiety and self-efficacy, and how in turn computer anxiety and computer self-efficacy influence task performance. The methodology for testing the model is also presented.