Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Dynamics Of Civil Resistance In Oceania, Thomas Dick, Jason Mcleod, Luke Johnston

Thomas Dick

The Dynamics of Civil Resistance (DOCR), is a not-for-profit popular education and cultural development programme in Oceania. We work in collaboration with churches, human rights organisations, traditional leaders, women leaders, youth and student groups and community organisations to establish a network of indigenous educators who can resource nonviolent social movements and democratic transitions.

DOCR has developed out of programs that originated in 2005, in response to requests from Papuan human rights activists (Rayfield and Morello 2012). The purpose of the Project is to build their capacity of activists and artists working nonviolently for a just and sustainable peace in the …

Indigenismo From Below? Carlos Castaneda, New Age Anthropology And Identity Politics, Ageeth Sluis

Ageeth Sluis

This paper explores the intersections between Carlos Castaneda’s work on shamanism, indigenismo, and larger changes within the field of anthropology from the 1960s to 1980s. Castaneda introduced a large readership to Mexico at a time when the Americas saw pronounced socio-political and cultural changes. Despite criticism by fellow anthropologists, Castaneda's bestselling books became instrumental in constructing new indigenous identities, a magical Mexico, and new directions in anthropology. This paper seeks to understand Castaneda within a larger historical context of the historical trajectories of indigenismo and changes in gender and race identity politics both in Mexico and the U.S. due to …

Creating Policy That Supports Living Cultural Expression In Melanesia, Thomas Dick

Thomas Dick

In Vanuatu, communities have expressed a desire to continue leading lifestyles based on a traditional economic base. In the context of economic globalisation, however, this possibility is being ignored or denied by government policy decisions made on the basis of ‘economic rationalism’. There is growing concern that these government decisions are in fact destructive of ‘popular cultural expressions’, and do not respect the values of the community in relation to its development.

In 2006, an ‘Economic opportunities fact-finding mission’ to the Pacific Island nation of Vanuatu was sponsored by NZAID and AusAID. The report that followed recognized that ‘many of …

Giving Voice To Cultural Enterprises From The Global South, Ben Farr-Wharton, Thomas Dick, Jaime Ruiz-Gutiérrez, Siegrid Guillaumon, Tania Casado, Lucas Gomes, Luke Johnston

Thomas Dick

Over the last decade-and-a-half there has been a rise in the amount of academic research exploring the conceptual and historical interactions of ‘culture’ and ‘the market’ (see for example Caves (2000), Cunningham (2002), Pratt (2004), Throsby (2008), O'Connor (2009), O'Connor (2010)). Although contentious, the impetus for this has largely been the establishment of the ‘creative industry’ discourse and how it has been applied globally in policy and practice (Cunningham 2009). Despite this, with only a few notable exceptions, the theory and concepts that underpin this discourse have largely been derived through research contexts that are Anglo/Euro-centric and metropolitan. The purpose …

Eveleigh Railyards: Building Web-Based Databases For The Community And Students, Sandra Wills, Lucy Taksa

Sandra Wills

No abstract provided.

Exploring Strategies To Formalise The Description Of Learning Designs?, Ron Oliver, Barry Harper, John Hedberg, Sandra Wills, Shirley Agostinho

Sandra Wills

No abstract provided.

First Fleet In The Y2k, Sandra Wills

Sandra Wills

No abstract provided.

Flexible Learning At The Crossroads: Are Our Teachers Ready?, Sandra Wills

Sandra Wills

This paper reflects on managing technological change in teaching and learning, with particular emphasis on staff development. It draws on two national reports in Australia. One report team interviewed senior management in 50% of Australian universities (Wills and Yetton, 1997). The other reviewed 104 nationally funded IT based teaching projects (Alexander et al, 1998). Both make recommendations that have implications for staff development. A number of staff development case studies are described, most practising what they preach by adopting flexible learning techniques in order to teach teachers by example about flexible learning: Project LEAD, Teaching at a Distance, Flexible Delivery …

Gathering The Student's Perception Of Teaching And Learning Environments: A Customisable Email Data Collection Tool, Robert Corderoy, Sandra Wills, Raymond Stace, Albert Ip

Sandra Wills

No abstract provided.

Elearning For Campus-Based Universities: Engaging The Executive, Rob Ellis, Shirley Alexander, Eddie Gulc, Sandra Wills

Sandra Wills

eLearning advocates in campus-based universities in Britain and in Australia are having difficulty helping senior budget holders and strategic planners articulate a vision for eLearning in a campus-based experience. Too often sensible plans for embedding eLearning support and infrastructure in the learning and teaching systems of campus-based universities are put to one side because there is insufficient confidence by the executive of being able to justify why such investment is needed. This can be as simple a problem as being unable to talk about eLearning and its contribution to the whole student learning experience convincingly for non-specialists. Further adding to …

First Fleet: Another Byte Of The Apple, Sandra Wills

Sandra Wills

The paper outlines the 20 year journey of the First Fleet Database as an exemplar of educational software, from mainframe to microcomputer and now to the web. The database of 778 convicts who arrived on the First Fleet to Australia in 1788 has been an electronic educational resource since 1980. It was developed for the Tasmanian Education Department’s statewide timeshare network by the author of this paper. The data was based on the works of Cobley (1970) and Robson (1973). And in doing so it will show a little piece of Apple’s history. It explores changes in the history of …

Subject Online Survey (Sos): An Online Tool To Support Improvement In Teaching And Learning, Robert M. Corderoy, Raymond J. Stace, Sandra Wills, Albert Ip

Sandra Wills

Traditionally, data relating to the conduct of subjects at the University of Wollongong has been collected for teachers with one main purpose in mind: to provide the teacher with supporting information as to their teaching ability for the purposes of promotion. SOS is a web based system which teachers can use to author customised surveys to collect information about the subject they teach. These surveys are completed anonymously by the students via the web (using randomly generated, survey specific numeric tokens) and the data is automatically collated and returned to the teacher. The teacher may also produce the surveys in …

First Fleet Sails Again, Sandra Wills, Adair Bunnett

Sandra Wills

No abstract provided.

Architects Win Awards Not Teachers, Sandra Wills

Sandra Wills

No abstract provided.

Sos: Supporting Academics In Improving Their Teaching Through A Customisable Subject Online Survey, Robert Corderoy, Raymond Stace, Sandra Wills, Albert Ip

Sandra Wills

No abstract provided.

The Power Of Three Plus One: Developing An Electronic Readings Service, Sandra Wills, Craig Littler

Sandra Wills

The multiple roles and skills required to create online learning environments challenge traditional organisational structures that are currently based on relatively autonomous functional units. At the University of Wollongong, the staged development of an electronic readings service demonstrates the ‘power of 3+1’ through the formation of collaborative partnerships between three principal university support units as per the theme of this conference: * Flexible Learning Centre known at UoW as the Centre for Educational Development and Interactive Resources (CEDIR), * Information Technology Services (ITS) and * Library, plus… one other important unit, our Print and Distribution Centre.

We Go Everywhere Man..., Sandra Wills

Sandra Wills

No abstract provided.

An Evolutionary Approach To Strategic Planning For Elearning, Sandra Wills, Kate Bowles

Sandra Wills

Although all Australian universities have University-level strategic plans as well as Learning and Teaching plans plus underpinning Information Technology plans, it is estimated that only 11% of universities have a separate plan for eLearning. Instead eLearning is often integrated into either an Information Technology Plan or a Learning and Teaching Plan. As a result, the specific needs of eLearning can be overlooked, underestimated or tokenized. The University of Wollongong has undertaken a process of interviews and consultation with committees, deans, managers, academics, students and support staff to develop a coherent strategic and educational vision for the use of eLearning, that …

Learning Design For Online Role Play Versus Simulation, Sandra Wills

Sandra Wills

One outcome of Project EnROLE, an ALTC project to encourage uptake of online role play, is a refined learning design for simulation: Simulation Triad. The triad represents design decisions according to emphasis placed on Roles versus Problems versus Rules.

Rethinking Reusability: Implications From A Longitudinal Study Of Online Role Play In Australian Higher Education, Sandra Wills

Sandra Wills

In a study about designing “reusable e-learning activities”, the author used online role play as a containable, but pedagogically rich, sample. 53 online role plays in Australian higher education were identified and tracked between 1990 and 2006 (Wills, 2010). As a result of interviews and surveys, it was calculated that 45 role plays were a reuse of another role play, demonstrating that the topic of reusability is an important one in higher education. However, there were only eight instances of reuse of the same role play itself (18%). Predictably these eight instances were a reuse within the same discipline. Meanwhile, …

Researching And Understanding European Union Law: Introduction To The Eu, Jennifer Allison

Jennifer Allison

This presentation provides a brief introduction to the EU legal system. It presents a timeline of the formation and accession treaties, as well as a brief description of the EU's legislative and judicial bodies. It was the first presentation offered during a daylong EU Legal Research workshop at the 2011 AALL annual meeting in Philadelphia.

Memories Of A New Age: Carlos Castaneda’S Anthropological Journeys Into Sacred Space, Ageeth Sluis

Ageeth Sluis

No abstract provided.

Restricted Section: The Library As Presented In Harry Potter, Elizabeth A. Richardson, Sarah Wagner

Elizabeth A Richardson

The authors report on a content analysis of the conceptualization of the library and librarian in the books in the Harry Potter series. The analysis includes all mentions of the library, the librarian, and library materials, from all seven books of the series. Content examined includes the format and types of library materials mentioned, limitations on access to library materials, the image of the librarian, and the characters’ use of library materials. The analysis reveals that the library is presented as both a heavily guarded and censored area and also a place where the young heroes of the book have …

Changing Horses In Mid-Stream: A New Lms Plus Improved Teaching, Russ Pennell, Sandra Wills

Sandra Wills

The University of Wollongong's recent implementation of a new Learning Management System has been accompanied by a two year process of interviews and consultation with committees, deans, managers, academics, students and support staff. This has resulted in a Strategic Plan for eLearning & eTeaching and an eTeaching Business Plan. These plans for institutional change were based on earlier studies of IT introduction in Higher Education contexts. Project development was overseen by a widely-representative committee, with major effort given to training and support of academics and students. In 2004 over 800 subject websites were in use each year. The new software …

Wireless, Mobile & Handheld: Where Are Our Teachers And Students Going With Their Computers?, Sandra Wills

Sandra Wills

There is another revolution in technology happening before our eyes; it's mobile, handheld and wireless - and it's converging. In what ways could this new technology facilitate change in our teaching and learning practices? What planning should we put in place now if we think our universities should be taking advantage of the potential?

Strategic Planning For Blended Elearning, Sandra Wills

Sandra Wills

Although all Australian universities have University strategic plans and IT strategic plans, it is estimated that fewer than 20% have a separate plan for eLearning and eTeaching. The University of Wollongong has recently implemented a new Learner Management System however this technology ramp-up has been accompanied by a two year process of interviews and consultation with committees, deans, managers, academics, students and support staff to: • more clearly articulate from the educational and strategic perspectives why we use eLearning; • understand better how eLearning should be supported in a blended environment; and • inform decision-making about priorities for funding and …

Online Role Play As A Complementary Learning Design For The First Fleet Database, Sandra Wills, A. Ip

Sandra Wills

Pedagogically, databases of primary source data provide students with a learning experience based on the inquiry learning model however, observations of students and teachers in the past 20 years have indicated that database searching is shallow and investigation perfunctory. Before, we could have blamed unwieldy search engines. The online version of the First Fleet Database has removed this obstacle, but students’ research skills still appear to be limited. Other pedagogical strategies have been added to that of the database strategy, for example a discussion forum to enable learners to publish and debate their opinions on history. However our statistics show …

Encouraging Role Based Online Learning Environments, Sandra Wills, E. Devonshire, Elyssebeth Leigh, E. Rosser, J. Shepherd, A. Vincent

Sandra Wills

This paper reports on progress in the first year of a two year project called Project EnROLE (Encouraging Role Based Online Learning Environments) which is funded by the Carrick Institute for Learning & Teaching in Higher Education in Australia. The project aims to link a small but growing number of university teachers who are using online role play, building them into a community via three strategies: developing a repository of sharable/reusable role play learning designs with an associated peer review process; facilitating evaluation and publication of papers about their role plays (for example the role play stream at this conference); …

Facilitating Uptake Of Online Role Play: Reusability, Learning Objects And Learning Designs , Sandra Wills, A. Mcdougall

Sandra Wills

This study tracks the uptake of online role play in Australia from 1990 to 2006 and the affordances to its uptake. It examines reusability, as one affordance, from the perspective of two often polarized constructs: Learning Object and Learning Design. The study treats “reuse” on two levels: reuse of an existing online role play and reuse of an online role play as the model for another role play. In keeping with terminology that has come into recent use, we propose that the first level implies the online role play is used as a Learning Object and the second level implies …

Assessing The Service Needs And Expectations Of Customers – No Longer A Mystery, Margie H. Jantti

Margie Jantti

Over the past decade, UWL has made extensive use of customer surveys and customer feedback systems as a means of evaluating satisfaction with services and resources. These approaches have provided critical data and information on how clients rate their perceptions of the importance and performance of various service and resource elements. They have been an important mechanism for planned change and an improvement agenda. While surveys and feedback systems provide data and information on a range of service elements, they are limited in their capacity to provide information and insight into the perceived value gained by engaging with the library …