Academic career development workshop for research students and early career academics

For research students and early career academics, universities offer resources that help develop their research skills – for example, critical theory development, literature reviews, research methods, data analysis, writing skills, etc. However, building a successful career in academia poses a wide range of new challenges in addition to the pure academic craft of research. The resources and resilience one needs in order to shape an academic career path often appear ambiguous, particularly in the innately transformative field of Internet research. In response to feedback from AoIR members, this full-day workshop seeks to address this concern by offering a supportive and constructive environment to discuss career development related issues that are of specific interest to research students and early career academics.

The Treatment of Neonatal Seizures: A Critical Review of the Evidence

In a critical review of the literature to assess the efficacy of monotherapy and subsequent combinant anticonvulsant therapy in the treatment of neonatal seizures, four studies were examined; three randomised control trials and one retrospective cohort study. Each study used phenobarbital for monotherapy with doses reaching a maximum of 40mg/kg. Anticonvulsant drugs used in conjunction with phenobarbitone for combinant therapy included midazolam, clonazepam, lorazepam, phenytoin and lignocaine. Each study used an electroencephalograph for seizure diagnosis and neonatal monitoring when determining therapy efficacy and final outcome assessments. Collectively the studies suggest neither monotherapy nor combinant therapy are entirely effective in seizure control. Monotherapy demonstrated a 29% - 50% success rate for complete seizure control whereas combinant therapy administered after the failure of monotherapy demonstrated a success rate of 43% - 100%. When these trials were combined the overall success for monotherapy was 44% (n = 34/78) and for combinant therapy 72% ( n = 56/78). Though the evidence was inconclusive, it would appear that combinant therapy is of greater benefit to infants unresponsive to monotherapy. Further research such as multi-site randomised controlled trials using standardised criteria and data collection are required within this specialised area.

Fixing the volatile : studio vocal performance techniques

The process of compiling a studio vocal performance from many takes can often result in the performer producing a new complete performance once this new "best of" assemblage is heard back. This paper investigates the ways that the physical process of recording can alter vocal performance techniques, and in particular, the establishing of a definitive melodic and rhythmic structure. Drawing on his many years of experience as a commercially successful producer, including the attainment of a Grammy award, the author will analyse the process of producing a “credible” vocal performance in depth, with specific case studies and examples. The question of authenticity in rock and pop will also be discussed and, in this context, the uniqueness of the producer’s role as critical arbiter – what gives the producer the authority to make such performance evaluations? Techniques for creating conditions in the studio that are conducive to vocal performances, in many ways a very unnatural performance environment, will be discussed, touching on areas such as the psycho-acoustic properties of headphone mixes, the avoidance of intimidatory practices, and a methodology for inducing the perception of a “familiar” acoustic environment.

A penalty-based genetic algorithm for the composite SaaS placement problem in the cloud

Cloud computing is a latest new computing paradigm where applications, data and IT services are provided over the Internet. Cloud computing has become a main medium for Software as a Service (SaaS) providers to host their SaaS as it can provide the scalability a SaaS requires. The challenges in the composite SaaS placement process rely on several factors including the large size of the Cloud network, SaaS competing resource requirements, SaaS interactions between its components and SaaS interactions with its data components. However, existing applications’ placement methods in data centres are not concerned with the placement of the component’s data. In addition, a Cloud network is much larger than data center networks that have been discussed in existing studies. This paper proposes a penalty-based genetic algorithm (GA) to the composite SaaS placement problem in the Cloud. We believe this is the first attempt to the SaaS placement with its data in Cloud provider’s servers. Experimental results demonstrate the feasibility and the scalability of the GA.

Theory-of-Mind Continuum Model: Why Mind Matters in Philosophy, Psychology and Education

Theory-of-Mind has been defined as the ability to explain and predict human behaviour by imputing mental states, such as attention, intention, desire, emotion, perception and belief, to the self and others (Astington & Barriault, 2001). Theory-of-Mind study began with Piaget and continued through a tradition of meta-cognitive research projects (Flavell, 2004). A study by Baron-Cohen, Leslie and Frith (1985) of Theory-of-Mind abilities in atypically developing children reported major difficulties experienced by children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in imputing mental states to others. Since then, a wide range of follow-up research has been conducted to confirm these results. Traditional Theory-of-Mind research on ASD has been based on an either-or assumption that Theory-of-Mind is something one either possesses or does not. However, this approach fails to take account of how the ASD population themselves experience Theory-of-Mind. This paper suggests an alternative approach, Theory-of-Mind continuum model, to understand the Theory-of-Mind experience of people with ASD. The Theory-of-Mind continuum model will be developed through a comparison of subjective and objective aspects of mind, and phenomenal and psychological concepts of mind. This paper will demonstrate the importance of balancing qualitative and quantitative research methods in investigating the minds of people with ASD. It will enrich our theoretical understanding of Theory-of-Mind, as well as contain methodological implications for further studies in Theory-of-Mind

A connective model for the practice-led research exegesis : an analysis of content and structure

Since the formal recognition of practice-led research in the 1990s, many higher research degree candidates in art, design and media have submitted creative works along with an accompanying written document or ‘exegesis’ for examination. Various models for the exegesis have been proposed in university guidelines and academic texts during the past decade, and students and supervisors have experimented with its contents and structure. With a substantial number of exegeses submitted and archived, it has now become possible to move beyond proposition to empirical analysis. In this article we present the findings of a content analysis of a large, local sample of submitted exegeses. We identify the emergence of a persistent pattern in the types of content included as well as overall structure. Besides an introduction and conclusion, this pattern includes three main parts, which can be summarized as situating concepts (conceptual definitions and theories); precedents of practice (traditions and exemplars in the field); and researcher’s creative practice (the creative process, the artifacts produced and their value as research). We argue that this model combines earlier approaches to the exegesis, which oscillated between academic objectivity, by providing a contextual framework for the practice, and personal reflexivity, by providing commentary on the creative practice. But this model is more than simply a hybrid: it provides a dual orientation, which allows the researcher to both situate their creative practice within a trajectory of research and do justice to its personally invested poetics. By performing the important function of connecting the practice and creative work to a wider emergent field, the model helps to support claims for a research contribution to the field. We call it a connective model of exegesis.

What's your other job : a census analysis of arts employment in Australia

This report applies CCI’s creative trident methodology with the definition of the arts as established by the Australia Council for the Arts to data sourced from Australia’s national census data (from 1996, 2001 and the most recent one in 2006). Analysis has been conducted on employment, income, gender, age and the nature of employment for artists and arts related workers within and beyond the arts industries, as well as other support workers in the arts industries.

Sex and sentencing disparity in South Australia’s higher courts

In Australia, studies examining sex differences in sentencing are limited. Using data from South Australia’s higher courts, this article explores a study on the impact of sex on the decision to imprison and the length of imprisonment. After adjusting for past and current criminality, results showed that men were significantly more likely than women to be sentenced to a term of imprisonment and that when sentence length was decided, men received longer periods of incarceration. Furthermore, the study’s results suggest that different factors may be important in determining sentencing outcomes for women and men.

Educational Development in Australasia : 2010 Benchmarking Survey

In 2010, the third bi‐annual ADAPE Australasian benchmarking study was conducted to track educational development in Australia and New Zealand. Invitations to participate were sent to ADAPE’s membership of 820. Non‐members were also welcome to participate. In total, 92% of the 250 survey respondents were members of ADAPE. The 2010 Benchmarking Survey supports and extends results from 2005 and 2008. The 2010 survey was developed by taking into account participant feedback from 2008. With a view to provide the key information that participants want to know, the 2010 survey included more questions about salaries and other employment conditions; marketing and communications, especially new electronic technologies; and major gifts.

Ecology and bioprospecting

Bioprospecting is the exploration of biodiversity for new resources of social and commercial value. It is carried out by a wide range of established industries such as pharmaceuticals, manufacturing and agriculture as well as a wide range of comparatively new ones such as aquaculture, bioremediation, biomining, biomimetic engineering and nanotechnology. The benefits of bioprospecting have emerged from such a wide range of organisms and environments worldwide that it is not possible to predict what species or habitats will be critical to society, or industry, in the future. The benefits include an unexpected variety of products that include chemicals, genes, metabolic pathways, structures, materials and behaviours. These may provide physical blueprints or inspiration for new designs. Criticism aimed at bioprospecting has been addressed, in part, by international treaties and legal agreements aimed at stopping biopiracy and many activities are now funded by agencies that require capacity-building and economic benefits in host countries. Thus, much contemporary bioprospecting has multiple goals, including the conservation of biodiversity, the sustainable management of natural resources and economic development. Ecologists are involved in three vital ways: first, applying ecological principles to the discovery of new resources. In this context, natural history becomes a vast economic database. Second, carrying out field studies, most of them demographic, to help regulate the harvest of wild species. Third, emphasizing the profound importance of millions of mostly microscopic species to the global economy.

Theorizing about board governance of nonprofit organizations : surveying the landscape

Leading scholars on nonprofit governance have urged that future research be more informed by theory in order to promote more rigorous analysis. The aim of this paper is to survey the major theories on board governance, including those based in the disciplines of economics, management, sociology, psychology, politics, history and theology, in order to respond to this challenge. In addition, the relevance of these theories to a critical set of board behaviors - that is, how boards monitor, judge and influence organizational performance - is examined. Gaps in the theoretical literature are identified, and implications for public policy are explored. We conclude that a multi-theory and multi-disciplinary perspective is needed if research on governance of nonprofit organizations is to be complete in scope, rich in content, and relevant.

Acute and long-term effects of exercise on appetite control: Is there any benefit for weight control?

Purpose of review: To examine the relationship between energy intake, appetite control and exercise, with particular reference to longer term exercise studies. This approach is necessary when exploring the benefits of exercise for weight control, as changes in body weight and energy intake are variable and reflect diversity in weight loss. Recent findings: Recent evidence indicates that longer term exercise is characterized by a highly variable response in eating behaviour. Individuals display susceptibility or resistance to exercise-induced weight loss, with changes in energy intake playing a key role in determining the degree of weight loss achieved. Marked differences in hunger and energy intake exist between those who are capable of tolerating periods of exercise-induced energy deficit, and those who are not. Exercise-induced weight loss can increase the orexigenic drive in the fasted state, but for some this is offset by improved postprandial satiety signalling. Summary: The biological and behavioural responses to acute and long-term exercise are highly variable, and these responses interact to determine the propensity for weight change. For some people, long-term exercise stimulates compensatory increases in energy intake that attenuate weight loss. However, favourable changes in body composition and health markers still exist in the absence of weight loss. The physiological mechanisms that confer susceptibility to compensatory overconsumption still need to be determined.

Developing creativity and innovation in management education : an artful event for transformative learning

This paper argues that management education needs to consider a trend in learning design which advances more creative learning through an alliance with art-based pedagogical processes. A shift is required from skills training to facilitating transformational learning through experiences that expand human potential, facilitated by artistic processes. In this paper the authors discuss the necessity for creativity and innovation in the workplace and the need to develop better leaders and managers. The inclusion of arts-based processes enhances artful behaviour, aesthetics and creativity within management and organisational behaviour, generating important implications for business innovation. This creative learning focus stems from an analysis of an arts-based intervention for management development. Entitled Management Jazz the program was conducted over three years at a large Australian University. The paper reviews some of the salient literature in the field. It considers four stages of the learning process: capacity, artful event, increased capability, and application/action to produce product. One illustrative example of an arts-based learning process is provided from the Management Jazz program. Research findings indicate that artful learning opportunities enhance capacity for awareness of creativity in one’s self and in others. This capacity correlates positively with a perception that engaging in artful learning enhances the capability of managers in changing collaborative relationships and habitat constraint. The authors conclude that it is through engagement and creative alliance with the arts that management education can explore and discover artful approaches to building creativity and innovation. The illustration presented in this paper will be delivered as a brief workshop at the Fourth Art of Management Conference. The process of bricolage and articles at hand will be used to explore creative constraints and prototypes while generating group collaboration. The mini-workshop will conclude with discussion of the arts-based process and capability enhancement outcomes.

Re-generating the praxis of academic staff development through arts-based learning : beyond paradox

Effective staff development remains a challenge in higher education. This paper examines the non-traditional methodology of arts-based staff development, its potential to foster transformational learning and the practice of professional artistry, through perceptions of program impact. Over a three year period, eighty academics participated in one metropolitan Australian university’s arts-based academic development program. The methodology used one-on-one hermeneutic-based conversations with fifteen self-selected academics and a focus group with twenty other academics from all three years. The paper presents a learning model to engender academic professional artistry. The findings provide developers with support for using a non-traditional strategy of transformational learning.

Developing new alliances in higher education leadership and governance : autopoietic application of the “arts” creative capacities

This paper, underpinned by a framework of autopoietic principles of creativity/innovation and leadership/governance, argues that open forms of creativity in ‘arts’ provide opportunity for impact upon concepts of development, leadership and governance. The alliance of creativity and governance suggests that by examining various understandings of artistic experiences, readers may perceive new understandings of alliance, application and assessment of such experiences. This critical understanding would include assessing whether such experience supports people changing their aspirations as they become what they want to be. Such understanding may also suggest that different applications of the creative capacity of the ‘arts’ offers relevance in alleged ‘non-creative’ areas of academe, particularly in areas of management, leadership and governance. This alliance also offers the possibility of new staff development programs that facilitate learning and building of individual capacity, as well as facilitate congruent development process and policy, particularly within academic organisational structures.