Ipswich stories : using digital storytelling to research intergenerational sharing of heritage, history, place, identity and community connection : a pilot study

Co-creative media production practices offer important new modes and opportunities for social participation and engagement. In mid-2009 Institute for Creative Industries and Innovation researchers at QUT adapted a specific model of co-creative media production, known as ‘digital storytelling’ and piloted it as an action research platform for facilitating and researching knowledge production based on intergenerational dialogue and exchange. Nine stories were produced and important insights were generated into this particular use of digital storytelling, as well as the impact of institutional constraints and opportunities on the possibilities and outcomes co-creative media practices and processes.

A constructivist approach to media literacy education: The role of the library

An informed citizenry is essential to the effective functioning of democracy. In most modern liberal democracies, citizens have traditionally looked to the media as the primary source of information about socio-political matters. In our increasingly mediated world, it is critical that audiences be able to effectively and accurately use the media to meet their information needs. Media literacy, the ability to access, understand, evaluate and create media content is therefore a vital skill for a healthy democracy. The past three decades have seen the rapid expansion of the information environment, particularly through Internet technologies. It is obvious that media usage patterns have changed dramatically as a result. Blogs and websites are now popular sources of news and information, and are for some sections of the population likely to be the first, and possibly only, information source accessed when information is required. What are the implications for media literacy in such a diverse and changing information environment? The Alexandria Manifesto stresses the link between libraries, a well informed citizenry and effective governance, so how do these changes impact on libraries? This paper considers the role libraries can play in developing media literate communities, and explores the ways in which traditional media literacy training may be expanded to better equip citizens for new media technologies. Drawing on original empirical research, this paper highlights a key shortcoming of existing media literacy approaches: that of overlooking the importance of needs identification as an initial step in media selection. Self-awareness of one’s actual information need is not automatic, as can be witnessed daily at reference desks in libraries the world over. Citizens very often do not know what it is that they need when it comes to information. Without this knowledge, selecting the most appropriate information source from the vast range available becomes an uncertain, possibly even random, enterprise. Incorporating reference interview-type training into media literacy education, whereby the individual will develop the skills to interrogate themselves regarding their underlying information needs, will enhance media literacy approaches. This increased focus on the needs of the individual will also push media literacy education into a more constructivist methodology. The paper also stresses the importance of media literacy training for adults. Media literacy education received in school or even university cannot be expected to retain its relevance over time in our rapidly evolving information environment. Further, constructivist teaching approaches highlight the importance of context to the learning process, thus it may be more effective to offer media literacy education relating to news media use to adults, whilst school-based approaches focus on types of media more relevant to young people, such as entertainment media. Librarians are ideally placed to offer such community-based media literacy education for adults. They already understand, through their training and practice of the reference interview, how to identify underlying information needs. Further, libraries are placed within community contexts, where the everyday practice of media literacy occurs. The Alexandria Manifesto stresses the link between libraries, a well informed citizenry and effective governance. It is clear that libraries have a role to play in fostering media literacy within their communities.

Schools and Diversity, 2nd ed.

Schools and diversity aims to address the need for schools and teachers to provide quality education for all students in rapidly changing social contexts. Community and student voices are telling schools that traditional education is too authoritarian and restrictive. Students do not feel valued and respected in their school community. Schools are obliged to respond to this critique with more democratic and relevant policies and processes that connect all students with their learning futures. This text is about developing a more inclusive approach to education which aims to identify and dismantle actual and potential sources of exclusion that limit opportunities and outcomes for all students.

Risk-assessment practices in the private rental sector : implications for low-income renters (Final Report)

This report focuses on risk-assessment practices in the private rental market, with particular consideration of their impact on low-income renters. It is based on the fieldwork undertaken in the second stage of the research process that followed completion of the Positioning Paper. The key research question this study addressed was: What are the various factors included in ‘risk-assessments’ by real estate agents in allocating ‘affordable’ tenancies? How are these risks quantified and managed? What are the key outcomes of their decision-making? The study builds on previous research demonstrating that a relatively large proportion of low-cost private rental accommodation is occupied by moderate- to high-income households (Wulff and Yates 2001; Seelig 2001; Yates et al. 2004). This is occurring in an environment where the private rental sector is now the de facto main provider of rental housing for lower-income households across Australia (Seelig et al. 2005) and where a number of factors are implicated in patterns of ‘income–rent mismatching’. These include ongoing shifts in public housing assistance; issues concerning eligibility for rent assistance; ‘supply’ factors, such as loss of low-cost rental stock through upgrading and/or transfer to owner-occupied housing; patterns of supply and demand driven largely by middle- to high-income owner-investors and renters; and patterns of housing need among low-income households for whom affordable housing is not appropriate. In formulating a way of approaching the analysis of ‘risk-assessment’ in rental housing management, this study has applied three sociological perspectives on risk: Beck’s (1992) formulation of risk society as entailing processes of ‘individualisation’; a socio-cultural perspective which emphasises the situated nature of perceptions of risk; and a perspective which has drawn attention to different modes of institutional governance of subjects, as ‘carriers of specific indicators of risk’. The private rental market was viewed as a social institution, and the research strategy was informed by ‘institutional ethnography’ as a method of enquiry. The study was based on interviews with property managers, real estate industry representatives, tenant advocates and community housing providers. The primary focus of inquiry was on ‘the moment of allocation’. Six local areas across metropolitan and regional Queensland, New South Wales, and South Australia were selected as case study localities. In terms of the main findings, it is evident that access to private rental housing is not just a matter of ‘supply and demand’. It is also about assessment of risk among applicants. Risk – perceived or actual – is thus a critical factor in deciding who gets housed, and how. Risk and its assessment matter in the context of housing provision and in the development of policy responses. The outcomes from this study also highlight a number of salient points: 1.There are two principal forms of risk associated with property management: financial risk and risk of litigation. 2. Certain tenant characteristics and/or circumstances – ability to pay and ability to care for the rented property – are the main factors focused on in assessing risk among applicants for rental housing. Signals of either ‘(in)ability to pay’ and/or ‘(in)ability to care for the property’ are almost always interpreted as markers of high levels of risk. 3. The processing of tenancy applications entails a complex and variable mix of formal and informal strategies of risk-assessment and allocation where sorting (out), ranking, discriminating and handing over characterise the process. 4. In the eyes of property managers, ‘suitable’ tenants can be conceptualised as those who are resourceful, reputable, competent, strategic and presentable. 5. Property managers clearly articulated concern about risks entailed in a number of characteristics or situations. Being on a low income was the principal and overarching factor which agents considered. Others included: - unemployment - ‘big’ families; sole parent families - domestic violence - marital breakdown - shift from home ownership to private rental - Aboriginality and specific ethnicities - physical incapacity - aspects of ‘presentation’. The financial vulnerability of applicants in these groups can be invoked, alongside expressed concerns about compromised capacities to manage income and/or ‘care for’ the property, as legitimate grounds for rejection or a lower ranking. 6. At the level of face-to-face interaction between the property manager and applicants, more intuitive assessments of risk based upon past experience or ‘gut feelings’ come into play. These judgements are interwoven with more systematic procedures of tenant selection. The findings suggest that considerable ‘risk’ is associated with low-income status, either directly or insofar as it is associated with other forms of perceived risk, and that such risks are likely to impede access to the professionally managed private rental market. Detailed analysis suggests that opportunities for access to housing by low-income householders also arise where, for example: - the ‘local experience’ of an agency and/or property manager works in favour of particular applicants - applicants can demonstrate available social support and financial guarantors - an applicant’s preference or need for longer-term rental is seen to provide a level of financial security for the landlord - applicants are prepared to agree to specific, more stringent conditions for inspection of properties and review of contracts - the particular circumstances and motivations of landlords lead them to consider a wider range of applicants - In particular circumstances, property managers are prepared to give special consideration to applicants who appear worthy, albeit ‘risky’. The strategic actions of demonstrating and documenting on the part of vulnerable (low-income) tenant applicants can improve their chances of being perceived as resourceful, capable and ‘savvy’. Such actions are significant because they help to persuade property managers not only that the applicant may have sufficient resources (personal and material) but that they accept that the onus is on themselves to show they are reputable, and that they have valued ‘competencies’ and understand ‘how the system works’. The parameters of the market do shape the processes of risk-assessment and, ultimately, the strategic relation of power between property manager and the tenant applicant. Low vacancy rates and limited supply of lower-cost rental stock, in all areas, mean that there are many more tenant applicants than available properties, creating a highly competitive environment for applicants. The fundamental problem of supply is an aspect of the market that severely limits the chances of access to appropriate and affordable housing for low-income rental housing applicants. There is recognition of the impact of this problem of supply. The study indicates three main directions for future focus in policy and program development: providing appropriate supports to tenants to access and sustain private rental housing, addressing issues of discrimination and privacy arising in the processes of selecting suitable tenants, and addressing problems of supply.

Transfer of learning across the globe : pre-service teachers taking the initiative

A continuing challenge for pre-service teacher education is the learning transfer between the university based components and the practical school based components of their training. It is not clear how easily pre-service teachers can transfer university learnings into ‘in school’ practice. Similarly, it is not clear how easily knowledge learned in the school context can be disembedded from this particular context and understood more generally by the pre-service teacher. This paper examines the effect of a community of practice formed specifically to explore learning transfer via collaboration and professional enquiry, in ‘real time’, across the globe. “Activity Theory” (Engestrom, 1999) provided the theoretical framework through which the cognitive, physical and social processes involved could be understood. For the study, three activity systems formed community of practice network. The first activity system involved pre-service teachers at a large university in Queensland, Australia. The second activity system was introduced by the pre-service teachers and involved Year 12 students and teachers at a private secondary school also in Queensland, Australia. The third activity system involved university staff engineers at a large university in Pennsylvania, USA. The common object among the three activity systems was to explore the principles and applications of nanotechnology. The participants in the two Queensland activity systems, controlled laboratory equipment (a high powered Atomic Force Microscope – CPII) in Pennsylvania, USA, with the aim of investigating surface topography and the properties of nano particles. The pre-service teachers were to develop their remote ‘real time’ experience into school classroom tasks, implement these tasks, and later report their findings to other pre-service teachers in the university activity system. As an extension to the project, the pre-service teachers were invited to co-author papers relating to the project. Data were collected from (a) reflective journals; (b) participant field notes – a pre-service teacher initiative; (c) surveys – a pre-service teacher initiative; (d) lesson reflections and digital recordings – a pre-service teacher initiative; and (e) interviews with participants. The findings are reported in terms of the major themes: boundary crossing, the philosophy of teaching, and professional relationships The findings have implications for teacher education. The researchers feel that deliberate planning for networking between activity systems may well be a solution to the apparent theory/practice gap. Proximity of activity systems need not be a hindering issue.

The relationship between basic need satisfaction and emotional eating in obesity

Emotional eating has been identified as a factor that promotes the development and maintenance of obesity and hinders its treatment. This study investigated the relationship between unsatisfied basic needs and emotional eating, including the mediating factors of self-esteem and coping strategies. The results from a survey of 136 obese individuals indicated support for a significant relationship between basic need satisfaction and emotional eating, with a mediating effect of negative coping strategies. These findings extend previous research and provide guidance on how to help individuals who engage in emotional eating by focusing on developing more adaptive coping strategies.

Promoting creativity in education : from policy to practice : an Australian perspective

In the 21st century, our global community is changing to increasingly value creativity and innovation as driving forces in our lives. This paper will investigate how educators need to move beyond the rhetoric to effective practices for teaching and fostering creativity. First, it will describe the nature of creativity at different levels, with a focus on personal and everyday creativity. It will then provide a brief snapshot of creativity in education through the lens of new policies and initiatives in Queensland, Australia. Next it will review two significant areas related to enriching and enhancing students’ creative engagement and production: 1) influential social and environmental factors; and 2) creative self-efficacy. Finally, this paper will propose that to effectively promote student creativity in schools, we need to not only emphasise policy, but also focus on establishing a shared discourse about the nature of creativity, and researching and implementing effective practices for supporting and fostering creativity. This paper has implications for educational policy, practice and teacher training that are applicable internationally.

Big art small viewer : a collaborative community project

Campus Kindergarten is a community-based centre for early childhood education and care located on campus at the University of Queensland (UQ) in Brisbane, Australia. Being located within this diverse community has presented many opportunities for Campus Kindergarten. It is creating and embracing possibilities that has formed the basis for ongoing projects for children and teachers involving research and investigation. In 2002 Campus Kindergarten embarked on a collaborative project with the Art Museum bringing together these two departments within the university community.

Mainstreaming sustainability into pre-service teacher edcuation in Australia

There is a growing interest in and support for education for sustainability in Australian schools. Australian Government schemes such as the Australian Sustainable Schools Initiative (AuSSI), along with strategies such as Educating for a Sustainable Future: A National Environmental Education Statement for Australian Schools(NEES(Australian Government and Curriculum Corporation (2005) and Living Sustainably: The Australian Government’s National Action Plan for Education for Sustainability (Australian Government 2009), recognise the need and offer support for education for sustainability in Australian schools. The number of schools that have engaged with AuSSI indicates that this interest also exists within Australian schools. Despite this, recent research indicates that pre-service teacher education institutions and programs are not doing all they can to prepare teachers for teaching education for sustainability or for working within sustainable schools. The education of school teachers plays a vital role in achieving changes in teaching and learning in schools. Indeed, the professional development of teachers in education for sustainability has been identified as ‘the priority of priorities’. Much has been written about the need to ‘reorient teacher education towards sustainability’. Teacher education is seen as a key strategy that is yet to be effectively utilised to embed education for sustainability in schools. Mainstreaming sustainability in Australian schools will not be achieved without the preparation of teachers for this task. The Mainstreaming Sustainability model piloted in this study seeks to engage a range of stakeholder organisations and key agents of change within a system to all work simultaneously to bring about a change, such as the mainstreaming of sustainability. The model is premised on the understanding that sustainability will be mainstreamed within teacher education if there is engagement with key agents of change across the wider teacher education system and if the key agents of change are ‘deeply’ involved in making the change. The model thus seeks to marry broad engagement across a system with the active participation of stakeholders within that system. Such a systemic approach is a way of bringing together diverse viewpoints to make sense of an issue and harness that shared interpretation to define boundaries, roles and relationships leading to a better defined problem that can be acted upon more effectively. Like action research, the systemic approach is also concerned with modelling change and seeking plausible solutions through collaboration between stakeholders. This is important in ensuring that outcomes are useful to the researchers/stakeholders and the system being researched as it creates partnerships and commitments to the outcomes by stakeholder participants. The study reported on here examines whether the ‘Mainstreaming Sustainability’ model might be effective as a means to mainstream sustainability in pre-service teacher education. This model, developed in an earlier study, was piloted in the Queensland teacher education system in order to examine its effectiveness in creating organisational and systemic change. The pilot project in Queensland achieved a number of outcomes. The project: • provided useful insights into the effectiveness of the Mainstreaming Sustainability model in bringing about change while also building research capacity within the system • developed capacities within the teacher education community: o developing competencies in education for sustainability o establishing more effective interactions between decision-makers and other stakeholders o establishing a community of inquiry • changed teaching and learning approaches used in participating teacher education institutions through: o curriculum and resource development o the adoption of education for sustainability teaching and learning processes o the development of institutional policies • improved networks within the teacher education system through: o identifying key agents of change within the system o developing new, and building on existing, partnerships between schools, teacher education institutions and government agencies • engaged relevant stakeholders such as government agencies and non-government organisations to understand and support the change Our findings indicate that the Mainstreaming Sustainability model is able to facilitate organisational and systemic change – over time – if: • the individuals involved have the conceptual and personal capacities needed to facilitate change, that is, to be a key agent of change • stakeholders are engaged as participants in the process of change, not simply as ‘interested parties’ • there is a good understanding of systemic change and the opportunities for leveraging change within systems. In particular, in seeking to mainstream sustainability in pre-service teacher education in Queensland it has become clear that one needs to build capacity for change within participants such as knowledge of education for sustainability, conceptual skills in systemic thinking, action research and organisational change, and leadership skills. It is also of vital importance that key agents of change – those individuals who are ‘hubs’ within a system and can leverage for change across a wide range of the system – are identified and engaged with as early as possible. Key agents of change can only be correctly identified, however, if the project leaders and known participants have clearly identified the boundary to their system as this enables the system, sub-system and environment of the system to be understood. Through mapping the system a range of key organisations and stakeholders will be identified, including government and nongovernment organisations, teacher education students, teacher education academics, and so on. On this basis, key agents of change within the system and sub-system can be identified and invited to assist in working for change. A final insight is that it is important to have time – and if necessary the funding to ‘buy time’ – in seeking to bring about system-wide change. Seeking to bring about system-wide change is an ambitious project, one that requires a great deal of effort and time. These insights provide some considerations for those seeking to utilise the Mainstreaming Sustainability model to bring about change within and across a pre-service teacher education system.

No borders : virtual communities in online learning

It can be argued that technological advances and increasing familiarity with technology in the general population has created a huge potential for expansion of online learning (OL) across the educational spectrum. The growth of OL at the university level over the last few years has brought with it an increasing need to understand the learning processes and social processes involved in the ‘cyber’ or ‘virtual’ lecture hall and seminar room by asking questions such as: What are ‘virtual universities’? How – or more critically whether – virtual learning environments are different from face-to-face (F2F) ones? In other words, there is a critical need to explore how students relate to each other and their lecturer(s) in a literal ‘school without walls’? This paper explores the development of a virtual community within a wholly online MA in Applied Linguistics program within the framework of online community development proposed by Haythornthwaite et al (2000).

Contracting for community development : a case study based perspective of a public sector client initiative in Hong Kong

The construction industry is known to be an important contributor towards the gross domestic product of many countries. Moreover, the health of the construction industry is positively correlated to the economic growth of a country and in many economies public sector clients account for a major share of construction works. Given this strength, it is important for public sector clients to initiate innovations aimed at the betterment of the industry. In this context, concern about sustainable development has been a major driver of some innovative initiatives in construction industries worldwide. Furthermore, the Government of Hong Kong regards both sustainability and community development as important criteria when planning and procuring construction projects. This paper is based on a case study of a public sector development project in Hong Kong, and presents the salient features of the procurement and contractual systems adopted in the project, which foster sustainability and community development. The reported interim findings are based on a preliminary document analysis that is part of an ongoing longitudinal case study into the project. The document analysis takes a three-pronged approach in terms of how the procurement and contractual systems foster economic, environmental and social sustainability, and sums up their impact on the community as a whole.

Novel educational training program for community pharmacists

There is little evidence that workshops alone have a lasting impact on the day-to-day practice of participants. The current paper examined a strategy to increase generalization and maintenance of skills in the natural environment using pseudo-patients and immediate performance feedback to reinforce skills acquisition. A random half of pharmacies (N=30) took part in workshop training aimed at optimizing consumers' use of nonprescription analgesic products. Pharmacies in the training group also received performance feedback on their adherence to the recommended protocol. Feedback occurred immediately after a pseudo-patient visit in which confederates posed as purchasers of analgesics, and combined positive and corrective elements. Trained pharmacists were significantly more accurate at identifying people who misused the medication (P<0.001). The trained pharmacists were more likely than controls to use open-ended questions (P<0.001), assess readiness to change problematic use (P <0.001), and to deliver a brief intervention that was tailored to the person's commitment to alter his/her usage (P <0.001). Participants responded to the feedback positively. Results were consistent with the hypothesis that when workshop is combined with on-site performance feedback, it enhances practitioners' adherence to protocols in the natural setting.

Addressing Challenges for Internationalisation and Mobility in Engineering Through CDIO Standards

There is a growing need for international transparency of engineering qualifications, and mechanisms to support and facilitate student mobility. In response, there are a number of global initiatives attempting to address these needs, particularly in Europe, North America and Australia. The Conceive-Design-Implement-Operate (CDIO) Initiative has a set of standards, competencies, and proficiency levels developed through a global community of practice. It is a well-structured framework in which best-practice internationalisation and student mobility can be embedded. However, the current 12 CDIO Standards do not address international qualifications or student mobility. Based on an environmental scan of global activities, the underpinning principles of best practice are identified and form the basis of the proposed 13th CDIO Standard — “Internationalization and Mobility”.

The use of the Index for Inclusion in a regional educational learning community

This project utilised the materials of the Index for Inclusion (Booth & Ainscow, 2002) to enhance the development of a learning community of educators in Education Queensland in 2009. The values, dimensions and indicators of the Index for Inclusion, were incorporated into the professional development package, On the Same Page (Education Queensland, 2008), to enhance its wider purpose to improve inclusive education practices explicit within the P-12 Curriculum Framework (Education Queensland, 2008). The incorporation of the values, dimensions and indicators of the Index enabled deeper reflection by participants about their expectations of students and their resulting teaching practices. The subsequent development of action plans assisted participants to develop “a curriculum for all” (Education Queensland, 2008, p. 9). Deeper reflection, action planning and ‘distance travelled’ in understanding of inclusive education were apparent in the comments by participants and their evaluation of the professional development package.

More than experiential learning or volunteering : a case study of community service learning within the Australian context

Community service learning is the integration of experiential learning and community service into coursework such that community needs are met and students gain both professional skills and a sense of civic responsibility. A critical component is student reflection. This paper provides an example of the application of community service learning within an undergraduate health unit at the Queensland University of Technology. Based on survey data from 36 program participants, it demonstrates the impact of CSL on student outcomes. Results show that students benefited by developing autonomy through real world experiences, through increased self-assurance and achievement of personal growth, through gaining new insights into the operations of community service organisations and through moving towards becoming responsible citizens. Students expect their CSL experience to have long-lasting impact on their lives, with two-thirds of participants noting that they would like to continue volunteering as part of their future development.