Foucault Goes to Law School : Using Foucault to Examine Australian Legal Education

This paper will consider the way that Foucault’s work has been utilised to examine Australian legal education, particularly in the context of understanding the construction of the legal identity. While remaining sensitive to the many potential ‘uses’ of Foucault’s tools, as well as his problematisation of the author as an organising feature of discourse, this paper will argue that legal education scholarship overwhelmingly utilises concepts such as ‘discourse’ and ‘power-knowledge’, which, while useful, cannot provide a nuanced understanding of the construction of the legal identity. Consequently, this paper suggests that future legal education research utilise Foucault’s concepts of ‘ethics’ and ‘governmentality’ to address these issues.

Schools' guide : How to select providers of road safety education programs for senior school students

Road safety education is not just about safe driving. Best practice road safety education seeks to improve knowledge and change attitudes relating to being safe, and making sure others are safe on the road. Typical topics might include: • Strengthening attitudes toward safe road use behaviours and avoiding risks • Supporting behaviours to ensure others are safe • Promoting knowledge of traffic rules.

Report : school survey to collect data on material performance

A survey of a number of schools in a number of different climates was carried out to determine the condition of building components of interest in the project. Schools in Melbourne, the Victorian Surf Coast, Brisbane, Townsville and the Sunshine Coast were inspected. A rating system was devised to categorise the components and the results collated in tables. Analysis of the data (where sufficient examples permitted) resulted in formulae to predict the service of the components and a database was derived.

School-related stressors in adolescents

The aim of this study was to investigate high school students' perceptions of school-related problems. Some 1583 high school students responded to the 35 item High School Stressors Scale, published by Burnett and Fanshaw in 1997, which measures nine areas of problems experienced by adolescents in schools. These are teaching methods, student-teacher relationships, school workload, school environment, feeling vulnerable, personal organisation, achieving independence, anxiety about the future, and relationships with parents. The results and implications for educators, guidance officers and school psychologists working in high schools are presented.

Management of sharps in ambulance care : a state-wide survey of paramedic knowledge and reported practice

Paramedics are at high risk of exposure to infectious diseases because they frequently undertake procedures such as the use and disposal of sharps as components of everyday practice. While the literature demonstrates that the management of sharps is problematic across all health disciplines, there is a paucity of research examining sharps management practices in the Australian pre-hospital paramedic context. This study examines knowledge and practices of sharps control among paramedics in Queensland, Australia. A mail survey focusing on infection control knowledge and practices was sent to all clinical personnel of the Queensland Ambulance Service (QAS) (N = 2274). A total of 1258 surveys were returned, a response rate of 55.3%. Participants responded to 12 true/false statements on the management of sharps and three questions about recapping practices. Most respondents were knowledgeable about the correct management of sharps, with a mean of 11.28 (out of 12, SD = 1.32). When gauging reported practices, more than half (59.1%, n = 736) of participants reported recapping a needle, and 38.5% (n = 479) reported never having done so. These results reflect good knowledge of general management of sharps among respondents, but suggest deficits regarding reported practices. The results suggest that a comprehensive ambulance in-service education programme focusing particularly on sharps management is required. The study highlights the need for further research on sharps management practices in the field, identification of barriers to safe sharps practices in pre-hospital settings, and 'best practice' for translating good sharps management knowledge into practice.

CPR training in households of patients with chest pain

The objectives of this study are to (1) quantify prior cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training in households of patients presenting to the Emergency Department (ED) with or without chest pain or ischaemic heart disease (IHD); (2) evaluate the willingness of household members to undertake CPR training; and (3) identify potential barriers to the learning and provision of bystander CPR. A cross-sectional study was conducted by surveying patients presenting to the ED of a metropolitan teaching hospital over a 6-month period. Two in five households of patients presenting with chest pain or IHD had prior training in CPR. This was no higher than for households of patients presenting without chest pain or IHD. Just under two in three households of patients presenting with chest pain or IHD were willing to participate in future CPR classes. Potential barriers to learning CPR included lack of information on CPR classes, perceived lack of intellectual and/or physical capability to learn CPR and concern about causing anxiety in the person at risk of cardiac arrest. Potential barriers to CPR provision included an unknown cardiac arrest victim and fear of infection. The ED provides an opportunity for increasing family and community capacity for bystander intervention through referral to appropriate training.

The economic rationale for infection control in Australian hospitals

The objective of the present study was to predict the economic consequences of healthcare-acquired infections arising among admissions to Australian acute care hospitals. A quantitative algorithm informed by epidemiological and economic data was developed. All acute care hospitals in Australia were included in the study and the participants included all admissions to general medical and general surgical specialties. The main outcome measures were the numbers of cases of healthcare-acquired infection and bed days lost annually. It was estimated that there are 175 153 (95% credible interval 155 911 : 195 168) cases of healthcare-acquired infection among admissions to Australian hospitals annually, and the extra stay in hospital to treat symptoms accounts for 854 289 bed days (95% credible interval 645 091 : 1 096 244). If rates were reduced by 1%, then 150 158 bed days would be released for alternative uses. This would allow ~38 500 new admissions. Healthcare-acquired infections in patients cause bed blocks in Australian hospitals. The cost-effectiveness of hospital services might be improved by allocating more resources to infection control, releasing beds and allowing new admissions. There exists an opportunity to improve the efficiency of the Australian health care system.

Documenting reproduction and inequality : revisiting Jean Anyon’s “Social class and school knowledge”

Jean Anyon’s (1981) “Social class and school knowledge” was a landmark work in North American educational research. It provided a richly detailed qualitative description of differential, social-class-based constructions of knowledge and epistemological stance. This essay situates Anyon’s work in two parallel traditions of critical educational research: the sociology of the curriculum and classroom interaction and discourse analysis. It argues for the renewed importance of both quantitative and qualitative research on social reproduction and equity in the current policy context.

Computer simulation in spine biomechanics : An application in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis

Scoliosis is a spinal deformity, involving a side-to-side curvature of the spine in the coronal plane as well as a rotation of the spinal column in the transverse plane. The coronal curvature is measured using a Cobb angle. If the deformity is severe, treatment for scoliosis may require surgical intervention whereby a rod is attached to the spinal column to correct the abnormal curvature. In order to provide surgeons with an improved ability to predict the likely outcomes following surgery, techniques to create patient-specific finite element models (FEM) of scoliosis patients treated at the Mater Children’s Hospital (MCH) in Brisbane are being developed and validated. This paper presents a comparison of the simulated and clinical data for a scoliosis patient treated at MCH.

Literacy, numeracy and learning in school-aged children identified as having speech and language impairment in early childhood

The progress of a nationally representative sample of 3632 children was followed from early childhood through to primary school, using data from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC). The aim was to examine the predictive effects of different aspects of communicative ability, and of early vs. sustained identification of speech and language impairment, on children's achievement and adjustment at school. Four indicators identified speech and language impairment: parent-rated expressive language concern; parent-rated receptive language concern; use of speech-language pathology services; below average scores on the adapted Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-III. School outcomes were assessed by teachers' ratings of language/literacy ability, numeracy/mathematical thinking and approaches to learning. Comparison of group differences, using ANOVA, provided clear evidence that children who were identified as having speech and language impairment in their early childhood years did not perform as well at school, two years later, as their non-impaired peers on all three outcomes: Language and Literacy, Mathematical Thinking, and Approaches to Learning. The effects of early speech and language status on literacy, numeracy, and approaches to learning outcomes were similar in magnitude to the effect of family socio-economic factors, after controlling for child characteristics. Additionally, early identification of speech and language impairment (at age 4-5) was found to be a better predictor of school outcomes than sustained identification (at aged 4-5 and 6-7 years). Parent-reports of speech and language impairment in early childhood are useful in foreshadowing later difficulties with school and providing early intervention and targeted support from speech-language pathologists and specialist teachers.

Understanding rural and remote schools, and facilitating school-community relationships

Rural and remote schools make up a significant portion of Australian schools. Although there are rural schools that exceed 500 students, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) (2008) reports that 2,188 Australian primary schools have enrolment numbers less than 100. Rural schools need a supply of good teachers; however many universities involved in teacher education are located in city areas. For example, Queensland University of Technology is city-based, generating the highest number of early career teachers for Queensland including teachers for rural schools. Given the number of graduates and the number of rural schools, it seems likely that early career teachers will have opportunities for teaching in these settings, which also means living within a rural community. This chapter will discuss the nature of teaching in rural and remote schools, the challenges, the rewards and the importance of working closely with the local community. It is hoped that by understanding rural and remote schools, early career teachers can make informed decisions that will influence their future career prospects.

How well are Australian children doing in the first year of school : a demographic analysis

Background: The transition to school is a sensitive period for children in relation to school success. In the early school years, children need to develop positive attitudes to school and have experiences that promote academic, behavioural and social competence. When children begin school there are higher expectations of responsibility and independence and in the year one class, there are more explicit academic goals for literacy and numeracy and more formal instruction. Most importantly, children’s early attitudes to learning and learning styles have an impact on later educational outcomes. Method: Data were drawn from The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC). LSAC is a cross-sequential cohort study funded by the Australian Government. In these analyses, Wave 2 (2006) data for 2499 children in the Kindergarten Cohort were used. Children, at Wave 2, were in the first year of formal school. They had a mean age of 6.9 years (SD= 0.26). Measures included a 6-item measure of Approaches to Learning (task persistence, independence) and the Academic Rating Scales for language and literacy and mathematical thinking. Teachers rated their relationships with children on the short form of the STRS. Results: Girls were rated by their teachers as doing better than boys on Language and literacy, Approaches to learning; and they had a better relationship with their teacher. Children from an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Island (ATSI) background were rated as doing less well on Language and Literacy and Mathematical thinking and on their Approaches to learning. Children from high Socio Economic Position families are doing better on teacher rated Language and Literacy, Mathematical thinking, Approaches to learning and they had a better relationship with their teacher. Conclusions: Findings highlight the importance of key demographic variables in understanding children’s early school success.

Transition into high school : a phenomenological study

Transition is a process of moving from the known to the unknown (Green, 1997) and transition from primary school to high school can be described in this way. In Australia, there is a two tiered system of primary and secondary schooling operating where school students typically undergo at least two transitions. Firstly, when they leave home to attend pre-school/primary school; and secondly, when they leave primary school to enter secondary school. Potentially some students may experience up to four transitions: from home to kindergarten to pre-school to primary school to secondary school while for a smaller number of students who attend P-12 schools, there may be only one transition: from home to preschool.