A comparison of the hazard perception ability of matched groups of healthy drivers aged 35 to 55, 65 to 74, and 75 to 84 years

We examined differences in response latencies obtained during a validated video-based hazard perception driving test between three healthy, community-dwelling groups: 22 mid-aged (35-55 years), 34 young-old (65-74 years), and 23 old-old (75-84 years) current drivers, matched for gender, education level, and vocabulary. We found no significant difference in performance between mid-aged and young-old groups, but the old-old group was significantly slower than the other two groups. The differences between the old-old group and the other groups combined were independently mediated by useful field of view (UFOV), contrast sensitivity, and simple reaction time measures. Given that hazard perception latency has been linked with increased crash risk, these results are consistent with the idea that increased crash risk in older adults could be a function of poorer hazard perception, though this decline does not appear to manifest until age 75+ in healthy drivers.

Enabling authentic collaborative education in an online environment : the QUT Virtual Law Placement

This paper explores an innovative model for work-integrated learning using a virtual paradigm – The Virtual Law Placement Unit at Queensland University of Technology (QUT) Australia. It builds upon the conceptual model previously explored at WACE 2007 and provides an account of the lessons learned from the pilot offering of the unit which was conducted and evaluated in 2008. ----- The Virtual Placement Unit offers students the opportunity to complete an authentic workplace task under the guidance of a real-life workplace supervisor, where student-student communication and student-supervisor communication is all conducted virtually (and potentially asynchronously) to create an engaging but flexible learning environment using a combination of Blackboard and SharePoint technologies. This virtual experience is pioneering in the sense that it enables law students to access an unprecedented range of law graduate destination workplaces and projects, including international and social justice placements, absent the constraints traditionally associated with arranging physical placements. ----- All aspects of this unit have been designed in conjunction with community partners with a view to balancing student learning objectives with community needs through co-operative education. This paper will also explore how the implementation of the project is serving to strengthen those partnerships with the wider community, simultaneously addressing the community engagement agenda of the University and enabling students to engage meaningfully with local, national and international community partners in the real world of work.

Selling education through “culture” : responses to the market by new, non-government schools

The move to a market model of schooling has seen a radical restructuring of the ways schooling is “done” in recent times in Western countries. Although there has been a great deal of work to examine the effects of a market model on local school management (LSM), teachers’ work and university systems, relatively little has been done to examine its effect on parents’ choice of school in the non-government sector in Australia. This study examines the reasons parents give for choosing a non-government school in the outer suburbs of one large city in Australia. Drawing on the work of Bourdieu specifically his ideas on “cultural capital” (1977), this study revealed that parents were choosing the non-government school over the government school to ensure that their children would be provided, through the school’s emphasis on cultural capital, access to a perceived “better life” thus enhancing the potential to facilitate “extraordinary children”, one of the school’s marketing claims.

Creating cultural change in education : A proposal for a continuum for evaluating the effectiveness of sustainable schools implementation strategies in Australia

Networks are increasingly recognised as advantageous when creating and embedding cultural change within organisations. This paper explores andproblematises ideas around networks for education for sustainability (EfS), Australian Sustainable Schools Initiative (AuSSI), a national, whole-school approach to EfS. In three Australian states - New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland – AuSSI has been implemented in different ways. In examining the use of products, facilitators and networks to embed initiatives such as AuSSI in Australian schools, we propose a “continuum of cultural change strategies” as a framework for thinking about each of these approaches to creating organisational and cultural change for sustainability. We anticipate that such a framework may assist where choices need to be made in relation to the kinds of capacity building processes that might best achieve “deep and wide” change within schools hoping to engender significant cultural change.

Leading indigenous education in a remote location : reflections on teaching to be "proud and deadly"

This thesis is a critical reflection of the author’s time as a Principal of an Indigenous state school from 2003-2004. The purpose is to reassess the impact of her principalship in terms of the staff, students and Community change that affected learning outcomes at the school and to reanalyse to what actions and to whom positive changes could be attributed. This thesis reflects and identifies, in light of the literature, strategies which were effective in enhancing student learning outcomes. The focus of this thesis was the Doongal State School*, its students, staff and facilities. The author will attempt to draw out theoretical frameworks in terms of: (1) what changed educationally in Doongal State School, (2) what seemed to be important in the Principal’s role, (3) the processes that took place, and (4) the effect of being non- Indigenous and a female. Overall, the author undertook this critical reflection in order to understand and embrace educational practices that will (a) lessen the gap between the academic outcomes achieved by Indigenous and non-Indigenous students, and (b) enhance life choices for Indigenous children. The findings indicate that principal leadership is critical for success in Indigenous schools and is the centrepiece of the models developed to explain improvement at Doongal State School. School factors, Principal Leadership factors, Change factors and factors relating to being a non-Indigenous female principal, which, when implemented, will lead to improved educational outcomes for Indigenous students, have evolved as a result of this thesis. Principal Leadership factors were found to be the enablers for the effective implementation of the key components for success.

Virtual mooting : using technology to enhance the mooting experience

While a range of benefits to students participating in mooting have been identified by the legal education literature, there are impediments to students participating in mooting that have been revealed by recent surveys of law students at QUT. These impediments include time, geographical location and a failure to perceive the benefits of mooting. This paper will explore the benefits of using technology to overcome these impediments, evaluate technological options to facilitate distance mooting, such as the use of Second Life, Elluminate and video conferencing, and will recommend a trial of these options.

User-centered video quality assessment for scalable video coding of H.264/AVC standard

Scalable video coding of H.264/AVC standard enables adaptive and flexible delivery for multiple devices and various network conditions. Only a few works have addressed the influence of different scalability parameters (frame rate, spatial resolution, and SNR) on the user perceived quality within a limited scope. In this paper, we have conducted an experiment of subjective quality assessment for video sequences encoded with H.264/SVC to gain a better understanding of the correlation between video content and UPQ at all scalable layers and the impact of rate-distortion method and different scalabilities on bitrate and UPQ. Findings from this experiment will contribute to a user-centered design of adaptive delivery of scalable video stream.