Race, the senses, and the materials of writing practices

The paper is a critical argument foregrounding race, the senses, and the materials of literacy practices. The author argues that counter-colonial literacies in the contemporary times require openly acknowledgement of the influences of white imperialism and racism in dominant schooling practices. The first concern is narrow conceptions of literacy and schooling that follow a white racial script, and which function as a form of historical reproduction, control, and privilege. The second is the need to acknowledge the need to rediscover the sensory nature of literacy practices that is intrinsic to many cultures, and which is transformed in human interactions with new digital forms of textual production. The final argument is the need to attend to the materiality of literacy practices, including the meanings connected to the material ecology. This principle is particularly relevant to Indigenous culture and experience, but likewise, to all digital environments where the materials of literacy practices are continually shifting.

EVERSUN: A phase 2 trial of alternating sunitinib and everolimus as first-line therapy for advanced renal cell carcinoma

Background We hypothesised that alternating inhibitors of the vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR) and mammalian target of rapamycin pathways would delay the development of resistance in advanced renal cell carcinoma (aRCC). Patients and methods A single-arm, two-stage, multicentre, phase 2 trial to determine the activity, feasibility, and safety of 12-week cycles of sunitinib 50 mg daily 4 weeks on / 2 weeks off, alternating with everolimus 10 mg daily for 5 weeks on / 1 week off, until disease progression or prohibitive toxicity in favourable or intermediate-risk aRCC. The primary end point was proportion alive and progression-free at 6 months (PFS6m). The secondary end points were feasibility, tumour response, overall survival (OS), and adverse events (AEs). The correlative objective was to assess biomarkers and correlate with clinical outcome. Results We recruited 55 eligible participants from September 2010 to August 2012. Demographics: mean age 61, 71% male, favourable risk 16%, intermediate risk 84%. Cycle 2 commenced within 14 weeks for 80% of participants; 64% received ≥22 weeks of alternating therapy; 78% received ≥22 weeks of any treatment. PFS6m was 29/55 (53%; 95% confidence interval [CI] 40% to 66%). Tumour response rate was 7/55 (13%; 95% CI 4% to 22%, all partial responses). After median follow-up of 20 months, 47 of 55 (86%) had progressed with a median progression-free survival of 8 months (95% CI 5–10), and 30 of 55 (55%) had died with a median OS of 17 months (95% CI 12–undefined). AEs were consistent with those expected for each single agent. No convincing prognostic biomarkers were identified. Conclusions The EVERSUN regimen was feasible and safe, but its activity did not meet pre-specified values to warrant further research. This supports the current approach of continuing anti-VEGF therapy until progression or prohibitive toxicity before changing treatment.

Audience as performer: The changing role of theatre audiences in the twenty-first century

'Actors always talk about what the audience does. I don’t understand, we are just sitting here.' Audience as Performer proposes that in the theatre, there are two troupes of performers: the actors and the audience. Although academics have scrutinised how audiences respond, make meaning and co-create while watching a performance, little research has considered the behaviour of the theatre audience as a performance in and of itself. This insightful book describes how an audience performs through its myriad gestural, vocal and paralingual actions, and considers the following questions: •If the audience are performers, who are their audiences? •How have audiences’ roles changed throughout history? •How do talkbacks and technology influence the audience’s role as critics? •What influence does the audience have on the creation of community in theatre? •How can the audience function as both consumer and co-creator? Drawing from over 140 interviews with audience members, actors and ushers in the UK, USA and Australia, Heim reveals the lived experience of audience members at the theatrical event. It is a fresh reading of mainstream audiences’ activities, bringing their voices to the fore and exploring their emerging new roles in the theatre of the Twenty-First Century.

Characteristics of the first pre-discharge current pulse in SF6 under a steep fronted impulse voltage

An improved understanding of the characteristics of the pre-discharge current pulses in GIS will lead to improved analyses of the results from the UHF partial discharge detection method. This paper presents the characteristics of the first pre-discharge current pulses from a point-to-plain geometry at 1 bar absolute under both polarities of a 1.1/80 us lightning impulse. The analysis has shown that the pre-discharge current wave shape, peak current magnitude and charge is effected by the instantaneous voltage at which the pre- discharge took place as well as the polarity of the active electrode. The measured results show that protrusions on the electrodes have slower wave shape parameters than those reported for free conducting particles.

Mentoring first-year pre-service teachers of primary science

Twenty-nine first-year pre-service teachers' perceptions of mentoring and primary science teaching were collected through a literature-based survey. Frequencies, means, and standard deviations of these responses provided data for analysis on these mentoring practices. Results indicated that even though mentors may provide feedback, the majority of mentors do not provide specific primary science mentoring in the areas of pedagogical knowledge, system requirements, and the modeling of teaching practice. It appears that the mentor's personal attributes may also influence the quality of mentoring. There were tentative conclusions that first-year pre-service teachers may not have strong beliefs about specific primary science mentoring practices, and possibly because of inexperience, may not be critical enough to analyse their mentoring in primary science teaching. Identifying specific mentoring for developing primary science teaching may assist mentors in their practices with pre-service teachers.

Teaching independent learning skills in the first year: A positive psychology strategy for promoting law student well-being

Empirical evidence in Australia and overseas has established that in many university disciplines, students begin to experience elevated levels of psychological distress in their first year of study. There is now a considerable body of empirical data that establishes that this is a significant problem for law students. Psychological distress may hamper a law student’s capacity to learn successfully, and certainly hinders their ability to thrive in the tertiary environment. We know from Self-Determination Theory (SDT), a conceptual branch of positive psychology, that supporting students’ autonomy in turn supports their well-being. This article seeks to connect the literature on law student well-being and independent learning using Self-Determination Theory (SDT) as the theoretical bridge. We argue that deliberate instruction in the development of independent learning skills in the first year curriculum is autonomy supportive. It can therefore lay the foundation for academic and personal success at university, and may be a protective factor against decline in law student psychological well-being.

Crowning of dibenzosilole with a naphthalenediimide functional group to prepare an electron acceptor for organic solar cells

A novel, solution-processable non-fullerene electron acceptor 9,9′-(5,5-dioctyl-5H-dibenzo [b,d]silole-3,7-diyl)bis(2,7-dioctyl-4-(octylamino)benzo[lmn][3,8]phenanthroline-1,3,6,8(2H,7H)-tetraone) (B3) based on dibenzosilole and naphthalenediimide building blocks was designed, synthesized, characterized and successfully used in a bulk-heterojunction organic solar cell. B3 displayed excellent solubility, thermal stability and acquired electron energy levels matching with those of archetypal donor polymer poly(3-hexylthiophene). Solution-processable bulk-heterojunction devices afforded 1.16% power conversion efficiency with a high fill factor of 53%. B3 is the first example in the literature using this design principle, where mild donor units at the peripheries of end-capped naphthalenediimide units tune solubility and optical energy levels simultaneously.

Investigating sea level rise due to global warming in the teaching laboratory using Archimedes’ principle

A teaching laboratory experiment is described that uses Archimedes’ principle to precisely investigate the effect of global warming on the oceans. A large component of sea level rise is due to the increase in the volume of water due to the decrease in water density with increasing temperature. Water close to 0 °C is placed in a beaker and a glass marble hung from an electronic balance immersed in the water. As the water warms, the weight of the marble increases as the water is less buoyant due to the decrease in density. In the experiment performed in this paper a balance with a precision of 0.1 mg was used with a marble 40.0 cm3 and mass of 99.3 g, yielding water density measurements with an average error of -0.008 ± 0.011%.

Group 14 element-based non-centrosymmetric quantum spin hall insulators with large bulk gap

To date, a number of two-dimensional (2D) topological insulators (TIs) have been realized in Group 14 elemental honeycomb lattices, but all are inversionsymmetric. Here, based on first-principles calculations, we predict a new family of 2D inversion-asymmetric TIs with sizeable bulk gaps from 105 meV to 284 meV, in X2–GeSn (X = H, F, Cl, Br, I) monolayers, making them in principle suitable for room-temperature applications. The nontrivial topological characteristics of inverted band orders are identified in pristine X2–GeSn with X = (F, Cl, Br, I), whereas H2–GeSn undergoes a nontrivial band inversion at 8% lattice expansion. Topologically protected edge states are identified in X2–GeSn with X = (F, Cl, Br, I), as well as in strained H2–GeSn. More importantly, the edges of these systems, which exhibit single-Dirac-cone characteristics located exactly in the middle of their bulk band gaps, are ideal for dissipationless transport. Thus, Group 14 elemental honeycomb lattices provide a fascinating playground for the manipulation of quantum states.

Investigating the effectiveness of an ecological approach to learning design in a first year mathematics for engineering unit

This paper reports on the results of a project aimed at creating a research-informed, pedagogically reliable, technology-enhanced learning and teaching environment that would foster engagement with learning. A first-year mathematics for engineering unit offered at a large, metropolitan Australian university provides the context for this research. As part of the project, the unit was redesigned using a framework that employed flexible, modular, connected e-learning and teaching experiences. The researchers, interested in an ecological perspective on educational processes, grounded the redesign principles in probabilistic learning design (Kirschner et al., 2004). The effectiveness of the redesigned environment was assessed through the lens of the notion of affordance (Gibson, 1977,1979, Greeno, 1994, Good, 2007). A qualitative analysis of the questionnaire distributed to students at the end of the teaching period provided insight into factors impacting on the successful creation of an environment that encourages complex, multidimensional and multilayered interactions conducive to learning.

The first-year experience in law school: A new beginning?

The first-year experience at university is a "purgatorial zone". There is the shock of the new: navigating a new campus, choosing and enrolling in courses, locating classrooms, finding new friends and establishing new social networks, buying armloads of textbooks, making sense of subject outlines, balancing work and study, completing multiple assignments on time. But there are also the growing pains associated with intellectual development. Not only must first-year students take responsibility for their own learning; they must also accept that there are no "right" or "wrong" answers or "good" or "bad" positions, but judgements they must make and defend through analysis, reasoning and argument.

The First-Year Law Experience: A New Beginning

The first-year experience at university is a "purgatorial zone”. There is the shock of the new: navigating a new campus, choosing and enrolling in courses, locating classrooms, finding new friends and establishing new social networks, buying arm loads of textbooks, making sense of subject outlines, balancing work and study, completing multiple assignments on time. But there are also the growing pains associated with intellectual development. Not only must first-year students take responsibility for their own learning; they must also accept that there are no "right" or "wrong" answers or "good" or "bad" positions, but judgements they must make and defend through analysis, reasoning and argument: ... the student [must] shift from passivity to activity; [university] is no longer an environment in which professors have the sole responsibility to teach but, rather; one in which the student has an equal responsibility to learn. They [need] . .. to becom[e] critical thinkers who are, in the words of Richard Paul and Linda Elder, "self-directed, self-disciplined, self-monitored, and self-corrective".

Pioneering use of narrative method in a first-year law course to provide an authentic, inquiry-based entry into the discipline of law

Law is saturated with stories. People tell their stories to lawyers; lawyers tell their client's stories to courts; and legislators develop regulation to respond to their constituent's stories of injustice or inequality. My approach to first-year legal education respects this narrative tradition. Both my curriculum design and assessment scheme in the compulsory first-year subject Australian Legal System deploy narrative methodology as the central teaching and learning device. Throughout the course, students work on resolving the problems of four hypothetical clients. Like a murder mystery, pieces of the puzzle come together as students learn more about legal institutions and the texts they produce, the process of legal research, the analysis and interpretation of primary legal sources, the steps in legal problem-solving, the genre conventions of legal writing style, the practical skills and ethical dimensions of professional practice, and critical inquiry into the normative underpinnings and impacts of the law. The assessment scheme mirrors this design. In their portfolio-based assignment, for example, students devise their own client profile, research the client's legal position and prepare a memorandum of advice.

Maternal pregravid body mass index and child hospital admissions in the first 5 years of life: results from an Australian birth cohort

Objectives: To examine the association of maternal pregravid body mass index (BMI) and child offspring, all-cause hospitalisations in the first 5 years of life. Methods: Prospective birth cohort study. From 2006 to 2011, 2779 pregnant women (2807 children) were enrolled in the Environments for Healthy Living: Griffith birth cohort study in South-East Queensland, Australia. Hospital delivery record and self-report baseline survey of maternal, household and demographic factors during pregnancy were linked to the Queensland Hospital Admitted Patients Data Collection from 1 November 2006 to 30 June 2012, for child admissions. Maternal pregravid BMI was classified as underweight (<18.5 kg m−2), normal weight (18.5–24.9 kg m−2), overweight (25.0–29.9 kg m−2) or obese (30 kg m−2). Main outcomes were the total number of child hospital admissions and ICD-10-AM diagnostic groupings in the first 5 years of life. Negative binomial regression models were calculated, adjusting for follow-up duration, demographic and health factors. The cohort comprised 8397.9 person years (PYs) follow-up. Results: Children of mothers who were classified as obese had an increased risk of all-cause hospital admissions in the first 5 years of life than the children of mothers with a normal BMI (adjusted rate ratio (RR) =1.48, 95% confidence interval 1.10–1.98). Conditions of the nervous system, infections, metabolic conditions, perinatal conditions, injuries and respiratory conditions were excessive, in both absolute and relative terms, for children of obese mothers, with RRs ranging from 1.3–4.0 (PYs adjusted). Children of mothers who were underweight were 1.8 times more likely to sustain an injury or poisoning than children of normal-weight mothers (PYs adjusted). Conclusion: Results suggest that if the intergenerational impact of maternal obesity (and similarly issues related to underweight) could be addressed, a significant reduction in child health care use, costs and public health burden would be likely.

Grant application: QUT Learning and Teaching scheme 2012 Cracking the Code - A checklist to complement CRAs for first year Justice students.

Widening participation brings with it increasing diversity, increased variation in the level of academic preparedness (Clarke, 2011; Nelson, Clarke, & Kift 2010). Cultural capital coupled with negotiating the academic culture creates an environment based on many assumptions about academic writing and university culture. Variations in staff and student expectations relating to the teaching and learning experience is captured in a range of national and institutional data (AUSSE, CEQ, LEX). Nationally, AUSSE data (2009) indicates that communication, writing, speaking and analytic skills, staff expectations are quite a bit higher than students. The research team noted a recognisable shift in the changing cohort of students and their understanding and engagement with feedback and CRAs, as well as variations in teaching staff and student expectations. The current reality of tutor and student roles is that: - Students self select when/how they access lectures and tutorials. - Shorter tutorial times result in reduced opportunity to develop rapport with students. - CRAs are not always used consistently by staff (different marking styles and levels of feedback). - Marking is not always undertaken by the student’s tutor/lecturer. - Student support services might be recommended to students once a poor grade has been given. Students can perceive this as remedial and a further sense of failure. - CRA sheet has a mark /grade attached to it. Stigma attached to low mark. Hard to focus on the CRA feedback with a poor mark etched next to it. - Limited opportunities for sessionals to access professional development to assist with engaging students and feedback. - FYE resources exist, however academic time is a factor in exploring and embedding these resources. Feedback is another area with differing expectations and understandings. Sadler (2009) contends that students are not equipped to decode the statements properly. For students to be able to apply feedback, they need to understand the meaning of the feedback statement. They also need to identify, the particular aspects of their work that need attention. The proposed Checklist/guide would be one page and submitted with each assessment piece thereby providing an interface to engage students and tutors in managing first year understandings and expectations around CRAs, feedback, and academic practice.