School libraries, teacher-librarians and their contribution to student literacy development in Gold Coast schools

This is the first research focusing on Gold Coast school libraries and teacher- librarians. It presents a detailed picture of library provision and staffing at a representative group of 27 government and non-government schools at the Gold Coast. It shows links between employment of a teacher-librarian and higher NAPLAN reading and writing scores. And it presents the principals’ generally positive views about teacher-librarians’ contribution to reading and literacy at their schools. The findings respond in part to the recent government inquiry’s call (House of Representatives, 2011) for research about the current staffing of school libraries in Australia, and the influence of school libraries and teacher-librarians on students’ literacy and learning outcomes. While the study has focused on a relatively small group of school libraries, it has produced a range of significant outcomes: • An extensive review of international and Australian research showing impacts of school libraries and teacher-librarians on students’ literacy and learning outcomes • Findings consistent with international research showing: - An inverse relationship between lower student to EFT library staff ratio and higher school NAPLAN scores for reading and writing - Schools that employ a teacher-librarian tend to achieve school NAPLAN scores for respective year levels that are higher than the national mean It is anticipated that the study’s findings will be of interest to education authorities, school leadership teams, teacher-librarians, teachers and researchers. The findings provide evidence to: • inform policy development and strategic planning for school libraries that respond to the literacy development needs of 21st century learners • inform school-based management of school libraries • inform curriculum development and teacher-librarian practice • support further collaborative research on a State or national level • enhance conceptual understandings about relationship(s) between school libraries, teacher-librarians and literacy/information literacy development • support advocacy about school libraries, teacher-librarians and their contribution to literacy development and student learning in Australian schools SLAQ President Toni Leigh comments: “It is heartening to see findings which validate the critical role teacher-librarians play in student literacy development and the positive correlation of higher NAPLAN scores and schools with a qualified teacher-librarian. Also encouraging is the high percentage of school principals who recognise the necessity of a well resourced school library and the positive influence of these libraries on student literacy”. This research arises from a research partnership between School Library Association of Queensland (SLAQ) and Children and Youth Research Centre, QUT. Lead researcher: Dr Hilary Hughes, Children and Youth Research Centre, QUT Research assistants: Dr Hossein Bozorgian, Dr Cherie Allan, Dr Michelle Dicinoski, QUT SLAQ Research Reference Group: Toni Leigh, Marj Osborne, Sally Fraser, Chris Kahl and Helen Reynolds Reference: House of Representatives. (2011). School libraries and teacher librarians in 21st century Australia. Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia. http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/House_of_Representatives_Committees?url=ee/schoollibraries/report.htm

Mapping Multiple Literacies: An Introduction to Deleuzian Literacy Studies

Mapping Multiple Literacies brings together the latest theory and research in the fields of literacy study and European philosophy, Multiple Literacies Theory (MLT) and the philosophical work of Gilles Deleuze. It frames the process of becoming literate as a fluid process involving multiple modes of presentation, and explains these processes in terms of making maps of our social lives and ways of doing things together. For Deleuze, language acquisition is a social activity of which we are a part, but only one part amongst many others. Masny and Cole draw on Deleuze's thinking to expand the repertoires of literacy research and understanding. They outline how we can understand literacy as a social activity and map the ways in which becoming literate may take hold and transform communities. The chapters in this book weave together theory, data and practice to open up a creative new area of literacy studies and to provoke vigorous debate about the sociology of literacy.

Regulatory Impact Assessment of Potential Duplication of Governance and Reporting Standards for Charities

On 25 January 2013, the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) released a Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) for consultation on ways to reduce regulatory duplication between the proposed Commonwealth governance and reporting standards and existing state and territory requirements.

Higher order thinking in chemistry curriculum and its assessment

Higher-order thinking has featured persistently in the reform agenda for science education. The intended curriculum in various countries sets out aspirational statements for the levels of higher-order thinking to be attained by students. This study reports the extent to which chemistry examinations from four Australian states align and facilitate the intended higher-order thinking skills stipulated in curriculum documents. Through content analysis, the curriculum goals were identified for each state and compared to the nature of question items in the corresponding examinations. Categories of higher-order thinking were adapted from the OECD’s PISA Science test to analyze question items. There was considerable variation in the extent to which the examinations from the states supported the curriculum intent of developing and assessing higher-order thinking. Generally, examinations that used a marks-based system tended to emphasize lower-order thinking, with a greater distribution of marks allocated for lower-order thinking questions. Examinations associated with a criterion-referenced examination tended to award greater credit for higher-order thinking questions. The level of complexity of chemistry was another factor that limited the extent to which examination questions supported higher-order thinking. Implications from these findings are drawn for the authorities responsible for designing curriculum and assessment procedures and for teachers.

Engineering the fitness of older patients for chemotherapy : an exploration of Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment in practice

Clinicians often report that currently available methods to assess older patients, including standard clinical consultations, do not elicit the information necessary to make an appropriate cancer treatment recommendation for older cancer patients. An increasingly popular way of assessing the potential of older patients to cope with chemotherapy is a Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment. What constitutes Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment, however, is open to interpretation and varies from one setting to another. Furthermore, Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment’s usefulness as a predictor of fitness for chemotherapy and as a determinant of actual treatment is not well understood. In this article, we analyse how Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment was developed for use in a large cancer service in an Australian capital city. Drawing upon Actor–Network Theory, our findings reveal how, during its development, Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment was made both a tool and a science. Furthermore, we briefly explore the tensions that we experienced as scholars who analyse medico-scientific practices and as practitioner–designers charged with improving the very tools we critique. Our study contributes towards geriatric oncology by scrutinising the medicalisation of ageing, unravelling the practices of standardisation and illuminating the multiplicity of ‘fitness for chemotherapy’.

A nurse-led model of oncogeriatric assessment

Background There is growing consensus that a multidisciplinary, comprehensive and standardised process for assessing the fitness of older patients for chemotherapy should be undertaken to determine appropriate cancer treatment. Aim This study tested a model of cancer care for the older patient incorporating Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA), which aimed to ensure that 'fit' individuals amenable to active treatment were accurately identified; 'vulnerable' patients more suitable for modified or supportive regimens were determined; and 'frail 'individuals who would benefit most from palliative regimens were also identified and offered the appropriate level of care. Methods A consecutive-series n=178 sample of patients >65 years was recruited from a major Australian cancer centre. The following instruments were administered by an oncogeriatric nurse prior to treatment: Vulnerable Elders Survey-13; Cumulative Illness Rating Scale (Geriatric); Malnutrition Screening Tool; Mini-mental State Examination; Geriatric Depression Scale; Barthel Index; and Lawton Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Scale. Scores from these instruments were aggregated to predict patient fitness, vulnerability or frailty for chemotherapy. Physicians provided a concurrent (blinded) prediction of patient fitness, vulnerability or frailty based on their clinical assessment. Data were also collected on actual patient outcomes (eg treatment completed as predicted, treatment reduced) during monthly audits of patient trajectories. Data analysis Data analysis is underway. A sample of 178 is adequate to detect, with 90% power, kappa coefficients of agreement between CGA and physician assessments of K>0.90 ("almost perfect agreement"). Primary endpoints comprise a) whether the nurse-led CGA determination of fit, vulnerable or frail agrees with the oncologist's assessments of fit, vulnerable or frail and b) whether the CGA and physician assessments accurately predict actual patient outcomes. Conclusion An oncogeriatric nurse-led model of care is currently being developed from the results. We conclude with a discussion of the pivotal role of nurses in CGA-based models of care.

Comprehensive assessment of the fitness of older people for chemotherapy

Purpose: To present the results of a mixed-method study comparing the level of agreement of a two-phased, nurse-administered Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA) with current methods that assess the fitness for chemotherapy of older cancer patients. A nurse-led model of multidisciplinary cancer care based on the results is also described. Methods: The two phases comprised initial screening by a nurse with the Vulnerable Elders Survey-13 [VES-13], followed by nurse administration of a detailed CGA. Both phases were linked to a computerised algorithm categorising the patient as ‘fit’, ‘vulnerable’ or ‘frail’. The study determined the level of agreement between VES-13- and CGA-determined categories; and between the CGA and the physicians’ assessments. It also compared the CGA’s predictive abilities in terms of subsequent treatment toxicity; while interviews determined the acceptability of the nurse-led procedure from key stakeholders' perspectives. Results: Data collection was completed in December 2011. The results will be presented at the conference. A consecutive-series n=170 will be enrolled, 33% of whom are ‘fit’; 33% ‘vulnerable’; and 33% ‘too frail’ for treatment. This sample can detect, with 90% power, kappa coefficients of agreement of ≥ 0.70 or higher (“substantial agreement”). Fitness sub-group comparisons of agreement between the medical oncologist and the nurse assessments can detect kappa estimates of Κ ≥ 0.80 with the same power. Conclusion: The results have informed a nurse-led model of cancer care. It meets a clear need to develop, implement and test a nurse-led, robust, evidence-based, clinically-justifiable and economically-feasible CGA process that has relevance in national and international contexts.

Vibrational spectroscopy of the mineral meyerhofferite CaB3O3(OH)5·H2O – An assessment of the molecular structure

Meyerhofferite is a calcium hydrated borate mineral with ideal formula: CaB3O3(OH)5�H2O and occurs as white complex acicular to crude crystals with length up to �4 cm, in fibrous divergent, radiating aggregates or reticulated and is often found in sedimentary or lake-bed borate deposits. The Raman spectrum of meyerhofferite is dominated by intense sharp band at 880 cm�1 assigned to the symmetric stretching mode of trigonal boron. Broad Raman bands at 1046, 1110, 1135 and 1201 cm�1 are attributed to BOH in-plane bending modes. Raman bands in the 900–1000 cm�1 spectral region are assigned to the antisymmetric stretching of tetrahedral boron. Distinct OH stretching Raman bands are observed at 3400, 3483 and 3608 cm�1. The mineral meyerhofferite has a distinct Raman spectrum which is different from the spectrum of other borate minerals, making Raman spectroscopy a very useful tool for the detection of meyerhofferite in sedimentary and lake bed deposits.

Assessment as a Generative Dance : Connecting Teaching, Learning and Curriculum

This chapter focuses on learning and assessment as social and cultural practices situated within national and international policy contexts of educational change. Classroom assessment was researched using a conceptualization of knowing in action, or the ‘generative dance’. Fine-grained analyses of interactivity between students, and between teacher and student/s, and their patterns of participation in assessment and learning were conducted. The findings offer original insights into how learners draw on explicit and tacit forms of knowing in order to successfully participate in learning. Assessment is re-imagined as a dynamic space in which teachers learn about their students as they learn with their students, and where all students can be empowered to find success.

Assessment of precision timing and real-time data networks for digital substation automation

This project researched the performance of emerging digital technology for high voltage electricity substations that significantly improves safety for staff and reduces the potential impact on the environment of equipment failure. The experimental evaluation used a scale model of a substation control system that incorporated real substation control and networking equipment with real-time simulation of the power system. The outcomes confirm that it is possible to implement Ethernet networks in high voltage substations that meet the needs of utilities; however component-level testing of devices is necessary to achieve this. The assessment results have been used to further develop international standards for substation communication and precision timing.

Supporting children's language and literacy skills : the effectiveness of shared book reading intervention strategies with parents

Parents are encouraged to read with their children from an early age because shared book reading helps children to develop their language and early literacy skills. A pragmatic Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT) research design was adopted to investigate the influence of two forms of a shared reading intervention (Dialogic Reading and Dialogic Reading with the addition of Print Referencing) on children’s language and literacy skills. Dialogic reading is a validated shared reading intervention that has been shown to improve children’s oral language skills prior to formal schooling (Whitehurst & Lonigan, 1998). Print referencing is another form of shared reading intervention that has the potential to have effects on children’s print knowledge as they begin school (Justice & Ezell, 2002). However, training parents to use print referencing strategies at home has not been researched extensively although research findings indicate its effectiveness when used by teachers in the early years of school. Eighty parents of Preparatory year children from three Catholic schools in low income areas in the outer suburbs of a metropolitan city were trained to deliver specific shared reading strategies in an eight-week home intervention. Parents read eight books to their children across the period of the intervention. Each book was requested to be read at least three times a week. There were 42 boys and 38 girls ranging in age from 4.92 years to 6.25 years (M=5.53, SD=0.33) in the sample. The families were randomly assigned to three groups: Dialogic Reading (DR); Dialogic Reading with the addition of Print Referencing (DR + PR); and a Control group. Six measures were used to assess children’s language skills at pre and post, and follow-up (three months after the intervention). These measures assessed oral language (receptive and expressive vocabulary), phonological awareness skills (rhyme, word completion), alphabet knowledge, and concepts about print. Results of the intervention showed that there were significant differences from pre to post between the two intervention groups and the control group on three measures: expressive vocabulary, rhyme, and concepts about print. The shared reading strategies delivered by parents of the dialogic reading, and dialogic reading with the addition of print referencing, showed promising results to develop children’s oral language skills in terms of expressive vocabulary and rhyme, as well as understanding of the concepts about print. At follow-up, when the children entered Year 1, the two intervention groups (DR and DR + PR) group had significantly maintained their knowledge of concepts about prints when compared with the control group. Overall, the findings from this intervention study did not show that dialogic reading with the addition of print referencing had stronger effects on children’s early literacy skills than dialogic reading alone. The research also explored if pre-existing family factors impacted on the outcomes of the intervention from pre to post. The relationships between maternal education and home reading practices prior to intervention and child outcomes at post were considered. However, there were no significant effects of maternal education and home literacy activities on child outcomes at post. Additionally, there were no significant effects for the level of compliance of parents with the intervention program in terms of regular weekly reading to children during the intervention period on child outcomes at post. These non-significant findings are attributed to the lack of variability in the recruited sample. Parents participating in the intervention had high levels of education, although they were recruited from schools in low socio-economic areas; parents were already highly engaged in home literacy activities at recruitment; and the parents were highly compliant in reading regularly to their child during the intervention. Findings of the current study did show that training in shared reading strategies enhanced children’s early language and literacy skills. Both dialogic reading and dialogic reading with the addition of print referencing improved children’s expressive vocabulary, rhyme, and concepts about print at post intervention. Further research is needed to identify how, and if, print referencing strategies used by parents at home can be effective over and above the use of dialogic reading strategies. In this research, limitations of sample size and the nature of the intervention to use print referencing strategies at home may have restricted the opportunities for this research study to find more effects on children’s emergent literacy skills or for the effectiveness of combining dialogic reading with print referencing strategies. However, these results did indicate that there was value in teaching parents to implement shared reading strategies at home in order to improve early literacy skills as children begin formal schooling.

Quality Assessment Matrix : A Collaborative Evaluation Using Multiple Lines of Evidence

Welcome to the Quality assessment matrix. This matrix is designed for highly qualified discipline experts to evaluate their course, major or unit in a systematic manner. The primary purpose of the Quality assessment matrix is to provide a tool that a group of academic staff at universities can collaboratively review the assessment within a course, major or unit annually. The annual review will result in you being read for an external curricula review at any point in time. This tool is designed for use in a workshop format with one, two or more academic staff, and will lead to an action plan for implementation.

Children exposure assessment to ultrafine particles and black carbon: The role of transport and cooking activities

An accurate evaluation of the airborne particle dose-response relationship requires detailed measurements of the actual particle concentration levels that people are exposed to, in every microenvironment in which they reside. The aim of this work was to perform an exposure assessment of children in relation to two different aerosol species: ultrafine particles (UFPs) and black carbon (BC). To this purpose, personal exposure measurements, in terms of UFP and BC concentrations, were performed on 103 children aged 8-11 years (10.1 ± 1.1 years) using hand-held particle counters and aethalometers. Simultaneously, a time-activity diary and a portable GPS were used to determine the children’s daily time-activity pattern and estimate their inhaled dose of UFPs and BC. The median concentration to which the study population was exposed was found to be comparable to the high levels typically detected in urban traffic microenvironments, in terms of both particle number (2.2×104 part. cm-3) and BC (3.8 μg m-3) concentrations. Daily inhaled doses were also found to be relatively high and were equal to 3.35×1011 part. day-1 and 3.92×101 μg day-1 for UFPs and BC, respectively. Cooking and using transportation were recognized as the main activities contributing to overall daily exposure, when normalized according to their corresponding time contribution for UFPs and BC, respectively. Therefore, UFPs and BC could represent tracers of children exposure to particulate pollution from indoor cooking activities and transportation microenvironments, respectively.

Damage identification and condition assessment of building structures using frequency response functions and neural networks

This thesis investigated the viability of using Frequency Response Functions in combination with Artificial Neural Network technique in damage assessment of building structures. The proposed approach can help overcome some of limitations associated with previously developed vibration based methods and assist in delivering more accurate and robust damage identification results. Excellent results are obtained for damage identification of the case studies proving that the proposed approach has been developed successfully.

Standing brave in the face of rapid curriculum change : EAL/D teachers speak about critical literacy and its place in senior English teaching

Critical literacy (CL) has been the subject of much debate in the Australian public and education arenas since 2002. Recently, this debate has dissipated as literacy education agendas and attendant policies shift to embrace more hybrid models and approaches to the teaching of senior English. This paper/presentation reports on the views expressed by four teachers of senior English about critical literacy and it’s relevance to students who are from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds who are learning English while undertaking senior studies in high school. Teachers’ understandings of critical literacy are important, esp. given the emphasis on Critical and Creative Thinking and Literacy as two of the General Capabilities underpinning the Australian national curriculum. Using critical discourse analysis, data from four specialist ESL teachers in two different schools were analysed for the ways in which these teachers construct critical literacy. While all four teachers indicated significant commitment to critical literacy as an approach to English language teaching, the understandings they articulated varied from providing forms of access to powerful genres, to rationalist approaches to interrogating text, to a type of ‘critical-aesthetic’ analysis of text construction. Implications are also discussed.