Improving reflective writing in higher education : A social semiotic perspective

Reflective skills are widely regarded as a means of improving students’ lifelong learning and professional practice in higher education (Rogers 2001). While the value of reflective practice is widely accepted in educational circles, a critical issue is that reflective writing is complex, and has high rhetorical demands, making it difficult to master unless it is taught in an explicit and systematic way. This paper argues that a functional-semantic approach to language (Eggins 2004), based on Halliday’s (1978) systemic functional linguistics can be used to develop a shared language to explicitly teach and assess reflective writing in higher education courses. The paper outlines key theories and scales of reflection, and then uses systemic functional linguistics to develop a social semiotic model for reflective writing. Examples of reflective writing are analysed to show how such a model can be used explicitly to improve the reflective writing skills of higher education students.

Dynamics of pattern writing and erasure in photorefractive lithium niobate for data storage applications

The present rate of technological advance continues to place significant demands on data storage devices. The sheer amount of digital data being generated each year along with consumer expectations, fuels these demands. At present, most digital data is stored magnetically, in the form of hard disk drives or on magnetic tape. The increase in areal density (AD) of magnetic hard disk drives over the past 50 years has been of the order of 100 million times, and current devices are storing data at ADs of the order of hundreds of gigabits per square inch. However, it has been known for some time that the progress in this form of data storage is approaching fundamental limits. The main limitation relates to the lower size limit that an individual bit can have for stable storage. Various techniques for overcoming these fundamental limits are currently the focus of considerable research effort. Most attempt to improve current data storage methods, or modify these slightly for higher density storage. Alternatively, three dimensional optical data storage is a promising field for the information storage needs of the future, offering very high density, high speed memory. There are two ways in which data may be recorded in a three dimensional optical medium; either bit-by-bit (similar in principle to an optical disc medium such as CD or DVD) or by using pages of bit data. Bit-by-bit techniques for three dimensional storage offer high density but are inherently slow due to the serial nature of data access. Page-based techniques, where a two-dimensional page of data bits is written in one write operation, can offer significantly higher data rates, due to their parallel nature. Holographic Data Storage (HDS) is one such page-oriented optical memory technique. This field of research has been active for several decades, but with few commercial products presently available. Another page-oriented optical memory technique involves recording pages of data as phase masks in a photorefractive medium. A photorefractive material is one by which the refractive index can be modified by light of the appropriate wavelength and intensity, and this property can be used to store information in these materials. In phase mask storage, two dimensional pages of data are recorded into a photorefractive crystal, as refractive index changes in the medium. A low-intensity readout beam propagating through the medium will have its intensity profile modified by these refractive index changes and a CCD camera can be used to monitor the readout beam, and thus read the stored data. The main aim of this research was to investigate data storage using phase masks in the photorefractive crystal, lithium niobate (LiNbO3). Firstly the experimental methods for storing the two dimensional pages of data (a set of vertical stripes of varying lengths) in the medium are presented. The laser beam used for writing, whose intensity profile is modified by an amplitudemask which contains a pattern of the information to be stored, illuminates the lithium niobate crystal and the photorefractive effect causes the patterns to be stored as refractive index changes in the medium. These patterns are read out non-destructively using a low intensity probe beam and a CCD camera. A common complication of information storage in photorefractive crystals is the issue of destructive readout. This is a problem particularly for holographic data storage, where the readout beam should be at the same wavelength as the beam used for writing. Since the charge carriers in the medium are still sensitive to the read light field, the readout beam erases the stored information. A method to avoid this is by using thermal fixing. Here the photorefractive medium is heated to temperatures above 150�C; this process forms an ionic grating in the medium. This ionic grating is insensitive to the readout beam and therefore the information is not erased during readout. A non-contact method for determining temperature change in a lithium niobate crystal is presented in this thesis. The temperature-dependent birefringent properties of the medium cause intensity oscillations to be observed for a beam propagating through the medium during a change in temperature. It is shown that each oscillation corresponds to a particular temperature change, and by counting the number of oscillations observed, the temperature change of the medium can be deduced. The presented technique for measuring temperature change could easily be applied to a situation where thermal fixing of data in a photorefractive medium is required. Furthermore, by using an expanded beam and monitoring the intensity oscillations over a wide region, it is shown that the temperature in various locations of the crystal can be monitored simultaneously. This technique could be used to deduce temperature gradients in the medium. It is shown that the three dimensional nature of the recording medium causes interesting degradation effects to occur when the patterns are written for a longer-than-optimal time. This degradation results in the splitting of the vertical stripes in the data pattern, and for long writing exposure times this process can result in the complete deterioration of the information in the medium. It is shown in that simply by using incoherent illumination, the original pattern can be recovered from the degraded state. The reason for the recovery is that the refractive index changes causing the degradation are of a smaller magnitude since they are induced by the write field components scattered from the written structures. During incoherent erasure, the lower magnitude refractive index changes are neutralised first, allowing the original pattern to be recovered. The degradation process is shown to be reversed during the recovery process, and a simple relationship is found relating the time at which particular features appear during degradation and recovery. A further outcome of this work is that the minimum stripe width of 30 ìm is required for accurate storage and recovery of the information in the medium, any size smaller than this results in incomplete recovery. The degradation and recovery process could be applied to an application in image scrambling or cryptography for optical information storage. A two dimensional numerical model based on the finite-difference beam propagation method (FD-BPM) is presented and used to gain insight into the pattern storage process. The model shows that the degradation of the patterns is due to the complicated path taken by the write beam as it propagates through the crystal, and in particular the scattering of this beam from the induced refractive index structures in the medium. The model indicates that the highest quality pattern storage would be achieved with a thin 0.5 mm medium; however this type of medium would also remove the degradation property of the patterns and the subsequent recovery process. To overcome the simplistic treatment of the refractive index change in the FD-BPM model, a fully three dimensional photorefractive model developed by Devaux is presented. This model shows significant insight into the pattern storage, particularly for the degradation and recovery process, and confirms the theory that the recovery of the degraded patterns is possible since the refractive index changes responsible for the degradation are of a smaller magnitude. Finally, detailed analysis of the pattern formation and degradation dynamics for periodic patterns of various periodicities is presented. It is shown that stripe widths in the write beam of greater than 150 ìm result in the formation of different types of refractive index changes, compared with the stripes of smaller widths. As a result, it is shown that the pattern storage method discussed in this thesis has an upper feature size limit of 150 ìm, for accurate and reliable pattern storage.

Aesthetic tensions : evaluating outcomes for practice-led research and industry

This paper explores principles of contemporary aesthetics to suggest a basis for determining qualitative outcomes of artistic works in two contexts: the arts industry and the academy setting of practice-led research. Commonly articulated measures of quality—creativity and innovation—are questioned as mere rhetoric if not framed in specific ways in the two discrete settings. The paper also interrogates generally held assumptions that a longer time to develop work and greater periods of self-reflexivity will produce higher calibre artistic outcomes. The unease produced by apparent differences in qualitative outcomes between art works created in an industry setting and those created through practice-led research is analysed through three interconnected framing devices: intention, contextual parameters and criteria for evaluation, in conjunction with the relationships between the art work, the artist and the audience/viewer/listener. Common and differentiated criteria in the two contexts are explored, leading to the conclusion that innovation is more likely to be revealed in the end product in an industry context whereas in practice-led research it may be in the methodological processes of creating the work. While identifying and acknowledging that the two contexts encourage and produce distinctive qualitative artistic outcomes, both of value to the arts and the academy, the paper recommends ways in which closer formal liaison between industry artists and practice-led artists and supervisors might occur in order to ensure ongoing mutual influence and relevance.

The pitfalls of publicizing ethics research

What happens to our research once it hits the popular media? Do marketers know how to promote our research in a way that is understandable and complete, while still capturing an audience? This case study follows the dissemination of the results of a consumer ethics study via a single press release, along with the resulting media coverage, interviews and audience comments. Perhaps in their quest for a touch of controversy, the story picked up by the popular press was not the one intended by the authors. If getting the public story right is important, marketing academics need to spend as much time carefully crafting their press releases as they do writing journal manuscripts – they may not be able to rely on the ethics of media sub-editors who choose controversial headlines.

Seeking a life in the literary position : the writing of Charmian Clift

An examination of the published and unpublished writing of Charmian Clift.

The five myths of academic standards

This script provided the basis for a short DVD produced in 2010. The script and DVD were products of research into the introduction of 'minimum threshold' academic standards to Australian Universities. Learning and teaching academic standards are publicly defensible statements about academic standards in all disciplines, intended to establish 'baseline expectations' for undergraduate and postgraduate degrees. The script was developed using an 'anti-model' approach to character and narrative. This produced a set of deliberately skewed perspectives on the standards initiative, which are intended stimulate discussion and debate on the topic. The DVD has been shown to a range of stakeholder audiences in a variety of academic forums.

Workplace emotion : fear and anger

This original screen drama functioned as the stimulus in an audience response experiment, undertaken as part of research into workplace emotion. Commissioned and scripted by researchers at the University of Queensland and Griffith University, the film portrays the same narrative (a workplace conflict) twice, but played differently each time. The first version is intended to evince in viewers a fear response, and the second, an anger response. In preparing and rehearsing their performance choices, the actors utilised established taxonomies of fear and anger, in order to produce the optimum stimulus for conducting the experiment.

Louis Nowra, 'Radiance' (Sydney: Currency Press, 1993)

Louis Nowra wrote 'Radiance' especially for the three actors who performed it in the play’s premier season at Belvoir Street Theatre in September 1993. And the Currency Press playscript / programme produced for that season foregrounds these three performers – Rachael Maza, Lydia Miller and Rhoda Roberts – in such a way that the usual distinction between dramatis personae and the actors who play them is considerably diminished. Both the blurb on the back cover and Nowra’s introduction emphasise this special relationship between text and actors, but it is the front cover shot which particularly reflects the conjunction between the two. Rather than depicting a scene from performance, or a ‘graphic’ suggesting something of the play’s thematic content, the front cover of Radiance features the three actors in a posed promotional shot. Arms joined warmly, lovingly, about each other’s waist, bodies turned away from but faces towards the camera, it is the actors we see, not their characters. It’s a very joyful image; they’re positively beaming. Radiant. They look as if they could really be the three half-sisters they portray, except that such moments of blithe sorority are just about non-existent in the play.

Expression and connection : the integration of the reflective learning process and the writing process into social network sites

A number of instructors have recently adopted social network sites (SNSs) for learning. However, the learning design of SNSs often remains at a preliminary level similar to a personal log book because it does not properly include reflective learning elements such as individual reflection and collaboration. This article looks at the reflective learning process and the public writing process as a way of improving the quality of reflective learning on SNSs. It proposes a reflective learning model on SNSs based on two key pedagogical concepts for social networking: individual expression and collaborative connection. It is expected that the model would be helpful for instructors in designing a reflective learning process on SNSs in an effective and flexible way.

An analysis of effectiveness of parliamentary questions in the Queensland Parliament

Parliamentary questions are an integral part of most Westminster parliamentary systems, serving as a major form of legislative oversight and constituency service (Glassman 2008). There are two types of parliamentary questions, ‘questions without notice’ and ‘questions on notice’. Questions without notice are asked and answered orally during ‘Question Time’. Questions on notice are asked in writing and the relevant minister provides the answer in writing. Parliamentary questions provide a mechanism to seek the accountability of the executive on the floor of the House and barely ‘any aspect of the executive department’s powers and activities can be shielded from questions’ (Crick 1964: 237). In terms of media coverage, this practice is the most widely reported legislative device. Therefore, to a casual observer, the working of parliament is synonymous with Question Time.

Evangeline Series : An interpretation of Classic Gothic Lolita

This series comprises three artefacts described below: Evangeline: Classic Gothic Lolita [3 piece garment]. Evangeline 2: Classic Gothic Lolita Pullip Doll Costume [2 piece garment]. Evangeline 3: Classic Gothic Lolita Mini Pullip Doll Costume [3 piece garment]. The series was part of an exhibition curated by Kathryn Hardy Bernal entitled: "Loli-Pop: A downtown Auckland view on Japanese street fashion". The exhibition explored the connections between gothic lolita fashion and popular culture. This work reflects on the aspect of collections in respect of the work of Hardy Bernal in relation to the connection between the japanese classic gothic lolita and the doll culture surrounding the movement. The pieces are interconnected and intended to communicate these aspects through a doll like dress worn by a model (Evangeline 1], carrying a doll wearing the same dress [Evangeline 2], carrying a smaller doll again wearing the same dress [Evangeline 3]. The artefacts appeared appeared as a central piece in the exhibition which was held at the War Memorial Museum in Auckland, New Zealand (15 September - 25 November 2007).

New research literacies for contemporary research into literacy and new media?

The term literacy remains highly contested and debates continue about how literacy might best be researched and to what ends. For some, literacy is simply a matter of acquiring the technical competence which enables people to read and write. Literacy research conducted from this point of view does not usually concern itself with the new media but rather focuses on how people learn to code and decode print text. For others, however, literacy is more complex and involves learning a repertoire of practices for communicating and getting things done in particular social and cultural contexts. Literacy research conducted from this sociocultural point of view accepts that the new media are central to the field because in everyday cultural practice people are using the new media to make meaning, to express themselves and to communicate and work with others. Socio-cultural approaches to literacy research have already provided rich material which has assisted educators to understand literacy practices in everyday use (e.g. Barton & Hamilton, 1998; Barton, Hamilton and Ivanic, 2000) including children’s appropriation of the media in school-based writing (Dyson, 1997). However, the changing semiotic and cultural practices associated with new media and online participation have less frequently been the object of study...

Show

Script for non-verbal performance. ----- ----- ----- Research Component: Silent Treatment: Creating Non-verbal Performance Works for Children ----- ----- ----- The research field of theatre for young people draws on theories of child development and popular culture. SHOW explored personal and social development, friendship and creative play through the lens of the experience of girls aged 8-12. This project consolidated and refined innovative approaches to creating non-verbal theatre performance, and addressed challenges inherent in the creation of a performance by adults for young audiences. A significant finding of the project was the unanticipated convergence of creative practice and research into child behaviour and development: the congruence of content (Female bullying) and theatrical form (non-verbal performance: “Within the hidden culture of aggression, girls fight with body language and relationships instead of fists and knives. In this world, friendship is a weapon, and the sting of a shout pales in comparison to a day of someone’s silence. There is no gesture more devastating than the back turning away Simmons, Rachel (2002:3) Odd Girl Out: The Hidden Culture Of Aggression In Girls Schwartz Books The creative development and drafting process focussed on negotiating the conceptual design and practical constraints of incorporating diegetic music and video sources into the narrative. The authorial (and production) challenges of creating a script that could facilitate the re-mount a non-verbal work for a company specialising in text-based theatre . ----- ----- ----- Show was commissioned by the Queensland Theatre Company in 2003, toured into Queensland Schools by the Queensland Arts Council and in 2004 was performed at the Sydney Opera House.

Aurora : an illustrated novella

Aurora, an illustrated novella, is a retelling of the classic fairytale Sleeping Beauty, set on the Australian coast around the grounds of the family lighthouse. Instead of following in the footsteps of tradition, this tale focuses on the long time Aurora is cursed to sleep by the malevolent Minerva; we follow Aurora as she voyages into the unconscious. Hunted by Minerva through the shifting landscape of her dreams, Aurora is dogged by a nagging pull towards the light—there is something she has left behind. Eventually, realising she must face Minerva to break the curse, they stage a battle of the minds in which Aurora triumphs, having grasped the power of her thoughts, her words. Aurora, an Australian fairytale, is a story of self-empowerment, the ability to shape destiny and the power of the mind. The exegesis examines a two-pronged question: is the illustrated book for young adults—graphic novel—relevant to a contemporary readership, and, is the graphic novel, where text and image intersect, a suitably specular genre in which to explore the unconscious? It establishes the language of the unconscious and the meaning of the term ‘graphic novel’, before investigating the place of the illustrated book for an older readership in a contemporary market, particularly exploring visual literacy and the way text and image—a hybrid narrative—work together. It then studies the aptitude of graphic literature to representing the unconscious and looks at two pioneers of the form: Audrey Niffenegger, specifically her visual novel The Three Incestuous Sisters, and Shaun Tan, and his graphic novel The Arrival. Finally, it reflects upon the creative work, Aurora, in light of three concerns: how best to develop a narrative able to relay the dreaming story; how to bestow a certain ‘Australianess’ upon the text and images; and the dilemma of designing an illustrated book for an older readership.

Using text-spotting to query the world

The world we live in is well labeled for the benefit of humans but to date robots have made little use of this resource. In this paper we describe a system that allows robots to read and interpret visible text and use it to understand the content of the scene. We use a generative probabilistic model that explains spotted text in terms of arbitrary search terms. This allows the robot to understand the underlying function of the scene it is looking at, such as whether it is a bank or a restaurant. We describe the text spotting engine at the heart of our system that is able to detect and parse wild text in images, and the generative model, and present results from images obtained with a robot in a busy city setting.