Mid-Career professionals in STEM transiting to school teaching : barriers at the border

In many countries there is a shortage of quality teachers in areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Additional to the low levels of recruitment is an extraordinary high attrition rate with some 50% of beginning teachers leaving the profession within five years. One solution implemented in several countries has been to encourage mid-career professionals in the area of STEM to become school teachers. These professionals are said to bring to teaching enthusiasm, knowledge and a passion for their subject which will impact engagement and learning by students. However, these career-changers have constructed professional identities and are accustomed to working within a culture of collaboration and inquiry. In contrast, school cultures are quite different and often teaching is a lonely solitary affair with little opportunity for collegial relationships aimed at knowledge building in the context of teaching. Crossing from a culture of STEM to a culture of schools and teaching can be challenging. This study was conducted with 13 teachers who were followed for three years. However, this paper reports on the experiences of one teacher with an engineering background crossing the boundaries from practising STEM to Teaching STEM.

Learning environments – Laboratories at the cross roads

Laboratories and technical hands on learning have always been a part of Engineering and Science based university courses. They provide the interface where theory meets practice and students may develop professional skills through interacting with real objects in an environment that models appropriate standards and systems. Laboratories in many countries are facing challenges to their sustainable operation and effectiveness. In some countries such as Australia, significantly reduced funding and staff reduction is eroding a once strong base of technical infrastructure. Other countries such as Thailand are seeking to develop their laboratory infrastructure and are in need of staff skill development, management and staff structure in technical areas. In this paper the authors will address the need for technical development with reference to work undertaken in Thailand and Australia. The authors identify the roads which their respective university sectors are on and point out problems and opportunities. It is hoped that the cross roads where we meet will result in better directions for both.

Effects of eco-driving instructions using a vehicle with automatic transmission on urban roads

Eco-driving instructions could reduce fuel consumption to up to 20% (EcoMove, 2010). Participants (N=13) drove an instrumented vehicle (i.e. Toyota Camry 2007) with an automatic transmission. Fuel consumption of the participants were compared before and after they received eco-driving instructions. Participants drove the same vehicle on the same urban route under similar traffic conditions. Results show that, on free flow sections of the track, all participants drove slightly faster (on average, 0.7 Km/h faster), during the lap for which they were instructed to drive in an eco-friendly manner as compared to when they were not given the eco-driving instruction. Suprisingly, eco-driving instructions increased the RPM significantly in most cases. Fuel consumption slightly decreased (6%) after the eco-driving instructions. We have found strong evidence showing that the fuel saving observed in our experiment (urban environment, automatic transmission) fall short of the 20% reduction claimed in other international trials.

“As many options as there are, there are just not enough for me” : a qualitative analysis of contraceptive use and barriers to access among Australian women

There is currently little information available about reasons for contraceptive use or non-use among young Australian women and the reasons for choosing specific types of contraceptive methods. A comprehensive life course perspective of women's experiences in using and obtaining contraceptives is lacking, particularly relating to women's perceived or physical barriers to access. This paper presents an analysis of qualitative data gathered from free-text comments provided by women born between 1973 and 1978 as part of their participation in the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health. The Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health is a large cohort study involving over 40,000 women from three age groups (aged 18-23, aged 40-45 and aged 70-75) who were selected from the database of Medicare the Australian universal health insurance system in 1995. The women have been surveyed every 3 years about their health by mailed self-report surveys, and more recently online. Written comments from 690 women across five surveys from 1996 (when they were aged 18-23 years) to 2009 (aged 31-36 years) were examined. Factors relating to contraceptive use and barriers to access were identified and explored using thematic analysis. Side-effects, method satisfaction, family timing, and hormonal balance were relevant to young women using contraception. Most women who commented about a specific contraceptive method wrote about the oral contraceptive pill. While many women were positive or neutral about their method, noting its convenience or non-contraceptive benefits, many others were concerned about adverse effects, affordability, method failure, and lack of choice. Negative experiences with health services, lack of information, and cost were identified as barriers to access. As the cohort aged over time, method choice, changing patterns of use, side-effects, and negative experiences with health services remained important themes. Side-effects, convenience, and family timing play important roles in young Australian women's experiences of contraception and barriers to access. Contrary to assumptions, barriers to contraceptive access continue to be experienced by young women as they move into adulthood. Further research is needed about how to decrease barriers to contraceptive use and minimise negative experiences in order to ensure optimal contraceptive access for Australian women.

“As many options as there are, there are just not enough for me” : a qualitative analysis of contraceptive use and barriers to access among Australian women

There is currently little information available about reasons for contraceptive use or non-use among young Australian women and the reasons for choosing specific types of contraceptive methods. A comprehensive life course perspective of women's experiences in using and obtaining contraceptives is lacking, particularly relating to women's perceived or physical barriers to access. This paper presents an analysis of qualitative data gathered from free-text comments provided by women born between 1973 and 1978 as part of their participation in the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health. The Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health is a large cohort study involving over 40,000 women from three age groups (aged 18-23, aged 40-45 and aged 70-75) who were selected from the database of Medicare the Australian universal health insurance system in 1995. The women have been surveyed every 3 years about their health by mailed self-report surveys, and more recently online. Written comments from 690 women across five surveys from 1996 (when they were aged 18-23 years) to 2009 (aged 31-36 years) were examined. Factors relating to contraceptive use and barriers to access were identified and explored using thematic analysis. Side-effects, method satisfaction, family timing, and hormonal balance were relevant to young women using contraception. Most women who commented about a specific contraceptive method wrote about the oral contraceptive pill. While many women were positive or neutral about their method, noting its convenience or non-contraceptive benefits, many others were concerned about adverse effects, affordability, method failure, and lack of choice. Negative experiences with health services, lack of information, and cost were identified as barriers to access. As the cohort aged over time, method choice, changing patterns of use, side-effects, and negative experiences with health services remained important themes. Side-effects, convenience, and family timing play important roles in young Australian women's experiences of contraception and barriers to access. Contrary to assumptions, barriers to contraceptive access continue to be experienced by young women as they move into adulthood. Further research is needed about how to decrease barriers to contraceptive use and minimise negative experiences in order to ensure optimal contraceptive access for Australian women.

Barriers to the adoption of health information technology

Information Technology (IT) is successfully applied in a diverse range of fields. Though, the field of Medical Informatics is more than three decades old, it shows a very slow progress compared to many other fields in which the application of IT is growing rapidly. The spending on IT in health care is shooting up but the road to successful use of IT in health care has not been easy. This paper discusses about the barriers to the successful adoption of information technology in clinical environments and outlines the different approaches used by various countries and organisations to tackle the issues successfully. Investing financial and other resources to overcome the barriers for successful adoption of HIT is highly important to realise the dream of a future healthcare system with each customer having secure, private Electronic Health Record (EHR) that is available whenever and wherever needed, enabling the highest degree of coordinated medical care based on the latest medical knowledge and evidence. Arguably, the paper reviews barriers to HIT from organisations’ alignment in respect to the leadership; with their stated values when accepting or willingness to consider the HIT as a determinant factor on their decision-making processes. However, the review concludes that there are many aspects of the organisational accountability and readiness to agree to the technology implementation.

Australian adolescents’ perceived school-based barriers and facilitators to engagement in physical activity

OBJECTIVE: School-aged youth spend a significant amount of time either in transit to and from school, or within school settings performing a range of varying learning-based activities. Adolescent physical activity has also been shown to increase the likelihood of maintaining physical activity throughout adulthood. The purpose of this study is to investigate adolescents’ perceived school-based barriers and facilitators to engagement in physical activity. METHODS: One-hundred and twenty four participants (38 males and 86 females) were recruited from two non-denominational same-sex private schools, in Brisbane, Australia. The mean age and standard deviation (SD) was 13.83 (0.56) and 14.40 (2.33) for males and females respectively. Participants responded to a series questions regarding perceived barriers and facilitators to engagement in physical activity. Quantitative data was analysed using descriptive statistics and frequency distributions, and qualitative data with thematic analysis. RESULTS: A total of 121 (97.6%) participants had complete data sets and were included in the analysis. School timetable (44.6%), homework (81.8%), and assessment (81.0%) were identified as the most prominent perceived factors, increasing the difficulty of physical activity engagement. Physical Education classes (71.9%) and school sport programs (80.2%) were identified as the most prominent perceived factors that facilitate engagement in physical activity. There was no significant gender effect. CONCLUSIONS: Each of the identified factors perceived by adolescent's as either barriers or facilitators to engagement in physical activity may be addressed by administrators at a school and government policy level. These may include strategies such as; increasing the assigned hours to physical education classes, providing additional extra-curricular sporting opportunities, and reviewing the time allocated to homework and assessment items. This may provide a simpler, low-cost solution to increasing youth physical activity, as opposed to contemporary higher-cost strategies utilising increased staff commitment, mass media, provision of equipment and counsellors and other health professionals.

Grunt language versus accent : the perceived communication barriers between international medical graduates and patients in Central Wheatbelt catchments

Due to the chronic shortages of GPs in Australian rural and remote regions, considerable numbers of international medical graduates (IMG) have been recruited. IMG experience many difficulties when relocating to Australia with one of the most significant being effective GP-patient communication. Given that this is essential for effective consultation it can have a substantial impact on health care. A purposive sample of seven practising GPs (five IMG, two Australian-trained doctors (ATD)) was interviewed using a semistructured face-to-face interviewing technique. GPs from Nigeria, Egypt, United Kingdom, India, Singapore and Australia participated. Interviews were transcribed and then coded. The authors used qualitative thematic analysis of interview transcripts to identify common themes. IMG-patient communication barriers were considered significant in the Wheatbelt region as identified by both IMG and ATD. ATD indicated they were aware of IMG-patient communication issues resulting in subsequent consults with patients to explain results and diagnoses. Significantly, a lack of communication between ATD and IMG also emerged, creating a further barrier to effective communication. Analysis of the data generated several important findings that rural GP networks should consider when integrating new IMG into the community. Addressing the challenges related to cross-cultural differences should be a priority, in order to enable effective communication. More open communication between ATD and IMG about GP-patient communication barriers and education programs around GP-patient communication would help both GP and patient satisfaction.

Alternative structural design strategies for bridge decks in low traffic volume roads

This research is part of a major project with a stimulus that rose from the need to manage a large number of ageing bridges in low traffic volume roads (LTVR) in Australia. The project investigated, designed and consequently constructed, involved replacing an ageing super-structure of a 10m span bridge with a disused Flat-bed Rail Wagon (FRW). This research, therefore, is developed on the premises that the FRW can be adopted as the main structural system for the bridges in LTVR network. The main focus of this research is to present two alternate deck wearing systems (DWS) as part of the design of the FRW as road bridge deck conforming to AS5100 (2004). The bare FRW structural components were first examined for their adequacy (ultimate and serviceability) in resisting the critical loads specified in AS5100(2004). Two options of DWSs were evaluated and their effects on the FRW examined. The first option involved usage of timber DWS; the idea of this option was to use all the primary and secondary members of the FRW in load sharing and to provide additional members where weaknesses in the original members arose. The second option involved usage of reinforced concrete DWS with only the primary members of the FRW sharing the AS5100 (2004) loading. This option inherently minimised the risk associated with any uncertainty of the secondary members to their structural adequacy. This thesis reports the design phases of both options with conclusions of the selection of the ideal option for better structural performance, ease of construction and cost. The comparison carried out here focuses on the distribution of the traffic load by the FRW as a superstructure. Advantages and disadvantages highlighting cost comparisons and ease of constructability of the two systems are also included.

Post-disaster reconstruction: a statistical overview of the barriers for community participation in Afghanistan

When a community already torn by an event such as a prolonged war, is then hit by a natural disaster, the negative impact of this subsequent disaster in the longer term can be extremely devastating. Natural disasters further damage already destabilised and demoralised communities, making it much harder for them to be resilient and recover. Communities often face enormous challenges during the immediate recovery and the subsequent long term reconstruction periods, mainly due to the lack of a viable community involvement process. In post-war settings, affected communities, including those internally displaced, are often conceived as being completely disabled and are hardly ever consulted when reconstruction projects are being instigated. This lack of community involvement often leads to poor project planning, decreased community support, and an unsustainable completed project. The impact of war, coupled with the tensions created by the uninhabitable and poor housing provision, often hinders the affected residents from integrating permanently into their home communities. This paper outlines a number of fundamental factors that act as barriers to community participation related to natural disasters in post-war settings. The paper is based on a statistical analysis of, and findings from, a questionnaire survey administered in early 2012 in Afghanistan.

A Critical Perspective of the Indonesian Institutional Framework for PPP Toll Roads

The development of toll roads in Indonesia started around 1978. Initially, the management and development of toll roads sat directly under the Government of Indonesia (GoI) being undertaken through PT JasaMarga, a state owned enterprise specifically established to provide toll roads. Due to the slow growth and low capability of toll roads to fulfil infrastructure needs in the first ten years of operation (only 2.688kms/year), GoI changed its strategy in 1989 to one of using private sector participation for roads delivery through a Public Private Partnership (PPP) scheme. In this latter period, PT JasaMarga had two roles, both as regulator on behalf of the private sector as well as being the operator. However, from 1989 to 2004 the growth rate of toll roads actually decreased further to 2.300kms/year. Facing this challenge of low growth rate of toll roads, in 2004GoI changed the toll road management system and the role of regulator was returned to the Government through the establishment of the Toll Road Regulatory Agency (BPJT). GoI also amended the institutional framework to strengthen the toll road management system. Despite the introduction of this new institutional framework, the growth of toll roads still showed insignificant change. This problem in toll road development has generated an urgent need for research into this issue. The aim of the research is to understand the performance of the new institutional framework in enhancing PPP procured toll road development. The methodology of the research was to undertake a questionnaire survey distributed to private sector respondents involved in toll road development. The results of this study show that there are several problems inherent in the institutional framework, but the most significant problem comes from the uncertainty of the function of the strategic executive body in the land expropriation process.

A learner perspective on barriers to e-learning

This study aims to identify and categorize barriers to e-learning adoption and the relative impact of those barriers on learners. It contributes to the understanding of learner perceptions of barriers, the different types of barriers and their relative importance. This study used a quantitative methodology grounded in previous literature. The study is based on a self-administered questionnaire conducted with employees in a rail organisation. This research demonstrates there are three key factors that represent barriers to e-learning: the nature of e-learning as a learning approach, the use of technology, and concerns about lack of time and potential interruptions when trying to complete e-learning.

Perceived barriers to healthy lifestyle activities in midlife and older Australian women with type 2 diabetes

Background Type 2 diabetes is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in midlife and older Australian women with known modifiable risk factors for type 2 diabetes including smoking, nutrition, physical activity and obesity. In Australia little research has been done to investigate the perceived barriers to healthy lifestyle activities in midlife and older women with type 2 diabetes. Aims The primary aim of this study was to explore the level and type of perceived barriers to health promotion activities. The secondary aim was to explore the relationship of perceived barriers to smoking behaviour, fruit and vegetable intake, physical activity, and body mass index. Methods The study was a cross sectional survey of women, aged over 45 with type 2 diabetes, recruited from four metropolitan community health clinics (n = 41). Data were collected from self-report questionnaires and analysed using quantitative methods. Results Women in the study had average total barriers scores similar to those reported in the literature for women with a range of physical disabilities and illnesses. The leading barriers for this group of women were: lack of interest, concern about safety, too tired, lack of money and feeling what they do does not help. There was no association between total barriers scores and body mass index, physical activity, fruit and vegetable intake or socio-demographic variables. Conclusion This study contributes to understanding the perceptions of midlife and older women with type 2 diabetes about the level and type of barriers to healthy lifestyle activities that they experience. The participants reported a high level perceived barriers with a range of personal, social and environmental issues identified and described. This study suggests that health promotion education and interventions for risk factor reduction in women with type 2 diabetes may be enhanced by explicitly addressing perceived barriers to healthy lifestyle activities.

Experimental and numerical study of water-filled road safety barriers

Portable water-filled road barriers (PWFB) are roadside structures placed on temporary construction zones to separate work site from moving traffic. Recent changes in governing standards require PWFB to adhere to strict compliance in terms of lateral displacement of the road barriers and vehicle redirectionality. Actual road safety barrier test can be very costly, thus researchers resort to Finite Element Analysis (FEA) in the initial designs phase prior to real vehicle test. There has been many research conducted on concrete barriers and flexible steel barriers using FEA, however not many is done pertaining to PWFB. This research probes a new method to model joint mechanism in PWFB. Two methods to model the joining mechanism are presented and discussed in relation to its practicality and accuracy to real work applications. Moreover, the study of the physical gap and mass of the barrier was investigated. Outcome from this research will benefit PWFB research and allow road barrier designers better knowledge in developing the next generation of road safety structures.

Fuel consumption and gas emissions of an automatic transmission vehicle following simple eco-driving instructions on urban roads

Following eco-driving instructions can reduce fuel consumption between 5 to 20% on urban roads with manual cars. The majority of Australian cars have an automatic transmission gear-box. It is therefore of interest to verify whether current eco-driving instructions are e cient for such vehicles. In this pilot study, participants (N=13) drove an instrumented vehicle (Toyota Camry 2007) with an automatic transmission. Fuel consumption of the participants was compared before and after they received simple eco-driving instructions. Participants drove the same vehicle on the same urban route under similar tra c conditions. We found that participants drove at similar speeds during their baseline and eco-friendly drives, and reduced the level of their accelerations and decelerations during eco-driving. Fuel consumption decreased for the complete drive by 7%, but not on the motorway and inclined sections of the study. Gas emissions were estimated with the VT-micro model, and emissions of the studied pollutants (CO2, CO, NOX and HC) were reduced, but no di erence was observed for CO2 on the motorway and inclined sections. The di erence for the complete lap is 3% for CO2. We have found evidence showing that simple eco-driving instructions are e cient in the case of automatic transmission in an urban environment, but towards the lowest values of the spectrum of fuel consumption reduction from the di erent eco-driving studies.