A successful strategy for supporting low socioeconomic and accelerated students studying Biosciences in their first year of study

At our regional University low socioeconomic status (SES) campus, enrolled nurses can enter into the second year of a Bachelor of Nursing. These students, hence, have their first year experience while entering directly into the degree’s second year. A third of these students withdrew from our Bioscience units, and left the University. In an attempt to improve student retention and success, we introduced a strategy involving (i) review lectures in each of the Bioscience disciplines, and subsequently, (ii) “Getting started”, a formative website activity of basic Bioscience concepts, (iii) an ‘O’-week workshop addressing study skills and online resources, and (iv) online tutor support. In addition to being well received, the introduction of the review lectures and full intervention was associated with a significant reduction in student attrition. This successful approach could be used in other low SES areas with accelerated programs for Nursing and may have application beyond this discipline.

Citizenship, community, public space and the marginalisation of children and young people

Throughout Australia (and in comparable urban contexts around the world) public spaces may be said to be under attack by developers and also attempts by civic authorities to regulate, restrict, rebrand and reframe them. A consequence of the increasingly security driven, privatised and surveilled nature of public space is the exclusion and displacement of those considered flawed and unwelcome in the ‘spectacular’ consumption spaces of many major urban centres. In the name of urban regeneration, processes of securitisation, ‘gentrification’ and creative cities discourses can refashion public space as sites of selective inclusion and exclusion. In this context of monitoring and control procedures, children and young people’s use of space in parks, neighbourhoods, shopping malls and streets is often viewed as a threat to the social order, requiring various forms of punitive and/or remedial action. This paper discusses developments in the surveillance, governance and control of public space used by children and young people in particular and the capacity for their displacement and marginality, diminishing their sense of place and belonging, and right to public space as an expression of their civil, political and social citizenship(s).

Assessment of traffic noise level before and after freeway widening using traffic microsimulation and a refined classic noise prediction method

In this paper, a refined classic noise prediction method based on the VISSIM and FHWA noise prediction model is formulated to analyze the sound level contributed by traffic on the Nanjing Lukou airport connecting freeway before and after widening. The aim of this research is to (i) assess the traffic noise impact on the Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics (NUAA) campus before and after freeway widening, (ii) compare the prediction results with field data to test the accuracy of this method, (iii) analyze the relationship between traffic characteristics and sound level. The results indicate that the mean difference between model predictions and field measurements is acceptable. The traffic composition impact study indicates that buses (including mid-sizedtrucks) and heavy goods vehicles contribute a significant proportion of total noise power despite their low traffic volume. In addition, speed analysis offers an explanation for the minor differences in noise level across time periods. Future work will aim at reducing model error, by focusing on noise barrier analysis using the FEM/BEM method and modifying the vehicle noise emission equation by conducting field experimentation.

‘Time for a change in direction’ : using Indigenous knowledges as the driving force for change

We live in a time of change, of rapid change in some cases. Regardless of where we live as Indigenous peoples we see this, feel this, know this and understand this. Yet how do we manage this? At times Indigenous knowledge and Western knowledge are aligned and at other times diametrically opposed. This is also the case when examining how Indigenous knowledges are viewed, accessed and used even when politicians, governments and institutions are searching for answers and solutions for Indigenous people and for broader Australian society. Sometimes we have witnessed Indigenous knowledges too far down the back, at the bottom of the list and even disregarded. In some cases Indigenous peoples and our knowledges have been positioned as the victims of modernity. Imagine if we could draw on the strength of Indigenous knowledges as the driving force to change direction or for change. We can do this. This paper will explore some of the ways we might do this and bring about an improved society for all peoples.

Co-production of actions and activities at airport security screening

In this paper we will examine passenger actions and activities at the security screening points of Australian domestic and international airports. Our findings and analysis provide a more complete understanding of the current airport passenger security screening experience. Data in this paper is comprised of field studies conducted at two Australian airports, one domestic and one international. Video data was collected by cameras situated either side of the security screening point. A total of one hundred and ninety-six passengers were observed. Two methods of analysis are used. First, the activities of passengers are coded and analysed to reveal the common activities at domestic and international security regimes and between quiet and busy periods. Second, observation of passenger activities is used to reveal uncommon aspects. The results show that passengers do more at security screening that being passively scanned. Passengers queue, unpack the required items from their bags and from their pockets, walk through the metal-detector, re-pack and occasionally return to be re-screened. For each of these activities, passengers must understand the procedures at the security screening point and must co-ordinate various actions and objects in time and space. Through this coordination passengers are active participants in making the security checkpoint function – they are co-producers of the security screening process.

Evaluating the impact of high risk foot training on undergraduate podiatry students

Background Diabetes is the leading cause of high risk foot (HRF) complications, admissions and lower limb amputation. Best practice training of podiatrists is known to have a beneficial impact on such outcomes; however, there has been a paucity of studies into undergraduate diabetes podiatry training. The primary aim of this paper was to investigate the changes in final year podiatry students’ confidence, knowledge and clinical practice in the management of HRF complications. Methods This was a prospective longitudinal study of final year podiatry students (n=25) at the Queensland University of Technology. All participants throughout 2011 undertook an intervention of a series of “hands on” HRF workshops, on-campus clinics and external clinical rotations. Outcome measures included customised confidence and knowledge surveys in HRF management across four time points. A timed simulated case scenario was used to evaluate changes in clinical practice at two time points. Friedman and Wilcoxon Signed Rank Tests were used to calculate differences between time points Results Overall improvements between the first and last time points were demonstrated in 20/21 confidence items (p<0.001), 12/27 clinical practice items (p<0.05) and 3/12 knowledge items (p<0.001). Although 8/12 knowledge items recorded high baseline scores of over 80%. Conclusions Overall, it appears student confidence and clinical practice improved with the introduction of designated HRF activities, whilst knowledge remained high. This suggests “hands on” practice and not didactic lectures improve students’ clinical confidence and practice. Results from the 2012 student cohort will also be presented at this conference.

REDD+ and mangroves : a study on Sundarbans

Sundarbans, a Ramsar and World Heritage site, is the largest single block of tidal halophytic mangrove forest in the world covering parts of Bangladesh and India. Natural mangroves were very common along the entire coast of Bangladesh. However, all other natural mangrove forests, including the Chakaria Sundarbans with 21,000 hectares of mangrove, have been cleared for shrimp cultivation. Against this backdrop, the Forest Department of Bangladesh has developed project design documents for a project called ‘Collaborative REDD+ Improved Forest Management (IFM) Sundarbans Project’ (CRISP) to save the only remaining natural mangrove forest of the country. This project, involving conservation of 412,000 ha of natural mangrove forests, is expected to generate, over a 30-year period, a total emissions reduction of about 6.4 million tons of CO2. However, the successful implementation of this project involves a number of critical legal and institutional issues. It may involve complex legal issues such as forest ownership, forest use rights, rights of local people and carbon rights. It may also involve institutional reforms. Ensuring good governance of the proposed project is very vital considering the failure of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) funded and Bangladesh Forest Department managed ‘Sundarbans Biodiversity Conservation Project’. Considering this previous experience, this paper suggests that a comprehensive legal and institutional review and reform is needed for the successful implementation of the proposed CRISP project. This paper argues that without ensuring local people’s rights and their participation, no project can be successful in the Sundarbans. Moreover, corruption of local and international officials may be a serious hurdle in the successful implementation of the project.

Body stories

This research is in the field of arts education. Eisner claims that ‘teachers rarely view themselves as artists’ (Taylor, 1993:21). Situating professional dance artists and teacher-artists (Mc Lean, 2009) in close proximity to classroom dance teachers, spatially, through a shared rehearsal studio and creatively, by engaging them in a co-artistry approach, allows participants to map unique and new creative processes, kinaesthetically and experientially. This pratice encourages teachers to attune and align themselves with artists’ states of mind and enables them to nurture both their teacher-self and their artist-self (Lichtenstein 2009). The research question was: can interactions between professional dance artists, teacher-artists (Mc Lean, 2009) and classroom dance teachers change classroom dance teachers’ self-perceptions? The research found that Artists in Residence projects provide up-skilling in situ for classroom dance teachers, and give credence to the act of art making for classroom dance teachers within their peer context, positively enhancing their self-image and promoting self-identification as ‘teacher-artists’ (Mc Lean, 2009). This project received an Artist in Residence Grant (an Australia Council for the Arts, Education Queensland and Queensland Arts Council partnership). The research findings were chosen for inclusion in the Queensland Performing Arts Complex program, Feet First: an invitation to dance, 2013 and selected for inclusion on the Creative Campus website, http://www.creative-campus.org.uk.

Cloud computing adoption in Australia : the benefits, risks and implications for accounting

The purpose of this paper is to empirically examine the state of cloud computing adoption in Australia. I specifically focus on the drivers, risks, and benefits of cloud computing from the perspective of IT experts and forensic accountants. I use thematic analysis of interview data to answer the research questions of the study. The findings suggest that cloud computing is increasingly gaining foothold in many sectors due to its advantages such as flexibility and the speed of deployment. However, security remains an issue and therefore its adoption is likely to be selective and phased. Of particular concern are the involvement of third parties and foreign jurisdictions, which in the event of damage may complicate litigation and forensic investigations. This is one of the first empirical studies that reports on cloud computing adoption and experiences in Australia.

Autonomous multisensor calibration and closed-loop fusion for SLAM

The vast majority of current robot mapping and navigation systems require specific well-characterized sensors that may require human-supervised calibration and are applicable only in one type of environment. Furthermore, if a sensor degrades in performance, either through damage to itself or changes in environmental conditions, the effect on the mapping system is usually catastrophic. In contrast, the natural world presents robust, reasonably well-characterized solutions to these problems. Using simple movement behaviors and neural learning mechanisms, rats calibrate their sensors for mapping and navigation in an incredibly diverse range of environments and then go on to adapt to sensor damage and changes in the environment over the course of their lifetimes. In this paper, we introduce similar movement-based autonomous calibration techniques that calibrate place recognition and self-motion processes as well as methods for online multisensor weighting and fusion. We present calibration and mapping results from multiple robot platforms and multisensory configurations in an office building, university campus, and forest. With moderate assumptions and almost no prior knowledge of the robot, sensor suite, or environment, the methods enable the bio-inspired RatSLAM system to generate topologically correct maps in the majority of experiments.

National curriculum reform and equipping pre-service teachers to teach about Australia in the Asian Century

Currently a range of national policy settings are reshaping schooling and teacher education in Australia. This paper presents some of the findings from a small qualitative pilot study conducted with a group of final year pre-service teachers studying a secondary social science curriculum method unit in an Australian university. One of the study’s research objectives aimed at identifying how students reflected on their capacity to navigate curriculum change and, more specifically, on teaching about Australia and Asia in the forthcoming implementation of the first national history curriculum. The unit was designed and taught by the researcher on the assumption that beginning social science teachers need to be empowered to deal with the curriculum change they’ll encounter throughout their careers. The pilot study’s methodology was informed by a constructivist approach to grounded theory and its scope was limited to one semester with volunteer students. Of the pre-service teacher reflections on their preparedness to teach, this paper reports on the content, pedagogy and learning they experienced in one segment of the unit with specific reference to the new history curriculum’s ‘Australia in a world history’ approach and the development of Asia literacy. The findings indicate that whilst pre-service teachers valued the opportunity to engage with learning experiences which enhanced their intercultural understanding and extended their pedagogical and content knowledge on campus, the nature of the final practicum in schools was also influential in shaping their preparedness to enter the profession.

Analysis of distance learner value assessment of distance education in engineering

Numerous research studies have evaluated whether distance learning is a viable alternative to traditional learning methods. These studies have generally made use of cross-sectional surveys for collecting data, comparing distance to traditional learners with intent to validate the former as a viable educational tool. Inherent fundamental differences between traditional and distance learning pedagogies, however, reduce the reliability of these comparative studies and constrain the validity of analyses resulting from this analytical approach. This article presents the results of a research project undertaken to analyze expectations and experiences of distance learners with their degree programs. Students were given surveys designed to examine factors expected to affect their overall value assessment of their distance learning program. Multivariate statistical analyses were used to analyze the correlations among variables of interest to support hypothesized relationships among them. Focusing on distance learners overcomes some of the limitations with assessments that compare off- and on-campus student experiences. Evaluation and modeling of distance learner responses on perceived value for money of the distance education they received indicate that the two most important influences are course communication requirements, which had a negative effect, and course logistical simplicity, which revealed a positive effect. Combined, these two factors accounted for approximately 47% of the variability in perceived value for money of the educational program of sampled students. A detailed focus on comparing expectations with outcomes of distance learners complements the existing literature dominated by comparative studies of distance and nondistance learners.

The power of naming : the multifaceted value of learning students’ names

The modern day Australian law school is expected to educate and engage law students. Ideally law school will instil a sense of passion (or at least appreciation) for the law, promote a positive professional identity, foster a sense of community, and provide general support to law students. Collectively, the Australian legal academy is struggling with these goals. Significant numbers of students feel isolated, disconnected and unengaged throughout their tertiary legal education. Teaching students from increasingly diverse backgrounds, who spend less time on campus and less face-to-face time in class, many law academics feel ill-equipped to respond to the challenge of engaging law students in time and cost efficient ways. Intentionally learning and using student names has potential to humanise the law school experience, build community, and positively impact upon the wellbeing of students and staff.

Higher Education and Sustainable Development : A Model for Curriculum Renewal

Responding to the global and unprecedented challenge of capacity building for twenty-first century life, this book is a practical guide for tertiary education institutions to quickly and effectively renew the curriculum towards education for sustainable development. The book begins by exploring why curriculum change has been so slow. It then describes a model for rapid curriculum renewal, highlighting the important roles of setting timeframes, formal and informal leadership, and key components and action strategies. The second part of the book provides detailed coverage of six core elements that have been trialled and peer reviewed by institutions around the world: - raising awareness among staff and students - mapping graduate attributes - auditing the curriculum - developing niche degrees, flagship courses and fully integrated programs - engaging and catalysing community and student markets - integrating curriculum with green campus operations. With input from more than seventy academics and grounded in engineering education experiences, this book will provide academic staff with tools and insights to rapidly align program offerings with the needs of present and future generations of students.

Living City 2013 Workshop

Living City 2013 Workshop, as part of a school term’s design-based curriculum connected to the KGSC/QUT Design Excellence Program and run from 11 February – 1 May, 2013, was essentially a three-day place-based urban design immersion workshop program for 25 Year 11 Visual Art and Design Students and 2 Teachers from Kelvin Grove State College (KGSC) held at both Queensland University of Technology (QUT) Gardens Point Campus and The Edge, State Library of Queensland. Mentored by 4 design professionals, 2 tertiary design academics, 2 public artists, and 12 QUT tertiary design students, the workshop explored youth-inspired public space design solutions for the active Brisbane City Council redevelopment site of Queens Wharf Road precinct. As well as the face-to-face workshops, for Living City 2013, an interactive web environment was introduced to enable students to connect with each other and program mentors throughout the course of the program. The workshop, framed within notions of ecological, economic, social and cultural sustainability, aimed to raise awareness of the layered complexity and perspectives involved in the design of shared city spaces and to encourage young people to voice their own concerns as future citizens about the shape and direction of their city. The program commenced with an introductory student briefing by stakeholders and mentors at KGSC on 11 February, an introduction to site appraisal and site visit held at QUT and Queens Wharf Road on 20 February, and a follow up site analysis session on 6 March. Day 1 Workshop on April 17 at the Edge, State Library of Queensland, as part of the Design Minds partnership (http://designminds.org.au/kelvin-grove-state-college-excellence-in-art-design/), focused on mentoring team development of a concept design for a range of selected sites. Two workshops on April 22 and 23 at QUT, to develop these designs and presentation schemes, followed this. The workshop program culminated in a visual presentation of concept design ideas and discussion with a public audience in the Ideas Gallery on The Deck, King George Square during the Brisbane City Council City Centre Master Plan Ideas Fiesta on 1 May, 2013, as referenced in the Ideas Fiesta Wrap-up Report (http://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/planning-building/planning-guidelines-tools/city-centre-master-plan/city-centre-master-plan-ideas-fiesta). Students were introduced to design methodology, team thinking strategies, the scope of design practices and professions, presentation skills and post-secondary pathways, while participating teachers acquired content and design learning strategies transferable in many other contexts. The program was fully documented on the Living City website (http://www.livingcity.net.au/LC2013x/index.html) and has been recognised by the Brisbane City Council Youth Strategy 2014-2019 as a best practice model for making Brisbane a well-designed, subtropical city.