Comparison of the levels of students' career maturity resulting from two models for the delivery of career education programs in selected Victorian government secondary schools

At both national and state levels, the delivery of career education has been recommended to follow an integrated model with a high level of staff participation across the school. However it has been found that in many schools the career education program is primarily delivered by a careers teacher. This study compared whether the recommended integrated model or the specialist careers teacher model delivered better outcomes for students in terms of their levels of career maturity. The main finding of the research is that the integrated model of delivery of career education programs did make a significant difference to the cognitive career maturity of the students in the selected Victorian governement secondary schools.

PROJAM : the management of complex projects and programs

Challenges the existing normal science in project management with its limitations of high certainty in scope definition and develops a contingency based model for project / program management (PROJAM). The PROJAM concept is theoretically supported through the identification of eight inter related aspects - uncertainty, maturity, stakeholders, pareto, reward, transparency, partnering, and program management. The ideas presented represent a radical change to the eisting project management body of knowledge and expand the scope of project management to deal with complex projects / programs including organisational change, core function outsourcing (asset management) and IT hardware and software outsourcing.

A case study exploring the sociocultural characteristics of adult Japanese ESL learners in Australian EAP programs

Research findings show that the poor level of English accomplishment amongst Japanese students in English as Second Language (ESL) settings continues to be an issue of concern. This interpretative study adopted an ethnographic case method to explore and advance reader’s understanding of Japanese learner’s sociocultural characteristics and, also, to investigate how cross-cultural similarities/ differences between the sociocultural heritage of Japanese learners and the contextual factors of Australian English for Academic Purposes (EAP) study abroad programs interact. This study aims to interpret the problems surrounding the poor performance of Japanese students in Australian ESL contexts and identify issues not present in the literature that warrant further investigation. Interviews, structured by a thematic reporting framework, were used as the interpretive instrument for data collection. Data, supported by the reporting framework, was analysed using a constant comparative method. The exploratory nature of this report led to the following conclusions. Firstly, Japanese students’ past educational experience interferes with Second Language Acquisition (SLA) in Australian EAP study abroad programs. Secondly, Japanese students have a predisposition towards integrative motivation. Thirdly, significant others influence Japanese learners’ ability to cope with transition issues, such as managing academic and social problems. Finally, contextual factors of Australian EAP programs (e.g. course materials, teaching and learning methodology and assessment) negatively impact English language learning. This study raises questions about the difficulties experienced by Japanese learners in Australian EAP study aboard programs.

Do entrepreneurship programs matter? An analysis of North American university innovation systems

Are there differences in commercialization outcomes between universities in Canada and the USA? If so, why? We first examine the commercialization performance of universities on both sides of the 49th parallel through indicators of university spinouts generated. Secondly, we measure the presence and growth in numbers of entrepreneurship centers to determine if there are any parallels or discernable patterns that may be related to spinout performance. Based upon theories that suggest entrepreneurial culture plays a significant role in the spinout process, we then test the hypothesis that entrepreneurship education programs play a significant role in determining spinout performance. Our model assumes that the level and intensity of an academic entrepreneurship program/center is a valid indicator of “entrepreneurial culture” that may impact upon a universities propensity to spinout new knowledge intensive firms. Our results find that there is indeed a correlation between intensity of entrepreneurship program and commercialization outcomes.

Can you teach all of the people some of the time? The development and evaluation of information literacy programs at the University of Queensland Library

Information skills and computer literacy are now seen by many within the academic community as essential. They are key graduate attributes required by students for lifelong learning and leadership roles in business and industry, government and society. Trends in the higher education sector bringing a renewed focus to teaching and preparing students for a global knowledge economy are outlined.

This paper focuses upon the power of a teaching and learning policy framework which supports the integration of information literacy into the curriculum. The increasing ease with which collaborative partnerships are formed between academic planners, course coordinators and librarians is highlighted by case studies of successful programs. Challenges are identified and change strategies described.

Analysis of twelve electrical and electronics engineering programs

This paper investigates undergraduate programs in electrical and electronics engineering offered by twelve universities in Australia, Asia, Europe, and America. The investigation focuses on the structure and content of the programs, and the contact hour and assessment of the subjects involved in the programs. The investigation is carried out in four stages: selection of universities, collection of data, analysis of data, and formulation of outcomes. A list of subjects is created based on the content of the programs. The average percentage coverage of each subject in the twelve programs is calculated. The subjects are then grouped into nine program components. The average percentage coverage of each component per university is calculated. For each component, the total number of contact hours for lecture, tutorial, and practical is calculated. Also, the average percentage of four assessment methods for each component is found. Discussions on the outcome of the investigation are presented.

Exposing young children to music through the production and presentation of music-appreciation television programs

This paper reports on a research study of the effectiveness of a series of music-appreciation activities for young children in Hong Kong. These activities were designed using world music and were presented as part of a local early childhood television program for community interest. One-undred-and-sixty-eight local preschool children (mean age 4.25) and their classroom teachers, from 16 childcare centres or kindergartens, participated in this study. Qualitative data was collected using individual structured interviews with both children and teachers. The data showed that these music-appreciation activities enriched children's musical experiences and teachers' musical repertoires in early childhood settings. Teachers also showed positive preferences to learn the activities using multimedia tools. Implications for the curriculum planning and teacher training of early childhood music education are discussed.

A study of the effectiveness of music appreciation TV programs for young children in Hong Kong

This paper provides a preliminary report of a small-scale research examining the effectiveness of a series of Music Appreciation segments of “Pre-school: Learn to Fly”—a locally designed and produced early childhood TV program in Hong Kong. Four aspects of young children’s musical development were studied: 1) musical exposure; 2) attention span; 3) response to music; and 4) musical memory. The findings enrich local understanding of early childhood music education and media, and provide more information for the production of the next series from late 2004.