The interaction of discipline and culture in academic writing

Work in contrastive rhetoric has often sought to examine the impact of culturally-based writing conventions on text production and has outlined cultural differences in texts in different languages. At the same time. the study of specialised languages has often claimed a degree of uniformity in text construction both at the level of culture and at the level of the discipline. It appears however that approaches which consider just culture or just discipline miss part of the picture. This paper argues that considerations of discipline and culture are. complex and interrelated and that this complexity and interrelationship can be seen at several different levels in specialised academic texts.

An adjustable force field for multiple robot mission and path planning

Mission and path planning for multiple robots in dynamic environments is required when multiple mobile robots or unmanned vehicles are used for geographically distributed tasks. Assigning tasks and paths for robots for cooperatively accomplishing a mission of reaching to number of target points are addressed in this paper. The methodology that is proposed is based on using an adjustable force field which is suitable for dynamic environment. From the force field analysis, the decisions to assign tasks for each robot are then made. The force field is also used to plan a collision free path for each robot. Adjustable weights for the force field model are proposed to satisfy the constraints of the motion. In this research, the constraints are the cooperation of the robots, the precedence between the targets and between robots, and the discrimination between different obstacles. Two simulations for mission and path planning in 2D and 3D dynamic spaces with multiple robots are presented based on the proposed adjustable force filed. The result of the mission and path planning for three robots cooperatively doing eight target points are shown.

Predicting changes in lifestyle and clinical outcomes in preventing diabetes : The Greater Green Triangle Diabetes Prevention Project

Objectives : To analyse how psychosocial determinants of lifestyle changes targeted in the Greater Green Triangle Diabetes Prevention Project conducted in Southeast Australia in 2004–2006 predict changes in dietary behaviour and clinical risk factors.

Methods : A longitudinal pre-test and post-test study design was used. The group program was completed by 237 people at high risk of type 2 diabetes. Associations between changes in the variables were examined by structural equation modelling using a path model in which changes in psychological determinants for lifestyle predicted changes in dietary behaviours (fat and fibre intake), which subsequently predicted changes in waist circumference and other clinical outcomes. Standardised regression weights are presented, with β = ± 0.1 and β = ± 0.3 representing small and medium associations, respectively.

Results : Improvements in coping self-efficacy and planning predicted improvements in fat (β = − 0.15, p < 0.05 and β = − 0.32, p < 0.001, respectively) and fibre intake (β = 0.15, p < 0.05 and β = 0.23, p < 0.001, respectively) which in turn predicted improvements in waist circumference (β = 0.18, p < 0.01 and β = − 0.16, p < 0.05, respectively). Improvements in waist circumference predicted improvements in diastolic blood pressure (β = 0.13, p < 0.05), HDL (β = − 0.16, p < 0.05), triglycerides (β = 0.17, p < 0.01), and fasting glucose (β = 0.15, p < 0.05).

Conclusions : Psychological changes predicted behaviour changes, resulting in 12-month biophysical changes. The findings support the theoretical basis of the interventions.

Accountability, quality assurance and performativity : the changing role of the academic board

This article undertakes a review of Australian and international literature and higher education policy in response to the changing nature of university academic boards (also known as academic senates or faculty senates). It shows that governance has become an issue for both the state and for universities and that within this context risk management and accountability mechanisms such as academic quality assurance are taking an increasingly prominent role. These developments have altered the form and function of academic governance and have fundamentally affected the academic board. For example, some literature reports that the role of Australian academic boards now largely revolves around academic quality assurance and it is argued that this is potentially problematic because of a focus on audit-driven accountability mechanisms. However, the article concludes by suggesting that as part of a broader quality assurance framework there is also an opportunity for academic boards to have a central role in the development of academic standards that focus on enhancing learning outcomes rather than on compliance.

Embedding academic skills development in course delivery

Innovative approaches need to be adopted to meet the challenge of ensuring that graduates at the end of their course of study are not only strong in their discipline, but also have the required generic skills to give them a good standing within their selected professions. This paper reports on a study that examined how well academic skills are embedded into the undergraduate Environmental Science curriculum at Deakin University in Australia. It reports on students’ self evaluation of their essay writing skills, and a case study that involves a discipline specialist working with an academic skills advisor to enhance student generic skills. It discusses the patchy nature of current implementation of programs for generic skill education.

The path to Project Darwin : the evolution of the AMP's organisational structure

Demutualisation became a global trend amongst financial sector firms in the last two decades of the twentieth century. Changes to the organisational foundations of mutual firms represented a shift in operational cultures and have often been viewed as an end point or demise of the co-operative business model. It is the intention of this article to investigate the extent to which this was the case within a major mutual institution, the Australian Mutual Provident, Australia's oldest and largest mutual insurer. The article's key argument is that the concept of mutuality is organic, and that within this organisation it evolved as the structure of the firm became more sophisticated as it developed from a supplier of life insurance products into a sophisticated financial services provider, which ultimately generated internal pressures to demutualise.

Academic skills and beyond : a resource based approach to support student success in higher education

An increasingly diverse range of students are entering higher education, bringing with them a vast range of experiences, skills and pre-existing knowledge. However, approaches to increasing student participation (and therefore success) to date have focused on strategies aimed at supporting non-traditional students to “fit in”, rather than changing existing structures to accommodate their needs. This paper will outline a resource-based approach to student success, which capitalises on the resources and capacities existing within the student, within their performance of the student role and within the environment that surrounds their learning.
This paper will report on a study and propose a resource based approach to student success. Three main sites or domains are identified as a focus of this approach – intrapersonal resources, skills resources and environmental resources. These domains interact with each other to support student success, and three potential methods for implementing a resource based approach are highlighted in the spaces where they intersect. Pedagogical design, mapping and matching, and learning support all have a role in enabling both students and universities to make the most of their existing resources and develop new ones.