Pathway from vocational education and associate degree to higher education: Chinese international students in Australia

Understanding factors influencing international students' decision to engage in international education is essential for education providers to better cater for students' educational expectations and enhance their attractiveness to international students. Whilst there has been extensive research on the reasons why international students undertake cross-border higher education, international students' motivations for enrolling in vocational education and associate degree programmes are still under-researched. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with 30 international students from China, this research found that pathway to higher education appears to be the most important factor motivating international students to undertake vocational education and associate degree programmes. In addition, prospect of immigration, English language proficiency, previous academic performance, agent's recommendations and relatives' and friends' advice are amongst the important factors that students take into account in their decision to choose vocational education and associate degree programmes. This research also examines why Chinese international students have chosen vocational education programmes in a dual-sector university over vocational education colleges. It found that the flexibility to articulate to higher education, international reputation of the programme, practical training and favourable location are key issues that these students draw on when making their decision to study in a dual-sector university.

Marine educators: Linking personal commitment, education and public policy

This thesis reports on a study of the experiences and beliefs of a sample of marine educators from both Canada and Australia. It investigates the educators’ narratives in order to explore their role in regards to their interactions and relationships between and with policy, community and education within the marine education context.

Comparing personality type profiles of primary teachers in the Catholic and state school systems

Preparing health professionals to work in diabetes education and care: a situation analysis

Worldwide, the increasing prevalence of chronic diseases places enormous expectations of and responsibility on health systems. Preparing the health workforce to adequately respond to these increasing demands is a challenge of critical importance. The aim of this study was to provide an overview of how health professionals (HPs) are prepared to work in diabetes care and education. A one shot cross-sectional study was undertaken to collect the data using self-completed anonymous on-line questionnaires. The invitation to complete the questionnaire was sent to more than 3745 HPs. One thousand one hundred and sixteen responses were collected, 68% were from highincome countries and 32% from middle- and low-income countries (LMIC). Most HPs developed their knowledge and skills through work experience and self-study: very few attended a formal education program as part of their training. Thirty-six percent of LMIC respondents did not have a credential/certification in diabetes and 72% reported their organizations support them to learn about diabetes education/care. Moreover, 80% referred to the International Diabetes Federation publications when making clinical decisions or planning diabetes care. Results provide insight into how HPs are educationally prepared to work in diabetes education and care and could serve as a foundation for future research. These findings emphasize the emerging necessity to develop certified/credentialing programs for HPs, especially in LMIC.

Education and work in service of the nation: Canadian and Australian girls' fiction, 1908-1921

This chapter compares early twentieth-century Australian novels by Ethel Turner, Mary Grant Bruce, and Lilian Turner to Canadian novels by Nellie McClung and L.M. Montgomery to demonstrate important differences in attitudes towards education and work. Girls’ fiction in these white settler colonies has many similarities, containing strong ideals related to domesticity, education, employment, and femininity. In the Canadian fiction, attitudes towards women’s higher education and employement are generally much more positive. Although both Australian and Canadian girls’ fiction typically conclude with marriage, Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables and Nellie McClung’s Pearlie Watson are offered the opportunity to pursue higher education and use this education to teach others. In contrast, Lilian Turner’s Paradise and the Perrys, Ethel Turner’s Fair Ines, and Mary Grant Bruce’s ’Possum emphasise the importance of domesticity while also showing how girls sought to earn income without leaving home. Through our comparison of these Canadian and Australian novels, all published between 1908 and 1921, we demonstrate how the different feminine ideals embodied through these heroines are inevitably intertwined with the needs of the nation

Obesity prevention interventions in early childhood education and care settings with parental involvement: a systematic review

Partnering early childhood education and care (ECEC) and the home together may be more effective in combating obesogenic risk factors in preschool children. Thus, an evaluation of ECEC obesity prevention interventions with a parental component was conducted, exploring parental engagement and its effect on obesity and healthy lifestyle outcomes. A search revealed 15 peer-reviewed papers. Some studies demonstrated positive weight changes, and secondary outcomes of changes in physical activity and healthy eating were reported in most studies; study quality ranged from fair to good. Four findings were linked to weight changes: (1) when educational material is consistent across settings; (2) capacity building of parents; (3) parents encouraging their children to drink water and (4) parental satisfaction and participation. A partnership between parents and ECEC may be a powerful force in the prevention of paediatric obesity. A better understanding of collaborative parental engagement is needed.

Convergence of object focused simultaneous estimation of optical flow and state dynamics

The purpose of this study is to prove the convergence of the simultaneous estimation of the optical flow and object state (SEOS) method. The SEOS method utilizes dynamic object parameter information when calculating optical flow in tracking a moving object within a video stream. Optical flow estimation for the SEOS method requires the minimization of an error function containing the object's physical parameter data. When this function is discretized, the Euler-Lagrange equations form a system of linear equations. The system is arranged such that its property matrix is positive definite symmetric, proving the convergence of the Gauss-Seidel iterative methods. The system of linear equations produced by SEOS can alternatively be resolved by Jacobi iterative schemes. The positive definite symmetric property is not sufficient for Jacobi convergence. The convergence of SEOS for a block diagonal Jacobi is proved by analysing the Euclidean norm of the Jacobi matrix. In this paper, we also investigate the use of SEOS for tracking individual objects within a video sequence. The illustrations provided show the effectiveness of SEOS for localizing objects within a video sequence and generating optical flow results.

Evaluation of nurses' perceptions of the impact of targeted depression education and a screening and referral tool in an acute cardiac setting.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to evaluate nurses' perceptions of an education programme and screening and referral tool designed for cardiac nurses to facilitate depression screening and referral procedures for patients with coronary heart disease. BACKGROUND: There is a high prevalence of depression in patients with coronary heart disease that is often undetected. It is important therefore that nurses working with cardiac patients are equipped with the knowledge and skills to recognise the signs and symptoms of depression and refer appropriately. DESIGN: A qualitative approach with purposive sampling and semi-structural interviews was implemented within the Donabedian 'Structure-Process-Outcome' evaluation framework. METHODS: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 cardiac nurses working in a major metropolitan hospital six weeks post-attending an education programme on depression and coronary heart disease. Thematic data analysis was implemented, specifically adhering to Halcomb and Davidson's (2006) pragmatic data analysis, to examine nurse knowledge and experience of depression assessment and referral in an acute cardiac ward. RESULTS: The key findings of this study were that the education programme: (1) increased the knowledge base of nurses working with cardiac patients on comorbid depression and coronary heart disease, and (2) assisted in the identification of depression and the referral of 'at risk' patients. CONCLUSIONS: Emphasis was placed on the translational significance of educating cardiac nurses about depression via the introduction of a depression screening and referral instrument designed specifically for use in the cardiac ward. As a result, participants found they were better equipped to identify depressive symptoms and, guided by the screening instrument, to confidently instigate referral procedures. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: Much complexity lies in caring for cardiac patients with depression, including issues such as misdiagnosis. Targeted education, including use of appropriate instruments, has the potential to facilitate early recognition of the signs and symptoms of depression in the acute cardiac setting.

Effective family partnerships in early childhood education and care: An investigation of the nature of interactions between educators and parents

This Doctoral dissertation presents findings of a research study exploring the nature of the interactions between early childhood educators and parents as they reflect a framework of partnership centred on mutuality, trust, reciprocity and shared decision making. Examining the nature of the relationships. In examining the interactions , the study found that while mutuality, trust and reciprocity were evident in the interactions between the parents and the educators, shared decision making, where parents were mutual partners in the decision making around their child, was not evident.