Visual networking : keeping television on the box

The Australian National Broadband Network (NBN) is the largest infrastructure project ever proposed in Australia (NBN, 2010). Its Fibre to the Home open access network will see a new generation of telecommunications services providing the basis for technologies and services to be combined. Homes connected to the network will have access to new digital media and high-speed internet among other applications. Taking an Australian perspective, this paper focuses on the capacity for fast broadband to allow features and technologies to be combined that were once separate, but now have converged including computing, telephony, free-to-air (FTA) television, direct-to-home satellite broadcasting, radio, and the internet and the implications. Specifically, future services for digital television are going to be more akin to app-based functions that are currently available on mobiles and tablets but on the television screen rather than the PC. Against such a background, this article examines the future of television arguing that faster broadband and internet-enabled televisions to watch movies and shows when it suits the audience are the keys to the television’s survival.

Fire and its interaction with ecological processes in box-ironbark forests

Box-Ironbark forests extend across a swathe of northern Victoria on the inland side of the Great Dividing Range. Although extensively cleared and modified, they support a distinctive suite of plants and animals. Historical fire regimes in this ecosystem are largely unknown, as are the effects of fire on most of the biota. However, knowledge of the ecological attributes of plant species has been used to determine minimum and maximum tolerable fire intervals for this ecosystem to guide current fire management. Here, we consider the potential effects of planned fire in the context of major ecological drivers of the current box-ironbark forests: namely, the climate and physical environment; historical land clearing and fragmentation; and extractive land uses. We outline an experimental management and research project based on application of planned burns in different seasons (autumn, spring) and at different levels of burn cover (patchy, extensive). A range of ecological attributes will be monitored before and after burns to provide better understanding of the landscape-scale effects of fire in box-ironbark forests. Such integration of management and research is essential to address the many knowledge gaps in fire ecology, particularly in the context of massively increased levels of planned burning currently being implemented in Victoria.

(Re)viewing the landscape inside and outside the box : providing effective support for early childhood student teachers

This paper presents key findings from a study that investigated how early childhood student teachers perceived the support, guidance and mentoring facilities that were available to them and aspects of their courses. The study was conducted by lecturers who were delivering the three year Bachelor of Teaching (ECE) degree to a multicultural student cohort in a New Zealand polytechnic. A multi-method approach was taken and involved practitioner action research, questionnaires and interviews with students. The findings showed that whilst first year students found large group guidance useful, second and third year students preferred small group and individual support. Being able to email lecturers, particularly during practicum placements, was important for students. During practicum placements Associate Teachers who were culturally competent communicators and fully informed about students’ coursework were important for student success. Practicums where students experienced open communication were included as part of the teaching team and felt well-informed about the philosophy and practices of the centre were found to increase their confidence and competence. However, students expressed concern that in some placements, they felt under informed or isolated. Hence, this paper argues that lecturers and Associate Teachers should be proactive about initiating communication with students and optimize opportunities for individual mentoring through questions and guided reflection.

Open access : just one item in a Pandora’s box

The scholarly publication model is discussed and the impact of the current technological change on knowledge and communication generally on the scholarly publication model is set out. The proposal is made that rather than open access being the cause of the apparent and impending collapse of the scholarly publication industry, it is but one driver of a far wider change in scholarly publication. That change will have effects that extend well beyond the simple decision of whether a publication should be available by subscription or by one of the forms of open access. A number of other changes to scholarly publication are also itemized. The change is inevitable but its extent is as yet unclear.