Plagiarism – can preventative measures and a commitment to the value of learning by academics and students reduce plagiarism in classrooms?

Plagiarism is an interruptive act in the teaching and learning value chain. This paper analyses the impact of both plagiarism and effective assessment in the learning value chain. Effective assessment is the positive outcome. Plagiarism negates or breaks the chain. Anecdotal evidence suggests the incidences of plagiarism are increasing in faculties across the Queensland University of Technology (QUT), and where every subject/unit outline includes a statement and warning to students of the penalties of this activity, deterrence tools do not overcome the harmful impact of plagiarism on the teacher/student learning relationship. A working party established in 2000 in the Faculty of Business at QUT, examined the literature, university policies, teaching and learning practices, and examples of plagiarism and penalties in order to identify the wider learning and assessment issues surrounding plagiarism and options for action and policy. A three-semester study of acts of plagiarism and wide consultation with staff presented the working party with an opportunity to develop a set of preventative measures, and also exposed the legal, cultural and accountability issues of diverse attitudes and values.

The paper presents the findings and recommendations from the investigation, and also proposes an interpretation of marketing theory of the impact of plagiarism on the teaching and learning value chain.

Maintenance of traditional cultural orientation is associated with lower rates of obesity and sedentary behaviours among African migrant children to Australia

Background: Migrants from developing to developed countries rapidly develop more obesity than the host population. While the effects of socio-economic status on obesity are well established, the influence of cultural factors, including acculturation, is not known.

Objective: To examine the association between acculturation and obesity and its risk factors among African migrant children in Australia.

Design and participants: A cross-sectional study using a non-probability sample of 3- to 12-year-old sub-Saharan African migrant children. A bidimensional model of strength of affiliation with African and Australian cultures was used to divide the sample into four cultural orientations: traditional (African), assimilated (Australian), integrated (both) and marginalized (neither).

Main outcome measures: Body mass index (BMI), leisure-time physical activity (PA) and sedentary behaviours (SBs) and energy density of food.

Results: In all, 18.4% (95% confidence interval (CI): 14–23%) were overweight and 8.6% (95% CI: 6–12%) were obese. After adjustment for confounders, integrated (ß=1.1; P<0.05) and marginalized ß(=1.4; P<0.01) children had higher BMI than traditional children. However, integrated children had significantly higher time engaged in both PA (ß=46.9, P<0.01) and SBs (ß=43.0, P<0.05) than their traditional counterparts. In comparison with traditional children, assimilated children were more sedentary (ß=57.5, P<0.01) while marginalization was associated with increased consumption of energy-dense foods (ß=42.0, P<0.05).

Conclusions: Maintenance of traditional orientation was associated with lower rates of obesity and SBs. Health promotion programs and frameworks need to be rooted in traditional values and habits to maintain and reinforce traditional dietary and PA habits, as well as identify the marginalized clusters and address their needs.

Engagement and learning through social software in finance : the trading room experience

The introduction of a social software blog space called “The Trading Room” in an undergraduate Finance unit for an assessment task generated a great deal of activity to support student learning. A subsequent evaluation of this pilot demonstrated that students perceived high value in the opportunity it provided for them to reaffirm theories, obtain individualized feedback and benchmark their work against others. Whilst assessment is generally seen as both the carrot and the stick of learning, and certification; students in the study reported that they would still participate in reading and posting to the “Trading Room” blog even if there was no assessment requirement! Additionally they did not see any value in the environment as a purely social space, reporting that they saw it primarily as a professional educational community. It would appear that just as there are different communities in the real world social space, there are also different types of communities in the online space. Context, structure and activity design, perhaps are the most important facets of online interaction for learning.

How group composition can influence opportunities for spontaneous learning

Classroom video, and video-stimulated interviews of small group work, in a Grade 5/6 classroom are used to show ways group composition can influence learning opportunities. Vygotsky’s (1933/1966; 1978) learning theory on the spontaneous creation of knowledge as compared to the guidance of an expert other frames this group analysis. Illustrations from two groups show how opportunities to spontaneously create new knowledge can be limited or enhanced by psychological factors associated with the inclination to explore that have been linked to resilience in the form of optimism (Seligman, 1995, Williams, 2003). This study contributes to our knowledge on forming groups to promote deep learning. It raises questions about other ways in which learning may be influenced by optimistic orientation and about building this personal characteristic to enable deep learning.

Physical activity in the life of a woman with severe cerebal palsy : showing competence and being socially connected

We used a life-history approach to investigate the meanings and experiences of physical activity in the life of a 25-year-old woman with severe cerebral palsy (Amy). Amy and her mother were interviewed about Amy's life and her involvement in physical activity. The conversation was audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. We interpreted Amy's story using psychodynamic theory. Although Amy enjoyed learning to walk, she developed a sense of inferiority on entering the school environment because her skills did not compare favourably with those of her classmates without disabilities. Despite these negative experiences, Amy became more physically active as an adult than she had been as a child and as an adolescent, with the intention of delaying further functional decline, to stay socially connected to the people around her and to gain self-esteem through displaying competence at physical tasks. For Amy, engaging in physical activity was intimately tied to psychosocial growth, especially as a young adult. Further research should be conducted to investigate whether this relationship between physical activity and psychosocial growth is present in the lives of other people with disabilities.

Mother and toddler activity in the zone of proximal development for pretend play as a predictor of higher child IQ

This study investigated the pretend play of mother—toddler dyads in relation to later child IQ. Twenty-one toddlers were videotaped in monthly play sessions with their mothers, from age 8 to 17 months, and later assessed at 5 years of age on the Stanford-Binet IV. Children's and mothers' pretend play levels and frequencies were measured using Brown's (1997) Pretend Play Observation Scale. Dyadic play activity was analyzed using the conceptual frameworks of scaffolding and Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD). Toddlers later assessed as having higher IQ demonstrated more rapid learning in the ZPD for pretend play and experienced earlier maternal transfer of responsibility for play. These findings support other evidence on the differential early development of high ability or gifted children and the role of caregiver interactions in that development.

Putting the Research to Use: This study provides evidence that gifted children show differential development, in this case more rapid learning, from the first year of life. It also demonstrates how responsive parental interactions can support this advanced development. For family and professional caregivers, the findings imply that optimum caregiving for the young gifted child involves interactions that are both responsive to individual potential and appropriately challenging. In regard to the methodological challenges of researching early giftedness, the study demonstrated that the constructs of the ZPD and scaffolding were useful frameworks for investigating early gifted development and caregiver influences on that development. Pretend play activity was also shown to be an effective measure and a useful context for the study of gifted development in infants and toddlers. It would be valuable for future researchers in this area to utilize similar approaches that are grounded in the unique developmental characteristics of young children, and that aim to account for the interactive contexts that are so important in children's lives. The field of gifted education, in general, would also benefit from an increased awareness and exploration of the role of play in the development of intellect, imagination and creativity.

Client managment on house projects : faciliating client learning for successful architect-client relationships

This paper reports the findings of a study which examined architect-client relationships on house projects with a focus on the supportive role of architects in helping clients deal with project issues. Habitus theory explains that the nature of architecture as a specialised activity places architects within an architectural habitus, distinguishing them from clients who are not trained in the field, which is at the heart of the problematic architect-client relationship. An underlying premise was that habitus shock, that is, a mismatch between the architect and client's habituses Occurs as they enter into a relationship on the house project. Using the qualitative approach underpinned by the constructivist perspective for data collection and analysis, eight in-depth interviews were conducted across five case studies of successful architect-client relationships. The narrative inquiry approach was used to establish the extent to which habitus shock occurred and to describe the stages involved in the client's adjustment process during habitus shock. The findings indicate that habitus shock occurred on all five case studies, which resulted in client learning, enabling clients to function with competency in the unfamiliar environment. Client learning achieved during habitus shock was directly linked to the amount of difficulty experienced. This study has refined our understanding of the architect-client relationship on house projects by exploring more deeply client behaviour and the ways in which clients successfully deal with difficulties on house projects rather than simply identifying the uncertainties and conflicts that occur on projects. The findings demonstrate that client learning during habitus shock is a characteristic of successful relationships. One of the most significant outcomes of thi s study is that it demonstrated the potential to facilitate client learning during habitus shock to contribute to the development of successful architect-client relationships.

An online environment for value added learning : more than you bargained for

Online web-based technologies are increasingly being used in educational and professional contexts to create an effective environment for teaching or professional learning. A number of studies have explored the intersections between on and off line teaching and learning, participants’ perceptions, and claims of connectedness and community fostered by online sites (Jones, 1998; Rheingold, 1995; Soderstrom, 2006). This paper will outline the development, functionality and usefulness of the online environment (Drupal) installed and used to support the Australian Government Summer School for Teachers of English. It includes an analysis of the virtual environment (social software) established for the Summer School. The research project aimed to determine what aspects of an online environment supported the success of this national professional development activity that incorporated physically present, and online communication, connection, and collaboration between 200 teachers over a period of seven months. In this paper the site manager explains their role and perspective of the potential of social software for learning.

Study of the Geelong Local Learning and Employment Network

In common with many Western nations, Australian governments, both state and federal, have increasingly embraced network-based approaches in responding to the effects of globalisation. Since 2001, thirty one Local Learning and Employment Networks (LLEN) have been established across all areas of Victoria, Australia in line with recommendations of a Ministerial Review into Post Compulsory Education and Training Pathways. That review reported that, in the globalised context, youth in transition from schooling to independence faced persistent and severe difficulties unknown to previous generations; it also found problems were frequently concentrated in particular groups and regions. LLEN bring together the expertise and experience of local education providers, industry, community organisations, individuals and government organisations. As a result of their local decisions, collaboration and community building efforts it is intended that opportunities for young people will be enhanced. My research was conducted within an Australian Research Council Linkage Project awarded to Deakin University Faculty of Education in partnership with the Smart Geelong Region LLEN (SGR LLEN). The Linkage Project included two separate research components one of which forms my thesis: a case study of SGR LLEN. My data was generated through participant observation in SGR LLEN throughout 2004 and 2005 and through interviews, reflective writing and archival review. In undertaking my analysis and presenting my thesis I have chosen to weave a series of panels whose orientation is poststructural. This approach was based in my acceptance that all knowledge is partial and fragmentary and, accordingly, researchers need to find ways that highlight the intersections in and indeterminacy of their empirical data. The LLEN is -by its nature as a network -more than the contractual entity that gains funding from government, acts as the administrative core and occupies the LLEN office. As such I have woven firstly the formation and operational structure of the bounded entity that is SGR LLEN before weaving a series of six images that portray the unbounded LLEN as an instance-in-action. The thesis draws its theoretical inspiration from the work of Deleuze and Guattari (1987). Despite increased use of notions of networks, local decision-making and community building by governments there had been little empirical research that explored stakeholder understandings of networks and their role in community building as well as a lack of theorisation of how networks actually ‘work.’ My research addresses this lack and suggests an instituted network can function as a learning community capable of fostering systemic change in the post compulsory education training and employment sector and thereby contributing to better opportunities for young people. However the full potential of the policy is undermined by the reluctance of governments to follow through on the implications of their policies and, in particular, to confront the limiting effects of performativity at all levels.

On-campus students' learning in asynchronous environments

Asynchronous online discussions have the potential to improve learning in universities. This thesis reports an investigation into the ways in which undergraduates learned in online discussions when they were included within their face-to-face courses. Taking a student perspective, four case studies describe and explain the approaches to learning that were used by business undergraduates in online discussions, and examine the influence of the computer-mediated conferencing (CMC) medium and curriculum design on student learning. The investigation took a qualitative approach where case studies were developed from multiple data sources. In each of the cases, a description of the setting of the online discussions introduced the learning environment. Further details of student learning behaviours in the online discussions were provided by an analysis of the systems data and a content analysis of the online discussion transcripts. In depth interpretation of interview data added student perspectives on the impact of CMC characteristics, the curriculum or learning design and the relationship between the online discussions and face-to-face classes. A comparative cross case analysis of the findings of the four cases identified and discussed general themes and broad principles arising from the cases. The campus-based students acknowledged that online discussions helped them to learn and their message postings evidenced deep approaches to learning. The students recognised the value for learning of the text based nature of the CMC environment but peer interaction was more difficult to achieve. Asynchronicity created time flexibility and time for reflection but it also presented time management problems for many undergraduates. Assessment was the most influential aspect of the curriculum design. The cases also identified the importance of a dialogical activity and the absence of the teacher from the online discussions was not problematic. The research identified new perspectives on the relationship between online discussions and face-to-face classes. Students regarded these two media as complementary rather than oppositional and affirmed the importance of pedagogic connections between them. A teaching and learning framework for online discussions was developed from these perspectives. The significance of this study lies in improved knowledge of student learning processes in online discussions in blended learning environments. The cases indicated the potential value of the CMC environment for constructivist philosophies and affirm the significant role of curriculum design with new technologies. Findings relating to the complementary nature of online and face to face discussions provided a platform for building a teaching and learning framework for blended environments which can be used to inform and improve pedagogical design, teacher expertise and student learning outcomes in asynchronous online discussions.

Applying outcomes of lifelong learning to organisational achievement

The focus of this doctoral research study is making the most what a person knows and can do, as an outcome from their lifelong learning, so as to better contribute to organisational achievement. This has been motivated by a perceived gap in the extensive literature linking knowledge with organisational achievement. Whereas there is a rich body of literature addressing the meta-philosophies giving rise to the emergence of learning organisations there is, as yet, scant attention paid to the detail of planning and implementing action which would reveal individual/organisational opportunities of mutual advantage and motivate, and sustain, participation at the day-to-day level of the individual. It is in this space that this dissertation seeks to contribute by offering a mechanism for bringing the, hindsight informed, response “but that’s obvious” into the abiding explicit realm at the level of the individual. In moving beyond the obvious which is prone to be overlooked, the emphasis on “better” in the introductory sentence, is very deliberately made and has a link to awakening latent individual, and hence organisational, capabilities that would otherwise languish. The evolved LCM Model – a purposeful integration valuing the outcomes from lifelong learning (the L) with nurturing a culture supporting this outcome (the C) and with responsiveness to potentially diverse motivations (the M) – is a reflective device for bringing otherwise tacit, and latent, logic into the explicit realm of action. In the course of the development of the model, a number of supplementary models included in this dissertation have evolved from the research. They form a suite of devices which inform action and lead to making the most of what an individual knows and can do within the formal requirements of a job and within the informal influences of a frequently invisible community of practice. The initial inquiry drew upon the views and experiences of water industry engineering personnel and training facilitators associated with the contract cleaning and waste management industries. However, the major research occurred as an Emergency Management Australia (EMA) project with the Country Fire Authority (CFA) as the host organisation. This EMA/CFA research project explored the influence of making the most of what a CFA volunteer knows and can do upon retention of that volunteer. In its aggregate, across the CFA volunteer body, retention is a critical community safety objective. A qualitative research, ethnographic in character, approach was adopted. Data was collected through interviews, workshops and outcomes from attempts at action research projects. Following an initial thirteen month scoping study including respondents other than from the CFA, the research study moved into an exploration of the efficacy of an indicative model with four contextual foci – i.e. the manner of welcoming new members to the CFA, embracing training, strengthening brigade sustainability and leadership. Interestingly, the research environment which forced a truncated implementation of action research projects was, in itself, an informing experience indicative of inhibitors to making the most of what people know and can do. Competition for interest, time and commitment were factors governing the manner in which CFA respondents could be called upon to explore the efficacy of the model, and were a harbinger of the influences shaping the more general environment of drawing upon what CFA volunteers know and can do. Subsequent to the development of the indicative model, a further 16 month period was utilised in the ethnographic exploration of the relevance of the model within the CFA as the host organisation. As a consequence, the model is a more fully developed tool (framework) to aid reflection, planning and action. Importantly, the later phase of the research study has, through application of the model to specific goals within the CFA, yielded operational insight into its effective use, and in which activity systems have an important place. The model – now confidently styled as the LCM Model – has three elements that when enmeshed strengthen the likelihood of organisational achievement ; and the degree of this meshing, as relevant to the target outcome, determines the strength of outcome. i.e. - • Valuing outcomes from learning: When a person recognises and values (appropriately to achievement by the organisation) what they know and can do, and associated others recognise and value what this person knows and can do, then there is increased likelihood of these outcomes from learning being applied to organisational achievement. • Valuing a culture that is conducive to learning: When a person, and associated others, are further developing and drawing upon what they know and can do within the context of a culture that is conducive to learning, then there is increased likelihood that outcomes from learning will be applied to organisational achievement. • Valuing motivation of the individual: When a person’s motivation to apply what they know and can do is valued by them, and associated others, as appropriate to organisational achievement then there is increased likelihood that appropriately drawing upon outcomes from learning will occur. Activity theory was employed as a device to scope and explore understanding of the issues as they emerged in the course of the research study. Viewing the data through the prism of activity theory led not only to the development of the LCM Model but also to an enhanced understanding of the role of leadership as a foundation for acting upon the model. Both formal and informal leadership were found to be germane in asserting influence on empowering engagement with learning and drawing upon its outcomes. It is apparent that a “leaderful organisation”, as postulated by Raelin (2003), is an environment which supports drawing upon the LCM model; and it may be the case that the act of drawing upon the model will move a narrowly leadership focused organisation toward leaderful attributes. As foreshadowed at the beginning of this synopsis, nurturing individual and organisational capability is the guiding mantra for this dissertation - “Capability embraces competence but is also forward-looking, concerned with the realisation of potential” (Stephenson 1998, p. 3). Although the inquiry focussed upon a need for CFA volunteer retention, it began with a broader investigation as part of the scoping foundation and the expanded usefulness of the LCM Model invites further investigation. The dissertation concludes with the encapsulating sentiment that “You have really got to want to”. With this predisposition in mind, this dissertation contributes to knowledge through the development and discussion of the LCM model as a reflective device informing transformative learning (Mezirow and Associates 1990). A leaderful environment (Raelin 2003) aids transformative learning – accruing to the individual and the organisation - through engendering and maintaining making the most of knowledge and skill – motivating and sustaining “the will”. The outcomes from this research study are a strong assertion that wanting to make the most of what is known and can be done is a hallmark of capability. Accordingly, this dissertation is a contribution to the “how” of strengthening the capability, and the commitment to applying that capability, of an individual and an organisation.

Gender and genre : a case study of a girl and a boy learning to write

This study addresses questions of gender and genre in early writing by drawing on systemic linguistic theory, It is a longitudinal case study that compares the writing development of two children, a boy and a girl/ who learned to write in classrooms that adopted an approach to writing known in Australia as 'process writing1, The children's written texts were analysed using the systemic functional grammar as developed by MAK, Hallidey and the models of genre and register as proposed by J,R, Martin. The children were followed for the first two and a half years of their schooling, from the first day of kindergarten to the middle of grade two. They were observed weekly during the daily ‘writing time’ and all texts were collected. Although the children were ostensibly 'free’ to determine both the writing topics and text types they produced, systemic analysis revealed that: 1) the majority of texts written were of one genre, the Observation genre, in which the children reconstructed their personal experience with family and friends and offered an evaluation of it. 2) a significant pattern of gender differences occurred within this genre, such that the boy reconstructed experience in terms of the male cultural stereotype of being an active participant in the world, while the girl reconstructed experience in terms of the female stereotype of being a more passive observer of experience. It is the strength of systemic linguistic analysis that it revealed how the choices the children made in language were constrained by a number of social and cultural contexts, including: a) the teacher's theoretical orientation to literacy; b) the models of spoken and written language available to the children; and c) the ideology of gender in the culture. In particular, the analysis made visible how children appropriate the meanings of their culture and socialise themselves into gender roles by constructing the ideology of gender in their writing. The study contributes to an understanding of genres by offering a revised description of the Observation genre, which derives from the Observation Comment genre originally identified by Martin and Rothery (1981). It also raises a number of implications for teacher training and classroom practice, including the need for: 1) increased teacher consciousness about gender and genre, especially an understanding that choices in language are socially constructed 2) a critical reassessment of the notion of 'free topic choice’ promoted by 'process writing' pedagogy, a practice which may limit choice and tacitly support the gender status quo.

Teacher education and critical inquiry : the use of activity theory in exploring alternative understandings of language and literacy

This paper explores the challenges of espousing a critical pedagogy within the managerial climate that presently shapes teacher education. It argues that current discourses of professionalism are incommensurate with a view of literacy as social practice and that they disregard complex semiotic ecologies in which both school and university students operate. Graduate teachers are constructed as the ‘providers’ of decontextualised literacy skills to school students whose existing communication networks are ignored. Rejecting this narrow view of professional practice, we draw on activity theory to analyse the social configuration of tertiary students’ identities and the textual resources that mediate their professional learning. This kind of research is needed to reveal the contradictions within and between activity systems in which tertiary students participate as well as to construct possible solutions to the contradictions identified.

Teacher education and critical inquiry : the use of activity theory in exploring alternative understandings of language and literacy

This article explores the challenges of espousing a critical pedagogy within the managerial climate that presently shapes teacher education. Current discourses of professionalism are incommensurate with an understanding of the way that literacy practices are grounded in the social worlds in which both school and university students operate. Such discourses construct graduate teachers as the providers of decontextualised literacy skills to school students whose existing communication networks are ignored. We argue that an alternative understanding of professional practice can be developed by focusing on the textual resources university students use to mediate their learning, and by locating their emerging professional identities within the activity systems and meaning-making practices in which they participate.