Alternative dimensions in assessment : an overview

This four-part paper is the 'highlights' of the 2009 Australian Technology Network conference, 'Assessment in Different Dimensions: a conference on teaching and learning in tertiary education', held at RMIT University, 19–20 November 2009.

The main theme of this paper is an exploration of how 'progressive and innovative' assessment techniques from other higher education providers might be used to 'progress and innovate' the assessment of Media and Communication students at Deakin University.

As lecturers and tutors have traditionally had almost total control over the learning and assessment environment, for most students, the approach to assessment has changed little. The arrival of 'new media', 'digital culture' and 'dispersed learning' threatens this stability and control. Students are now able to operate in a more open, collaborative, interactive and distributed manner, and this fact challenges many of the traditional perceptions about what constitutes a 'university experience' and what are now 'appropriate' assessment tasks (Crisp 2009).

Each of the four speakers will present a 'spotlight' initiative from the 2009 Australian Technology Network conference, describing how each assessment innovation might be useful to (a) confront our current ideas and values around what is 'good' and 'bad' assessment; (b) explain why some assessment myths are 'hard to shift'; and (c) suggest how these new approaches might be useful in the years to come.

The more things change, the more they stay the same : the 2012 alternative film/video festival

The Alternative Film/Video Festival in Belgrade has historically been one of a triumvirate of critical festivals, with Pula’s MAFAF (1965-1990) and Zagreb’s initiating GEFF (1963-70), servicing experimental, exploratory, avant-garde, personal film in the former Yugoslavia, at Belgrade’s Academic Film Center (AFC) within the Student City Cultural Centre (DKSG). Initiated in 1982 it was resurrected in 2003 with a dual regional and international focus after a hiatus due to the collapse of the socialist states of the former Yugoslavia. As well as a series of curated and retrospective programs each competition program is now split into international and regional halves, selected by Greg de Cuir and Zoran Saveski with production support by Milan Milosavljević. Two film workshops were also available. One on scratch film by Ivan Ladislav Galeta, the other on filming and processing led by Vassily Bourakis. Initiated by de Cuir the first Alternative Film/Video Research Forum was part of the festival this year bringing together research on alternative/ experimental/ avant-garde/ underground film and video. Although I participated in this side-bar I will concentrate here more on discussions from the festival roundtable and contextualise a small number of films, a couple from competition but mainly regional work that I would find difficult to encounter without attendance here.

Making visible ‘hidden’ intentions and potential choices: international students in intercultural communication

The study reported in this paper examines the experiences of Chinese and Vietnamese international students in engaging in their institutional written discourse at an Australian university. The study highlights the significance of exploring the real accounts of the students as the ‘insiders’ and uncovering students’ individual potential choices and intentions as their ‘seemingly unrecognized’ values in producing their own texts in English as a second language. In particular, based on international students’ reflection on their intentions and potential choices in academic practices, the study signals how the taken-for-granted institutional conventions may contribute to silencing or marginalizing the possibilities for alternative approaches to knowledge and communication within the higher education institutional context.

Improving access to the justice system for people with communication difficulties : a training program for people working in the justice system

This training package is provided as a guide and resource to promote awareness and understanding of people who have complex communication needs and give people who work in law and justice system strategies to facilitate successful communication interactions. Complex communication needs are defined as communication problems associated with a wide range of physical, sensory and environmental causes which restrict/limit an individual's ability to participate independently in society. They and their communication partners may benefit from using Alternative and Augmentative Communication (AAC) methods. Alternative and Augmentative Communication (AAC) is an approach or communication system that makes it possible for a person without speech to communicate. AAC includes gestures and sign language, picture and alphabet boards and high technology electronic communication devices that produce computerised speech. Many people with complex communication needs use a combination of AAC communication to express themselves. It is hoped that this package will facilitate access to the justice system for a group of people who may experience social disadvantage as a result of their complex communication needs. The information included in the package is not exhaustive. It is designed to : provide the trainer and staff with a general understanding of complex communication needs; challenge misconceptions about people who have little or no functional speech; provide practical strategies and guidelines to assist staff to more successfully communicate with people with complex communication needs.

Nursing educator perspectives of overseas qualified nurses' intercultural clinical communication: barriers, enablers and engagement strategies

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To understand the intercultural communication experiences and associated communication training needs of overseas qualified nurses in the Australian healthcare system from the unique perspectives of nurse educators teaching in accredited bridging programmes. BACKGROUND: Overseas qualified nurses are an integral part of the nursing workforce in migration destination countries. Communication training needs are more complex when there are cultural, ethnic and language differences between nurses, other health professionals and patients. DESIGN: A qualitative, exploratory research design using semi-structured interviews. METHODS: All (nine) organisations involved in conducting the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency approved preregistration bridging programmes for overseas qualified nurses within the state of Victoria, Australia, were involved in the study. Participants were 12 nurse educators employed in these organisations. Thematic analysis was undertaken. RESULTS: Three macro themes emerged about the overseas qualified nurses' intercultural communication: (1) pre-existing barriers and enablers to intercultural communication, for example, nurses' reluctance to engage in communicative strategies that build rapport with patients, (2) transitional behaviours and impact on communication, including maintenance of perceived cultural hierarchies between health professionals and (3) development of communicative competence, including expanding one's repertoire of conversational gambits. CONCLUSIONS: The findings point to the domains and causes of communication challenges facing overseas qualified nurses in new healthcare settings as well as strategies that the nurse educators and nurses can adopt. Communication cannot be merely regarded as a skill that can be taught in a didactic programme. Comprehensive understanding is needed about the sociocultural dimensions of these nurses' orientation, which can impact on how they communicate in their new healthcare settings. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: The findings can act as triggers for discussion with overseas qualified nurses and other health professionals to raise awareness about the aspects of intercultural communication and to debate alternative viewpoints and explanations. They can also inform changes in the structure and content of the bridging programmes.

Energy and communication infrastructure for disaster resilience in rural and regional Australia

Energy and communication infrastructure for disaster resilience in rural and regional Australia, Regional Studies. Australia's rural and regional areas are prone to frequent natural disasters with extensive socio-economic impacts. Resultant damage to large-grid energy and communication networks can lead to widespread, lengthy outages, signalling the need for alternative infrastructure developments to aid disaster risk reduction and resilience-building (DRRR). Distributed smart renewable energy micro-grid systems can mitigate adverse impacts through outage prevention and rapid service restoration, increase rural and regional resilience, and offer communities opportunities for socio-economic development. However, renewable energy and digital communications policy uncertainty currently adversely affects disaster preparedness and investment in alternative infrastructure, undermining rural and regional futures.

Doctor communication quality and friends' attitudes influence complementary medicine use in inflammatory bowel disease.

AIM: To examine the frequency of regular complementary and alternative therapy (CAM) use in three Australian cohorts of contrasting care setting and geography, and identify independent attitudinal and psychological predictors of CAM use across all cohorts. METHODS: A cross sectional questionnaire was administered to inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients in 3 separate cohorts which differed by geographical region and care setting. Demographics and frequency of regular CAM use were assessed, along with attitudes towards IBD medication and psychological parameters such as anxiety, depression, personality traits and quality of life (QOL), and compared across cohorts. Independent attitudinal and psychological predictors of CAM use were determined using binary logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: In 473 respondents (mean age 50.3 years, 60.2% female) regular CAM use was reported by 45.4%, and did not vary between cohorts. Only 54.1% of users disclosed CAM use to their doctor. Independent predictors of CAM use which confirm those reported previously were: covert conventional medication dose reduction (P < 0.001), seeking psychological treatment (P < 0.001), adverse effects of conventional medication (P = 0.043), and higher QOL (P < 0.001). Newly identified predictors were CAM use by family or friends (P < 0.001), dissatisfaction with patient-doctor communication (P < 0.001), and lower depression scores (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: In addition to previously identified predictors of CAM use, these data show that physician attention to communication and the patient-doctor relationship is important as these factors influence CAM use. Patient reluctance to discuss CAM with physicians may promote greater reliance on social contacts to influence CAM decisions.