Key themes and research agendas in the sport-alcohol nexus

This article synthesizes the main themes and research agendas that have been explored in studies of sports-associated drinking. It identifies four themes in which sport and alcohol come together: (a) the commercial economy; (b) social practices and cultural identities; (c) crime and violence; and (d) health behaviors. The article highlights the paradoxical and contradictory nature of the sport-alcohol nexus, especially in relation to health behaviors and crime and violence, where sport is both a context for and a “solution” to health damaging and criminal behavior. The article also argues for the contribution that studies of sports-based drinking can make to the sociology of sport and alcohol use more broadly, particularly with regard to applying new theoretical perspectives such as “calculated hedonism” and “casual leisure” to drinking in sporting contexts. It also extends our analysis of the beer-sport-gender “holy trinity” to considering drinking by women as well as among less traditional forms of masculine identities.

Assessing dietary intake in children and adolescents : considerations and recommendations for obesity research

Dietary intake and food habits are important contributors to the obesity epidemic. They are highly modifi able components of energy balance and are usually targeted in both obesity prevention and treatment programs. However, measurement of total diet creates challenges and can convey a large burden in terms of cost, technical expertise, impact on respondents and time. It is not surprising therefore that comprehensive reports of dietary intake in children are uncommon and, when reported, have limitations. The aim of this paper is to guide researchers and practitioners in selecting the most appropriate dietary assessment method for situations involving children and adolescents. This paper presents a summary of the issues to consider when choosing a method, a description of some of the more commonly used dietary assessment methods for young people and a series of case-studies to illustrate the range of circumstances faced when measuring dietary intake. We recommend that researchers consider the specifi c components of dietary intake addressed in their research and practice, and whether diet should be reported comprehensively or as targeted components. Other considerations include age, cognitive ability, weight status, physical activity level, respondent burden, and reliability and validity in the context of program goals and research questions. A checklist for selecting the appropriate dietary methodology is provided. This guide aims to facilitate the reporting of dietary intake and food habits in the context of obesity using valid and reliable measures, thus contributing to the evidence-base for nutrition policies and programs relating to obesity.

The nature of supervision in forensic psychology : some observations and recommendations

Purpose – Supervision is often regarded as an important aspect of forensic psychological practice and yet little evidence exists to support the idea that supervised practice leads to better outcomes for either clients or organisations. This paper seeks to discuss some of the aims of supervision in relation to the needs of forensic psychologists, such that practice in this area can be developed further.

Design/methodology/approach – The current published literature on the nature of forensic supervision is reviewed and discussed.

Findings – A number of different models of supervision have been proposed and supervisory experiences can vary markedly according to both the individuals involved and the setting in which the work is conducted. There is a need to develop specialist models of supervision for those who work in forensic settings. Further research is needed to establish an evidence-base for supervisory practices.

Originality/value – There has been very little previous consideration of the nature of post-qualification forensic supervision despite the need, and in some cases requirement, that forensic practitioners receive supervision. This paper discusses some of those issues that are considered important to effective supervision in the forensic setting.

Creating value in an introductory business IS and IT unit

Given the downturn in student enrolments in Information Systems (IS) and Information Technology (IT) units, and the poor performance of a first-year IS and IT common-core unit in a business school, a new unit was developed. Action and design science research methods were employed. The new unit has a unique focus on two key skills and on modern IT and information literacy. The first skill involves describing information systems, and the second, determining how to create business value with IT in specific business contexts. Modern IT tools like a Web-based productivity suite and professional networking services are introduced, together with advanced search techniques and services and an information quality evaluation framework. The evaluation of the utility and efficacy of the unit is based on the institutional standard student feedback survey and unsolicited feedback. The unit has achieved a significant improvement in evaluation results and feedback from students, as well as converting students who were previously averse to IS and IT to study further in these areas.

Incorrigible and undisciplined lines in visual social research : ways of ‘writing’ and ‘drawing’ at the interstices

In this paper the author traces the possibilities afforded by engaging with the aesthetic, historic and socio-political nature of shodo (Japanese calligraphy) as an intersectional space. Shodo literally translated as 'the way of writing' is an artistic practice bringing together ink, brush and paper. It is simultaneously a juncture between studied discipline and an ongoing mediation of subjectivities. The calligrapher/writer/drawer communicates to the reader through the bold or subtle brush strokes, the pressure and movement at the completion of each stroke. The calligrapher/writer/drawer draws across the boundaries of text and image to meet the reader blurring the lines between subject and object. This discussion re-examines the hierarchical binaries of writing/drawing, text/image, self/Other as they play out from vanishing lines of distinction between truth and conjecture. Crossing these binaries opens up opportunity for decentring and questioning representational practice by enabling other possible meanings and practices to emerge (Lather, 2007). I work from a stance of theoretical promiscuity in order to disrupt constitutive discourses and restore the liminal in social research. Drawing across the fragments of research projects I illustrate the generative and speculative space of visualising pedascapes in educational research.

Meta-analysis and research synthesis in education

This bibliography begins with this introduction followed by a general overview of meta-analysis and research synthesis methods in education. The third section cites references to illustrate how the concept of statistical integration of research findings dates back to early 20th century. Citations in the fourth section highlight early calls from educational researchers to recognize the process of synthesizing research as a scholarly endeavor in its own right. As evident from the citations in the fifth section, it was in the 1980s when monographs exclusively devoted to research synthesis methods started to be published. Since then, a number of books have been published on research synthesis methods. The sixth section cites some of the most comprehensive books on research synthesis methods and includes contributions from key players of meta-analysis current at the time. The citations in the seventh section illustrate how meta-analysis has become very popular over time. Several large organizations have been set up and software developed to support systematic reviews of research. These are cited in the eighth section. Citations in the ninth section illustrate critiques of systematic reviews. As qualitative research is becoming popular in education, sophisticated discussions of issues associated with synthesizing qualitative research have also been published, some of which are cited in the tenth section. The eleventh section presents a methodologically inclusive account of current developments in research synthesis methods. The final section cites examples of journals exclusively devoted to publishing research reviews and exemplary research synthesis with different methodologies. Individual methods of research synthesis are discussed chronologically as they became popular in educational research. Accordingly, this bibliography starts with a discussion of statistical methods of integrating research that parallels the dominance of quantitative research in education until the 1970s. As the popularity and diversity of qualitative research methods have been increasing in educational research, more methodologically inclusive discussions of research synthesis methods are becoming popular as described in the later sections of this bibliography.

Genetic research in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities : continuing the conversation

Genetics is at the forefront of medical research, but it is rarely used in Indigenous health research projects. This discussion paper is the outcome of the first ever national discussion of the conduct of genetic research in Indigenous communities in Australia convened by the Lowitja Institute in 2010. It reviews the ethical issues relevant to genetic research in an Australian Indigenous context; existing guidelines for genetic research in indigenous communities internationally; and literature on genetic literacy in Indigenous contexts. Finally, the discussion paper presents a summary of the productive and challenging conversations at the round table.

Internationalization to China: a model for Australian architectural, engineering and construction firms

The experiences of an architectural, an engineering, and a construction organization, when internationalizing to China, are compared to extant theories of internationalization to develop an enhanced explanation if these organizations’ internationalization. The research examines the explanatory power of both the Uppsala internationalization model and network theory for internationalization. The research determined that, whilst these organizations utilized an incremental internationalization process, the stages differed from those identified in the Uppsala model. Part of this difference reflects the fact that the participants are service organizations and the Uppsala model is more relevant to manufacturing organizations. Network theory was also found to predict some of the participant behaviors; however, it did not correctly predict the reasons for forming partnerships, which was to gain knowledge rather than develop networks. The stages of the internationalization into China identified were: (1) experiencing a motivation to internationalize; (2) adopting one of a variety of entry modes; (3) experiencing a motivation to increase internationalization to the level of a wholly-owned foreign entity; (4) establishment of a wholly-owned foreign entity (WOFE), either by acquisition or development; and (5) further horizontal expansion (such as movement to new locations). A range of different motivations for both stages one and three were identified.

The systematic influences on student evaluation of teaching in engineering education

BACKGROUND Student evaluation of teaching (SET) has a long history, has grown in prevalence and importance over a period of decades, and is now common-place in many universities internationally. SET data are collected for a range of purposes, including: as diagnostic feedback to improve the quality of teaching and learning; as an input to staff performance management processes and personnel decisions such as promotion for staff; to provide information to prospective students in their selection of courses and programs; and as a source of data for research on teaching. Rovai et al. (2006) report that while SET research provides mixed results, there is evidence that, for course-related factors, smaller classes are rated more favourably than large classes, upper-year-level classes are rated more favourably than lower-year classes, and that there are rating differences between discipline areas. While additional course-related factors are also noted, other reviews of the literature on SET also identify these three factors as commonly reported systematic influences on SET ratings. The School of Engineering at Deakin University in Australia offers undergraduate and postgraduate engineering programs, and these programs are delivered in both on-campus and off-campus modes.PURPOSEThe paper presents a quantitative investigation of SET data for the School of Engineering at Deakin University to identify whether the commonly reported systematic influences on SET ratings of class size and year level are also observed here. The influence of online mode of offer is also explored.DESIGN/METHOD Deakin University’s Student Evaluation of Teaching and Units (SETU) questionnaire is administered to students enrolled in every unit of study every time that unit is offered, unless it is specially exempted. Following data collation, summary results are reported via a public website. The publicly available SETU data for all School of Engineering units of study were collected for a two year period. The collected data were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA) analysis to identify any significant systematic influences on mean student SETU ratings.RESULTS SETU data from 100 separate units of study over the two year period were collected, representing 3375 sets of SETU ratings, and covering unit enrolment sizes from 12 to 462 students. Although this was a modest sized investigation, significantly higher mean ratings for some SETU items were observed for units with small enrolments, for postgraduate level units compared to undergraduate level units, and for units offered in conventional mode compared to online mode of offer. The presence of the commonly observed systematic influences on SET ratings was confirmed.CONCLUSIONS While the use of SET data may have originally been primarily for formative purposes to improve teaching and learning, they are also increasingly used for summative judgements of teaching quality and teaching staff performance that have implications for personnel decision making. There may be an acceptance of the need for SET, however there remains no universal consensus as to what constitutes quality in university teaching and learning, and the increasing use of SET for high-stakes decision making puts pressure on institutions to ensure that their SET practices are sound, equitable and defensible.

Reflexive deliberation in international research collaboration: minimising risk and maximising opportunity

International research collaboration raises questions about how groups from different national and institutional contexts can work together for common ends. This paper uses issues that have arisen in carrying out the first stage of an international research project to discuss a framework designed to map different kinds of multi-national research collaboration in terms of increasing complexity and increasing time to research outputs. The paper explores factors that enable and that constrain progress in carrying out collaborative research. The paper highlights the complex interplay within research practice of factors that derive from institutional structures and those that appertain to individuals as agents. It uses the personal and collective reflexive deliberations of the authors, to demonstrate that as the complexity of the research interface increases, and as the time to research outputs increases, so structural risk increasingly develops into agentic risk, and that structural risk becomes increasingly required to be managed through agentic action.

The age of STEM : educational policy and practice across the world in science, technology, engineering and mathematics

 Across the world STEM (learning and work in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) has taken central importance in education and the economy in a way that few other disciplines have. STEM competence has become seen as key to higher productivity, technological adaptation and research-based innovation. No area of educational provision has a greater current importance than the STEM disciplines yet there is a surprising dearth of comprehensive and world-wide information about STEM policy, participation, programs and practice.

Science, research and social change in Indigenous health – evolving ways of knowing

History tells us of the overwhelming destructive influence of exotic culture, politics and knowledge forms upon the worldview and wellbeing of Indigenous Australians. The power of dominant culture to oppress, control and dominate traditional Indigenous ways of knowing and being has been identified as a being a crucial influence on the health status, future hopes and aspirations of Indigenous Australians. Fundamental to this assertion is that the alienating effect of the belief in and application of the scientific method in relation to learning and knowing is a phenomenon that is incompatible with the law and cultural ways of traditional Indigenous people. The establishment of the Centre of Clinical Research Excellence (CCRE) is predicated upon and responds to a deep need in our community today to synthesise the ideological and epistemological premises of an increasing range of cultures and world views. It recognises that clinical research, for example, is important to the health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, but also that the way such research is designed and carried out is also crucial to its potential to effect change in and improve the state of Indigenous health in Australia. This paper examines knowledge principles and processes associated with research in Indigenous communities, explores emerging research trends in science and proposes an epistemological framework for synthesis of traditional approaches with those of the scientific paradigm.

The Centre of Clinical Research Excellence in Aboriginal Health : an operational rationale and some reflections on progress so far

The Centre of Clinical Research Excellence (CCRE) in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health was established in late 2003 through a major National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) grant involving collaboration between the Aboriginal Health Council of South Australia (AHCSA), Flinders University, and Aboriginal Health Services. Our foundation research communities are the Aboriginal communities served by these Aboriginal Health Services in the Spencer Gulf / Eyre Peninsula region. In recent years a number of collaborative research programs involving chronic illness management, self-management and coordinated care have been implemented in these communities and this work is the basis of the initial CCRE activities. Key objectives of the CCRE are to improve the health status of Indigenous people through conducting relevant and meaningful Aboriginal controlled health research, providing formal training for Indigenous health researchers and developing innovative approaches to health care that can be readily translated and applied to support communities. The inclusion, empowerment and engagement of Indigenous people in the process of managing community health represent tangible strategies for achieving more equitable health outcomes for Aboriginal people. This paper outlines the CCRE operational rationale and presents early activities and outcomes across the three strategic areas of CCRE operations: research, education and training, and translation. Some critical reflections are offered on the progress and experience of the CCRE thus far. A common obstacle this CCRE has encountered is that the limited (especially staff) resources available to the Aboriginal Health Services with which we are collaborating make it difficult for them to engage with and progress the projects we are pursuing.