Developing the whole child? Tensions between sport and study in Australian independent schools

This paper reports on a research project that set out to examin the relationship between students' involvement in school co-curricular activities and their academic performance.  The warrant for the study emerges out of consistent claims made about the provision of co-curricular, naming sporting, activities and the development of a more rounded and successful student.  The primary question being asked here was: 'Are student's academic performances, as measured by their results for tertiary entrance in their final year of school, improved or reduced by their participation in co-curricular activities?'  The study used a mix of quantitative and qualitative methods to interrogate this relationship.

Hyphenated Australia : putting intercultural identity on the conceptual map

Interculturality and intercultural identity is a local effect of the global movement and mixing of people, and those of intercultural identities constitute the fastest growing sector of the Australian population. In an age of globalisation and diversification, what does identity mean for those situated in-between governing notions of racial/ethnic formations, and how is intercultural identity experienced? For those informed by (at least) two cultures, what does multiculturalism, ethnicity and 'Australianness' mean, and where are these individuals positioned in relation to these structures? These questions have critical implications for the Australian nation. Within Australian discourses, interculturality and intercultural identity, in particular, has historically been excluded, rendered invisible. This dissertation is, therefore, one of facilitating visibility. Using the hyphens as a conceptual tool, I argue that in this age of accelerating globalisation the hyphens both makes visible and is made visible by interculturality. The hyphens is that grey and fluid site of intersection between structures of identity and is characterised by liminality - contestation, uncertainty, fundamentally ambivalence. Experiences of liminality, however, dissolve in any given time, opening up new terrain for creativity. Some of these emerging and creative forms of identity, as instigated by interculturality, are explored. Based on interviews with 20 daughters (and their mothers) from intercultural unions, this dissertation places intercultural identity on the Australian conceptual map and analyses the unique position occupied by those with an intercultural identity in their relationship with governing discursive formations of race/ethnicity, embodiment, nation and culture. In essence, the dissertation is concerned with examining the ways in which discursive identity structures intersect with subjective experience, and with the ways in which those with an intercultural identity negotiate those structures and their social relations. This examination raises the fundamental question: is the modernist notion of the material realities of individual lives reconcilable with the poststructural notion of identity as always located in discourse. This modernist/postmodernist tension permeates the dissertation.

Ontological possibilities the rethinking teaching on the "nature of science"

An extensive literature documents teachers’ failure to include ideas about the 'nature of science' (NOS) in their classroom programmes, despite widespread advocacy for this as an essential component of more inclusive science teaching. This thesis frames much of the existing NOS literature as a deficit literature that focuses on epistemology, while largely ignoring the ontological realities of the classroom and overestimating individual teacher’s agency to change their enacted curriculum. Epistemologically-focused NOS reforms are positioned as curriculum 'add-ons', which teachers are likely to ignore. A NOS focus on ontology would entail curriculum restructuring, attending first to the contexts in which scientific knowledge is produced, and the ways it acts in the world. In any case, science itself has changed in recent years. Drawing from the sociology of science, in particular the work of Bruno Latour, the thesis compares traditional philosophical thinking about the ontology of science with more recent 'networked' views. Brent Davis explains the educational implications of key ideas from complexity science. Political philosopher Stephen White adds an ethical dimension. His ideas are used to argue for replacing 'strong' ontologies of realist science with more nuanced and actively tended 'weak' ontologies, as appropriate to the rapid sociological changes of the twenty-first century. The thesis argues that epistemological uncertainties that could lead to the suspicion of relativism are potentially threatening in the classroom because of hegemonic pressures towards consensus and a certain, safe status for the knowledge taught. Seeking an alternative pathway to change, Daniel Liston’s conceptualisation of teaching as a passionate act informs the analysis of the empirical component of the thesis. Eight recipients of New Zealand Royal Society Science Teacher Fellowships were interviewed on four occasions over two years. They discussed their personal learning during a year-long sabbatical to carry out an extended science investigation and their thoughts and actions on returning to the classroom. Narrative methodology is used to explore the teachers’ stories, revealing both passion for their personal learning and an ethical concern for their students’ learning to care for both the natural world and science as a means of its investigation. The thesis argues for the use of ontological approaches to the initial introduction of NOS ideas in school science, with epistemological concepts added only once a topic has been grounded in what Latour calls 'matters of concern'.Two potential teaching strategies—the production of network diagrams and the use of Davis's 'bifurcations'as a critical inquiry tool—are the focus of hypothetical experimentation. First in the context of global warming, and then addressing the challenges posed to teaching evolution by the proponents of 'intelligent design', these strategies are shown to have the potential to address some of science education’ s thornier issues, not just the NOS question. However, when conflicting expectations create tensions for teachers in the classroom moment, it is difficult for them to introduce reflective, deeply philosophical changes to their representation of science. Their working realities need to be acknowledged, and the tensions ameliorated, if we expect substantive change in their current practice.

Career in writing : Judah Waten and the cultural politics of a literary career

This thesis examines the literary career of Judah Waten (1911-1985) in order to focus on a series of issues in Australian cultural history and theory. The concept of the career is theorised as a means of bringing together the textual and institutional dimensions of writing and being a writer in a specific cultural economy. The guiding question of the argument which re-emerges in different ways in each chapter is: in what ways was it possible to write and to be a writer in a given time and place? Waten's career as a Russian-born, Jewish, Australian nationalist, communist and realist writer across the middle years of this century is, for the purposes of the argument, at once usefully exemplary and usefully marginal in relation to the literary establishment. His texts provide the central focus for individual chapters; at the same time each chapter considers a specific historical moment and a specific set of issues for Australian cultural history, and is to this extent self-contained. Recent work in narrative theory, literary sociology and Australian literary and cultural studies is brought together to revise accepted readings of Waten's texts and career, and to address significant absences or problems in Australian cultural history. The sequence of issues shaping Waten's career in writing is argued in terms of the following conjunctions of theoretical and historical categories: proletarianism, modernity and theories of the avant-garde; the "e;migrant"e; writer and minority literatures; realism, political purpose and narrative self-situation; communism, nationalism and literary practice in the cold war; utopianism and the "e;literary witness"e; narrative of the Soviet Union; assimilationism, multicultural theory and the "e;non-Anglo-Celtic"e; writer; theories of autobiographical writing, and autobiography in Waten's career. The purpose of the thesis is not to discover a single key to Waten's writing across the oeuvre but rather to plot the specific occasions of this writing in the context of the structure of a career and the cultural institutions within which it was formed.

The story of fable : a narrative analysis of the experience of four registered nurses in their first year of practice

This research explores the transition from student to registered nurse from the perspective of the new graduate. This interpretive study uses narrative analysis as the methodology. Individual stories were collected and processed using the method of core story creation and emplotment (Emden 1998). Four newly registered nurses were invited to share stories related to how they were experiencing their role. Participants were encouraged to tell their stories in response to the open question 'what is it like to be a registered nurse?' In the final step of the analysis one honest and critical story has been crafted (Barone 1992) using a process termed emplotment thus disclosing the themes that allow the stories to be grasped together as a single story (Polkinghorne 1988, Emden 1998). The final story of 'Fable' gives insight into the ways in which newly registered nurses experience their role. Becoming a registered nurse is not easy however, Fable finds that nursing is more than just a job and describes many rewarding experiences. It is hoped that the outcomes of this research will be valuable to students, graduates, nurse academics and the profession of nursing generally by enhancing understandings of the relationship between the graduate and the actual employment experience.

Green roof retrofit potential in the central business district

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the potential for green roof retrofit to commercial buildings in a city centre to property managers and other property professionals.

Design/methodology/approach – This paper addresses the research question: what is the potential of existing buildings in the CBD to accommodate a retrofitted green roof? Furthermore, it questions how many buildings are suitable for green roofs? The researchers compile a unique building database incorporating information about 536 commercial buidings and evaluate the potential suitability of each building to undergo a green roof retrofit. Assisted by other commercially available databases and software, the researchers are able to assess each roof based on criteria derived from an extensive literature review.

Findings – A relatively small proportion of roofs are found to be suitable, partly a result of local climate conditions and rainfall patterns, and the physical property stock. On a purely physical assessment, only a very small proportion of CBD stock is found to be suited. These buildings are most likely to be in low secondary locations, ungraded or B grade buildings, privately owned, concrete framed and not overshadowed by adjoining properties.

Practical implications – Property managers and other property professionals can now determine the potential of their portfolio stock for green roof retrofit based on the review of building attributes required for success adaptation in this paper. It possible that greater potential for green roof retrofit exists in the suburbs or regional towns where lower rise buildings may reduce the amount of overshadowing found in city centres. Follow-up research could focus on a comparison of regional and suburban developments.

Originality/value – This is the first study of its kind and has assessed such a large number of buildings for their suitability for green roof retrofit; the findings provide a reliable guide for policymakers regarding the potential number of city centre buildings which would be possible to retrofit. Such findings should influence policymaking and incentives to target effective sustainability policies with regards to existing buildings.

The meaning of capacity building in Indonesia

Capacity building has been prominent in development projects of various kinds for the last decade. Capacity is, in this context, an amorphous term broadly defined as the ability of people, organizations, and communities to handle all the aspects of existence that relate to them (Vincent-Lancrin, 2006). Capacity building generally refers to efforts to develop this ability among particular groups, resulting in enhanced potential to manage their own needs (Potter and Brough, 2004). Capacity building and the associated process of capacity development have been considered central in improving governance, civil society institutions, and local administrations in developing countries (Brinkerhoff, 2000). The World Bank, with its emphasis on strengthening governance, has made capacity building a focus of its programs and leads the development of relevant models and evaluative measures (Wilhelm and Kushnarova, 2004; Straussman, 2007).

Despite its importance in development circles and a quantity of scholarly consideration, the effects of capacity building initiatives are difficult to document and evaluate, and the concept has generated criticism as well as support. Though many aspects of capacity building have been elucidated, one issue that remains less thoroughly studied is the concept’s meaning to target populations. This paper considers the meaning and nature of capacity building in Indonesia, including local perceptions of the concept. This, it is hoped, will offer insight into the whole question of capacity in that nation and that this discussion will inform future development efforts.

Size does matter : the impact of size on governance in arts organizations

This paper documents governance conformance and performance in small to medium sized arts organizations in Australia, where artistic development, innovation and stakeholder relationships inform the governance activity central to achieving their mission. The key question of this study is whether the governance of large and small arts organizations differs as they balance competing needs
in order to achieve their artistic vision. The results of the study provide evidence that size is a critical factor in how boards govern arts organizations. Using material from indepth interviews and surveys, the paper argues that governance conformance and performance are in a state of constant tension with artistic development, and governance processes are dependent on organizational size and resources.

Westphalia and the Taiwan conundrum : a case against the exclusionist construction of sovereignty and identity

It is often argued that at the root of the Taiwan question are the myriad differences in politics, ideology, identity, and economy between mainland China and Taiwan. Any prospect for its peaceful resolution, it seems, hinges on bridging those differences through economic and/or political integration. Although the Taiwan conundrum has much to do with wide-ranging cross-strait divergence, this article argues that it cannot be disconnected from one important commonality between Beijing and Taipei, namely, a cross-strait normative convergence on the Westphalian notion of state sovereignty. Encompassing an exclusionary understanding of final authority, territory, and identity, Westphalian sovereignty provides both Beijing and Taipei with a common meaning that Taiwan is an issue of sovereignty, central to their respective national identity and political survival and hence not subject to compromise. As a consequence, it argues that this common meaning is paradoxically responsible for much of the mistrust, tension, and deadlock in cross-strait relations. In order to find a long-term solution to the Taiwan impasse, we need to pay attention to this particular normative convergence as well as to the many differences across the Taiwan Strait.

Critique and creativity : the pedagogical nexus between literary studies and creative writing

This paper will explore the nexus between literary studies and creative writing on the basis of Stanley Aronowitz’s and Henry Giroux’s work on the democratic potential embedded in a critical literacy education, which provides ‘a language of critique’ and ‘a language of possibility’ (1993: 46). This paper argues that literary studies and
creative writing, as cognate disciplines focused precisely on languages of critique and possibility, are uniquely positioned to cooperatively enact this pedagogical agenda.

The purpose of the PhD : theorising the skills acquired by students

In the past decade there has been a marked push for the development of employability skills to be part of the PhD process. This push is generally by stakeholders from above and outside the PhD process, i.e. government and industry, who view skills as a summative product of the PhD. In contrast, our study interviewed stakeholders inside the PhD process – twenty final‐year, full‐time Australian PhD students – to provide a bottom‐up perspective into the skills question. Using grounded theory procedures we theorise the skills students develop during the PhD as a formative developmental process of acquiring intellectual virtues. Drawing on Aristotelian theory, we propose that theorising the PhD as a process of acquiring intellectual virtues offers a more robust and conceptually richer framework for understanding students’ development during the PhD than the instrumental focus on skills evident in contemporary debates.

Growing community : the impact of the Stephanie Alexander kitchen garden program on the social and learning environment in primary schools

This article presents results from a mixed-method evaluation of a structured cooking and gardening program in Australian primary schools, focusing on program impacts on the social and learning environment of the school. In particular, we address the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program objective of providing a pleasurable experience that has a positive impact on student engagement, social connections, and confidence within and beyond the school gates. Primary evidence for the research question came from qualitative data collected from students, parents, teachers, volunteers, school principals, and specialist staff through interviews, focus groups, and participant observations. This was supported by analyses of quantitative data on child quality of life, cooperative behaviors, teacher perceptions of the school environment, and school-level educational outcome and absenteeism data. Results showed that some of the program attributes valued most highly by study participants included increased student engagement and confidence, opportunities for experiential and integrated learning, teamwork, building social skills, and connections and links between schools and their communities. In this analysis, quantitative findings failed to support findings from the primary analysis. Limitations as well as benefits of a mixed-methods approach to evaluation of complex community interventions are discussed.

The effect of guessing vocabulary in reading authentic texts among pre-university students

The omnibus question proposed here is to pinpoint the impact of a contextual guessing strategy (CGS) on vocabulary and reading authentic texts at the pre-university level. One hundred male and female students were randomly selected and assigned to ‘context’ and ‘non-context’ groups. The context group received a CGS instruction to infer the meaning of low-frequency words while the non-context participants were treated by a direct method. The results revealed that CGS instruction was more effective vis-à-vis direct vocabulary instruction in all particulars, and was more effective than the non-context method in improving reading. The tentative estimation would be that some of the assumptions about the futility of teaching contextual clues should be rigorously re-examined and that CGS can account for a substantial proportion of vocabulary growth during the school years.

The impact of a computerised consolidation accounting package (CCAP) on student performance

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the association between the use of a computerised learning tool (specifically designed to teach consolidation accounting) and student performance in the final examination of an undergraduate accounting unit on Corporate Accounting.

Design/methodology/approach – A regression model was developed to analyse 1,103 observations of assignment and examination scores, collected over three semesters, to test the central proposition that computer assisted learning enhances student learning outcomes and performance in the exam.

Findings – The results show a positive and significant relationship between the computerised accounting assignment on consolidated accounting (linked to usage of the computerised tool) and the consolidation question in the final examination. The findings suggest that the computerised consolidation accounting package (CCAP) assists students to understand the concepts underpinning consolidation accounting.

Research limitations/implications – The data were collected from a single institution, which may not represent the population of accounting students. Due to ethical obligations, the study lacked a control group that would have allowed meaningful comparison and assessment of student performance. Furthermore, whilst the findings in this study were able to demonstrate a positive association between the CCAP and exam performance, it is unable to determine the quality and depth of the learning experience from using the CCAP.

Practical implications – The present study found that a CCAP and its usage has the potential to positively impact student performance on assessment tasks on subject matter similar to concepts contained the computer package. Such findings may encourage instructors to seek ways of incorporating learning technologies in the pedagogical design.

Originality/value – This is believed to be one the few papers that has exclusively studied the impact of a specific CCAP and a specific segment in accounting education (consolidation accounting) using direct measures, CCAP assignment score and the final examination score for a question dedicated to consolidation accounting.

Democracy in Iraq : history, politics, discourse

This book proposes a significant reassessment of the history of Iraq, documenting democratic experiences from ancient Mesopotamia through to the US occupation. Such an analysis takes to task claims that the ‘West’ has a uniquely democratic history and a responsibility to spread democracy across the world. It also reveals that Iraq has a democratic history all of its own, from ancient Middle Eastern assemblies and classical Islamic theology and philosophy, through to the myriad political parties, newspapers and protest movements of more recent times. This book argues that the democratic history of Iraq could serve as a powerful political and discursive tool where the Iraqi people may come to feel a sense of ownership over democracy and take pride in endorsing it. This could go a long way towards mitigating the current conflicts across the nation and in stabilizing and legitimating its troubled democracy.

Taking an interdisciplinary approach and referring to some of the most influential critical theorists to question ideological assumptions about democracy and its history, this book will be useful to those interested in political and legal history, human rights and democracy.