Life during wartime : sexuality, recruitment and reality television

In 2010, Defence Force Recruiting (DFR) Navy Marketing entered into a media sponsorship package with the Australian version of the reality TV show So You Think You Can Dance (SYTYCD): Footage of the day aired on national television on SYTYCD and weekly ‘dancer bootcamp’ sessions training the dancers in Navy values featured on a dedicated and branded Navy section of the official SYTYCD website. This article analyses the Navy’s SYTYCD ‘integration opportunities’ to consider the role of reality television in the redefinition of the defence forces as a training and vocational pathway for young people. Underpinning such considerations is the conceptualization of the work of reality television through the prism of public and popular pedagogies. Taking sexuality as a focal point, the article will reflect on efforts to lift recruitment through an emphasis on the incorporation of diversity. Reading the work of Jasbir Puar against the Australian ‘archive’ of integration opportunities, this article contributes to queer critiques of homonormative and homonationalist tendencies in contemporary politics.

Immersive interfaces for art education teaching and learning in virtual and real world learning environments

The use of virtual reality hypnosis with two cases of autism spectrum disorder : a feasibility study

The use of a ‘virtual reality’ hypnotherapeutic procedure was trialled for feasibility as a possible treatment modality for autism (4 sessions over 2 weeks) with 2 boys aged 14 and 15 years old. The aim of the study was to determine if the procedure would be acceptable to autistic patients and thus have some potential as an intervention for reducing anxieties and/or alleviating symptoms associated with autism. Results indicated that the procedure had no effect on autistic symptoms, however, the parents of both boys reported that their son enjoyed the sessions, was attentive and relaxed throughout and that they would pursue this procedure if it were available. Furthermore, they indicated that they believed it was an effective technique to gain their son's attention, and this, combined with the fact that the boys found it enjoyable and engaging, led them to believe there is significant potential for this particular treatment modality.

The new higher education reality: what is an appropriate model to address the widening participation agenda?

Along with the massification of higher education comes a need for new models to support the success of greater numbers of diverse students. A greater proportion of these students are ‘non-traditional’ in terms of preparedness, socioeconomic status  and geography. This paper introduces an Associate Degree model designed to support this new higher education reality of broader student cohorts, thin regional markets and cross-sectoral collaboration. Background literature on challenges facing the higher education sector and its prospective students is presented, with a particular focus on regionality. An argument is made for the role of curriculum and pedagogy as enablers of non-traditional student success. This is supported by the results of a mixed-methods exploratory study. This Associate Degree model was attractive to students and institutes. Students experienced similar levels of challenge, workload and progress to their traditional peers. While technology was essential for the success of the model, it played a supporting role to the relationships and multiple modes of learning it facilitated. This article provides insights for institutions seeking to address the broadening participation agenda.

Mobile phone sensing systems : a survey

Mobile phone sensing is an emerging area of interest for researchers as smart phones are becoming the core communication device in people's everyday lives. Sensor enabled mobile phones or smart phones are hovering to be at the center of a next revolution in social networks, green applications, global environmental monitoring, personal and community healthcare, sensor augmented gaming, virtual reality and smart transportation systems. More and more organizations and people are discovering how mobile phones can be used for social impact, including how to use mobile technology for environmental protection, sensing, and to leverage just-in-time information to make our movements and actions more environmentally friendly. In this paper we have described comprehensively all those systems which are using smart phones and mobile phone sensors for humans good will and better human phone interaction.

Evidence-based chronic heart-failure management programs : myth or reality?

Background Chronic heart-failure management programmes (CHF-MPs) have become part of standard care for patients with chronic heart failure (CHF). Objective To investigate whether programmes had applied evidence-based expert clinical guidelines to optimise patient outcomes. Design A prospective cross-sectional survey was used to conduct a national audit. Setting Community setting of CHF-MPs for patients postdischarge. Sample All CHF-MPs operating during 2005–2006 (n=55). Also 10–50 consecutive patients from 48 programmes were recruited (n=1157). Main outcome measures (1) Characteristics and interventions used within each CHF-MP; and (2) characteristics of patients enrolled into these programmes. Results Overall, there was a disproportionate distribution of CHF-MPs across Australia. Only 6.3% of hospitals nationally provided a CHF-MP. A total of 8000 postdischarge CHF patients (median: 126; IQR: 26–260) were managed via CHF-MPs, representing only 20% of the potential national case load. Significantly, 16% of the caseload comprised patients in functional New York Heart Association Class I with no evidence of these patients having had previous echocardiography to confirm a diagnosis of CHF. Heterogeneity of CHF-MPs in applied models of care was evident, with 70% of CHF-MPs offering a hybrid model (a combination of heart-failure outpatient clinics and home visits), 20% conducting home visits and 16% conducting an extended rehabilitation model of care. Less than half (44%) allowed heart-failure nurses to titrate medications. The main medications that were titrated in these programmes were diuretics (n=23, 96%), β-blockers (n=17, 71%), ACE inhibitors (ACEIs) (n=14, 58%) and spironolactone (n=9, 38%). Conclusion CHF-MPs are being implemented rapidly throughout Australia. However, many of these programmes do not adhere to expert clinical guidelines for the management of patients with CHF. This poor translation of evidence into practice highlights the inconsistency and questions the quality of health-related outcomes for these patients.

The dynamics of women’s network relationships: the good, bad and reality

The lack of women in leadership positions remains a persistent social phenomenon. The aim of the paper is to investigate how networking is connected to leadership aspirations and examine women’s understanding and practice of networking as a career developmental skill.

Theoretical explanations around women’s lack of leadership has focused on women’s organisational constraints, their outsider status and the conditions of women within the broader community; however, what is mostly absent from research is how women’s relationships with each other influence opportunities for leadership. Women often experience the ‘glass ceiling’ at the mid-career level, therefore the research focussed on networking at the mid-career level in order to better understand how women draw on networking to help achieve their career goals.

This paper responds to the persistent challenges that women face in networking by examining how networks are created, understood, and enacted by women. This paper reports on recent research that investigated how a select group of mid-career women understood and practiced networking. The paper discusses survey and interview data to analyse how women’s way of networking may influence career aspirations and identifies ways that women can strengthen their networking in order to build capacity and mobility for leadership.