A critical pedagogy of embodied education : learning to become an activist

Unlike any current publication on social purpose education, this book explores the differences and similarities between two groups of activists: lifelong activists who have been engaged in campaigns and socials movements over many years and circumstantial activists, those protestors who come to activism due to a series of life circumstances. Using empirical research conducted in Australia, Tracey Ollis outlines the pedagogy of activism and the process of learning to become an activist.

Trust evaluation for indirectly connected nodes using link community information

Inspired by recent empirical research on link communities, we borrow some important ideas and concepts for our own research to provide a more reasonable computation model of transitive trust. The key advantages of using link community methodology is to reflect on the nature of the social network features of Hierarchy and Overlap. Our research mainly resolves the computation of trust transitivity in which two nodes do not have any direct links to any link community. In this research, we discover a new direction analyzing trust transitivity. By using a social network game, we found that the link community methodology is a natural way to analyze trust in social networks. We also discovered, even in a small social network, trust has certain community features.

Opportunities or obstacles? understanding the challenges faced by migrant women entrepreneurs

Purpose - Applying theories of entrepreneurship, the paper aims to identify the factors - with theoretical explanations - that act as barriers to migrant women entrepreneurs (MWEs), particularly women from developing countries starting businesses in developed economies. The paper further explores which barriers also have the potential to act as enablers.

Design/methodology/approach - The relationship between immigration, ethnicity, gender and entrepreneurship has received little theoretical attention. Linking these discourses, the paper theoretically develops a framework of the possible barriers or enablers faced by MWEs.

Findings - The paper reinforces earlier research that MWEs are not a homogenous group; the problems they face are multifaceted, and MWEs from developing countries are the most disadvantaged of entrepreneurs. It identifies multiple factors - human capital, culture, family, institutional factors, gender and social capital- as possible barriers for MWEs. Findings further indicate, that among those barriers, culture, family, social capital and gender have the potential to play a dual role for MWEs, by acting either as a barrier or an enabler. Findings also highlight the overarching and predominant influence of culture – as explained by cultural theory -acting as a barrier for MWEs from developing countries.

Research limitations/implications - Given the increasing potential of MWEs, the paper provides implications for not only addressing the barriers but also viewing the barriers as ways to promote entrepreneurship among such minority groups. It further stresses a needs-based approach to customizing policies to benefit the diverse group of MWEs. Limitations: This is a theoretical paper. Empirical research is needed to test the framework and its different dimensions. Given the diversity of MWEs and the factors that shape their entrepreneurial endeavours, it is difficult to develop a single framework to encompass the complexity of the situation. Nevertheless, the proposed framework provides useful insights into the barriers or enablers that MWEs face, along with theoretical explanations and, thus, acts as a springboard for future research.

Originality/value - By providing a theory-based framework of the barriers or enablers faced by MWEs, along with policy implications, the paper contributes to a better understanding of the phenomenon of migrant women entrepreneurship.

Retail brand orientation, positional advantage and organisational performance

This study adopts a resource-based view of branding referred to as brand orientation. Despite the importance of branding in retail, relatively little empirical research has been conducted to understand the degree to which retailers can be considered brand oriented. The purpose of the present research is to establish a conceptualisation of brand orientation that is applicable in a retail context across countries. Moreover, we seek to empirically validate a model of the retail brand orientation–positional advantage–organisational performance relationship and to contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the factors driving retailer performance. A mail survey was used to collect data from retail firms in Australia, USA and UK. The unit of analysis is the retail firm. Confirmatory factor analysis was employed to assess the measurement properties of the study constructs and structural equation modelling was performed to test the research model. The findings suggest that four elements of retail brand orientation (functionality, distinctiveness, augmentation and symbolism) play different roles in relation to certain aspects of positional advantage, which highlights the importance of developing strength in all four areas. Similarly, a position of superiority in only one aspect of a retailer's offer is insufficient to assure both financial and strategic returns.

Learning in social action : the informal and social learning dimensions of circumstantial and lifelong activists

This paper explores the informal and social learning dimensions of activists as they learn skills and knowledge through participating in social action. In doing this I draw on Lave and Wenger's epistemology of situated learning and Bourdieu's theory of "habitus". I argue activists learn an array of community development skills in the social environment of activism. I claim activists' learning is cognitive, embodied and situated in practice. This paper is based on empirical research in Australia, where in-depth interviews were conducted with activists to uncover their important pedagogy. It explores the learning dimensions of two groups of activists. "Lifelong activists" who have generally been involved in student politics and have participated in activism over many years, and "circumstantial activists" who become involved in protest due to a series of life circumstances. This paper claims that while both groups' learning is social and informal, lifelong activists tend to develop their skills incrementally by being involved in the fertile site of student politics. On the other hand, circumstantial activists, not having had the benefit of early immersion in a community of practice, are rapid learners. They are frequently taken out of their comfort zone as activists and need to acquire new knowledge and skills urgently in order to practise effectively. Some circumstantial activists remain on the periphery of activism and never fully immerse themselves in the practices of activism. I argue there is much to be gained from understanding learning in social action, an epistemology of adult learning which deserves greater prominence in current adult education discourse.

The antecedents of re-purchase intentions: the service quality perspective

The aim of this quantitative study is to undertake empirical research investigating the nature and magnitude of the determinants of re-purchase intentions from the point of view of service performance and post purchase perceptions. A theoretical model linking service quality issues and re-purchase intentions was developed and tested using structural equation modelling of 318 surveyed participants at various day spa locations. The findings of this study confirm that the enhancement of the delivery of high quality service, an accommodating environment and strengthening relationships with customers are more likely to increase re-purchase intentions. The major values of this study are the establishment of the role of service quality on re-purchase intentions and the mediating role of customer relationship strength. The major limitation of this research is the study was undertaken in a single service industry.

What is a cinema? Death, closure and the database

This chapter explores the possible ontological questions and epistemological propositions that arise from detailed empirical research into cinema closures. Repeated pronouncements of the ‘Death of Cinema’ in the wake of technological, social and industrial change serve to reinforce the coincidence of ‘death’ with a type of ‘closure’. The evocation of a ‘crisis’ in the cinema is ordinarily articulated within the terms of specific cultural concerns around transience and transformation in the social experience of the cinema. However, rather than adding another chapter to the apocalyptic historiography of the cinema this paper proposes instead the constitutive importance of ‘closure’ as a critical tool for rethinking our defining assumptions about cinema(s). Specifically, the chapter will demonstrate how the conceptual granularity entailed in the development of a detailed database of venue openings and closings (the Cinema and Audiences in Australia Project database) can in turn lead to a fundamental reconsideration of the ontology of the cinema itself.

Reliability and validity of a new Building Environmental Quality Questionnaire

This study aimed to develop and then test the reliability and validity of a new self-report questionnaire method called the building environmental quality questionnaire (BEQQ) designed to assess the perceived environmental quality in residential apartments in Hong Kong. A total of 108 (46 men and 62 women) Chinese-speaking residents, between 16 and 81 years of age, took part and completed the questionnaire study. The subjects were recruited from 12 different buildings of three distinct quality ratings (low, medium and high) assigned by the building assessment tool called the building health and hygiene index (BHHI). The study was evaluated to determine reliability and this was assessed involving 20 of the participants (18% of the total sample size). The BEQQ was found to have good test-retest reliability, with intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) values typically around 0.70. The validity testing, also using ICCs, generated moderate to high values for all BEQQ sub-categories (the mean value was around 0.80), indicating a good consistency among residents living within the same building. Finally, the summary BEQQ scores were significantly correlated (—0.68) with the BHHI ratings as the criterion standard. It is concluded that this eight-dimension instrument would provide a short and efficient questionnaire method to obtain self-reported information to determine the perceived residential building quality. The method was shown to yield adequate reliability and has been validated for use in empirical research.

Transformative learning and international students negotiating higher education

This chapter aims to explore the theory of transformative learning as a possible explanation for the changes international students make in their journey to negotiate higher education. The chapter is derived from a doctoral study that involved international Chinese and Vietnamese students' adaptation to Australian higher education academic practices (Tran 2007). Within this chapter, transformative learning is viewed as a changing process in which international students construct reality through revisiting their existing assumptions and moving towards life-changing developments in their personal and professional perspectives (Cranton 2002; Mezirow 2000). It will be argued in this chapter that international students' process of negotiating higher education is a dynamic interplay between challenges and transformative power. Cross-border intercultural experiences are intimately linked to opportunities for self-transformation, and the challenging experiences that international students go through indeed foster the conditions for professional development and life-enhancing changes to take place. Given the current lack of theoretical and empirical research on the transformative power of international students, there is a critical need for more research on the transformative characteristics of international students and how best to capitalize on their potential. In this chapter, I draw on excerpts from two rounds of interviews with individual international students to illustrate the specific ways in which international students have the capacity to transform their own learning and develop life-enhancing skills. The discussion shows that they experience evolution in professional outlook, attitudes and personal qualities through the process of critical self-reflection and adaptation to disciplinary demands in higher education. The chapter also highlights the contradictions regarding the discursive practices within the current context of international education export.

Performance, personality, and energetics : correlation, causation, and mechanism

The study of phenotypic evolution should be an integrative endeavor that combines different approaches and crosses disciplinary and phylogenetic boundaries to consider complex traits and organisms that historically have been studied in isolation from each other. Analyses of individual variation within populations can act to bridge studies focused at the levels of morphology, physiology, biochemistry, organismal performance, behavior, and life history. For example, the study of individual variation recently facilitated the integration of behavior into the concept of a pace-of-life syndrome and effectively linked the field of energetics with research on animal personality. Here, we illustrate how studies on the pace-of-life syndrome and the energetics of personality can be integrated within a physiology-performance-behavior-fitness paradigm that includes consideration of ecological context. We first introduce key concepts and definitions and then review the rapidly expanding literature on the links between energy metabolism and personality traits commonly studied in nonhuman animals (activity, exploration, boldness, aggressiveness, sociability). We highlight some empirical literature involving mammals and squamates that demonstrates how emerging fields can develop in rather disparate ways because of historical accidents and/or particularities of different kinds of organisms. We then briefly discuss potentially interesting avenues for future conceptual and empirical research in relation to motivation, intraindividual variation, and mechanisms underlying trait correlations. The integration of performance traits within the pace-of-life-syndrome concept has the potential to fill a logical gap between the context dependency of selection and how energetics and personality are expected to interrelate. Studies of how performance abilities and/or aspects of Darwinian fitness relate to both metabolic rate and personality traits are particularly lacking.

Medical tourism: a conceptual framework for an innovation in global healthcare provision

The purpose of this chapter is to establish a conceptual model that can potentially fill research gaps in the literature about medical tourism as an innovative concept in global healthcare provision by developing emerging economies as they are providing low cost alternatives in medical treatment at internationally accredited medical facilities to treat patients from developed countries. Major databases such as Ebscohost and Emerald have been used to search relevant literature. The literature on medical tourism is reviewed so as to understand the key drivers of medical tourism as well as research gaps in the existing literature. Three major drivers of medical tourism have been identified, namely cost, waiting time, and perceived quality. Further empirical research is needed to test the conceptual model in order to better understand what drives a decision to engage in medical tourism. This chapter makes three major contributions; firstly, the identification of the medical tourism literature from the service marketing and management perspectives; secondly, to propose a conceptual model representing innovation in medical tourism for global healthcare by developing emerging economies; thirdly, the identification of research gaps in the medical tourism literature through which future research can further the knowledge of why people travel to developing countries for medical treatment.

Recommendations for improved data processing from expired gas analysis indirect calorimetry

There is currently no universally recommended and accepted method of data processing within the science of indirect calorimetry for either mixing chamber or breath-by-breath systems of expired gas analysis. Exercise physiologists were first surveyed to determine methods used to process oxygen consumption ([OV0312]O 2) data, and current attitudes to data processing within the science of indirect calorimetry. Breath-by-breath datasets obtained from indirect calorimetry during incremental exercise were then used to demonstrate the consequences of commonly used time, breath and digital filter post-acquisition data processing strategies. Assessment of the variability in breath-by-breath data was determined using multiple regression based on the independent variables ventilation (VE), and the expired gas fractions for oxygen and carbon dioxide, FEO 2 and FECO2, respectively. Based on the results of explanation of variance of the breath-by-breath [OV0312]O2 data, methods of processing to remove variability were proposed for time-averaged, breath-averaged and digital filter applications. Among exercise physiologists, the strategy used to remove the variability in sequential [OV0312]O2 measurements varied widely, and consisted of time averages (30 sec [38%], 60 sec [18%], 20 sec [11%], 15 sec [8%]), a moving average of five to 11 breaths (10%), and the middle five of seven breaths (7%). Most respondents indicated that they used multiple criteria to establish maximum [OV0312]O 2 ([OV0312]O2max) including: the attainment of age-predicted maximum heart rate (HRmax) [53%], respiratory exchange ratio (RER) >1.10 (49%) or RER >1.15 (27%) and a rating of perceived exertion (RPE) of >17, 18 or 19 (20%). The reasons stated for these strategies included their own beliefs (32%), what they were taught (26%), what they read in research articles (22%), tradition (13%) and the influence of their colleagues (7%). The combination of VE, FEO 2 and FECO2 removed 96-98% of [OV0312]O2 breath-by-breath variability in incremental and steady-state exercise [OV0312]O2 data sets, respectively. Correction of residual error in [OV0312]O2 datasets to 10% of the raw variability results from application of a 30-second time average, 15-breath running average, or a 0.04 Hz low cut-off digital filter. Thus, we recommend that once these data processing strategies are used, the peak or maximal value becomes the highest processed datapoint. Exercise physiologists need to agree on, and continually refine through empirical research, a consistent process for analysing data from indirect calorimetry.

Racism as a determinant of health: a protocol for conducting a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: 

Exploring distributed leadership for the quality management of online learning environments

Online learning environments (OLEs) are complex information technology (IT) systems that intersect with many areas of university organisation. Distributed models of leadership have been proposed as appropriate for the good governance of OLEs. Based on theoretical and empirical research, a group of Australian universities proposed a framework for the quality management of OLEs, and sought to validate the model via a survey of Australasian university representatives with OLE leadership responsibility. For the framework elements: Planning and Resourcing were rated most important; Organisational structure was rated least important; Technologies were rated low in importance and high in satisfaction; Resourcing and Evaluation were rated low in satisfaction; and Resourcing had the highest rating of importance coupled with low satisfaction. Considering distributed leadership in their institution, respondents reported that the organisational alignments represented by 'official' reporting and peer relationships were significantly more important and more effective than the organisational alignments linking the formal and informal leaders. From a range of desirable characteristics of distributed leadership, 'continuity and sustainability' received the highest rating of importance and a low rating of 'in evidence' - there are concerns about the sustainability of distributed leadership for the governance of OLEs in universities.

Homicide, self-defence and the (inchoate) criminology of battered women

Law reform is increasingly underpinned by empirical research. This is clearly evident in contemporary reform of the laws of self-defence and homicide. These reforms have been motivated largely by concern for battered women who kill their abusive partners. An extensive body of empirical criminological research has been utilised to identify bias in the operation of the traditional law of homicide and self-defence and has been relied upon by many law reform bodies. This article identifies and evaluates the "implicit criminology" constituted by these empirical studies. Five matters that have formed the backdrop to contemporary reform are investigated: the origins of the law of murder; the operation of the law of self-defence; the historical utilisation of mental state defences by battered women; the circumstances in which battered women kill their abusers; and the trial as a key location for processing these offenders. It is argued that the implicit criminology that has driven reform of the law of homicide and self-defence is largely undeveloped or unsubstantiated. Despite the centrality of concern for battered defendants in much contemporary discussion in criminology and the criminal law, it appears that there is still substantial research to be done to clarify the circumstances in which victims of chronic violence kill their abusive partners, how these defendants experience the law and the availability of self-defence to them. What seems to have been established may be more complex, contingent and inchoate than previously acknowledged.