Global health governance : framework convention on tobacco control (FCTC), the Doha Declaration, and democratisation

Global public health agreements are heralded as a success for the affirmation of the right to health within a complex and contested political landscape. However, the practical implementation of such agreements at the national level is often overlooked. This article outlines two radically different global health agreements: The Doha Declaration on the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement and Public Health; and the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). We identify significant challenges in their implementation, particularly for low and middle income countries. Shifts in the policy network constellations around these two agreements have allowed for some positive influence by civil society. Yet industry influence at the national level constrains effective implementation and those affected by these policies have largely been left on the periphery. The broader provisions of these two agreements have been watered down by vested interests and donor conditions. We advocate for both activist and academic actors to play a significant role in highlighting the consequences of these power asymmetries. Deliberative democracy may be the key to addressing these challenges in a way that empowers those presently excluded from effective participation in the policy process.

Is the lecturer in the room? a study of student satisfaction with online discussions in practical legal training

Reports an exploratory practitioner-initiated study that developed and implemented an online questionnaire to collect data from PLT students in three states, regarding their satisfaction with online discussions. Students’ perceptions of ‘community of inquiry framework’ elements, Marzano and Kendall’s ‘self-system’ factors, and other contextual aspects, were investigated and tested for correlations.The study found student satisfaction with the online discussions was most closely associated with ‘teaching presence’. Students’ satisfaction with student-student interactions was closely associated with ‘self-system’ factors.

An ICT enabled conceptual framework for determining epidemic susceptibility and acute type response : an exemplar from India

In a developing nation such as India, the national government is pursuing the pathway of ICT supported decentralized programs, to combat endemics, in the social contexts of each State. The State of Kerala, which has been an exemplar for development, has become susceptible to endemics, brought in by urbanization and non-resident Indian population and compounded by environmental disasters. In this paper, the authors contend that the psyche of the community which has changed from social amity to self-interest need to be re-awakened with the power of ICTs and Internet, so as to efficiently combat endemics. The authors also propose a preliminary framework for emergency responses based on existing ICT systems, recommended by the national government, to fit the context.

Training postgraduate psychology students to deliver psychological services online

Information and communication technologies are increasingly being used to remotely deliver psychological services. This delivery method confers clear advantages to both client and therapist, including the accessibility of services by otherwise unserved populations and cost-effective treatment. Remote services can be delivered in a real-time or delayed manner, providing clients with a wealth of therapy options not previously available. The proliferation of these services has outstripped the development and implementation of all but the most rudimentary of regulatory frameworks, potentially exposing clients to substandard psychological services. Integrating mandatory training on the delivery of online psychological services into accredited postgraduate psychology courses would aid in addressing this issue. The purpose of this article is to outline issues of consideration in the development and implementation of such a training programme. An online etherapy training programme developed by Swinburne University's National eTherapy Centre will be used as an example throughout.

Education and training deficits in industrial clusters : empirical evidence that managers can use to rectify the skills gap in Auckland precinct

Tertiary institutions should seek continuous feedback from industries to keep track of the needs of businesses to provide education and training. In designing programmes and upgrading curricula, there are important factors to bear in mind so that programmes "cater" for all levels of learners. The Auckland City Council financed this study, focussing on Auckland's Rosebank Business Precinct (ARBP). Surrounding communities, particularly Maori, Pacific peoples and recent migrants, experience disparities in employment. The target population were 500+ businesses operating on Rosebank Road. A total of 529 businesses were identified. Interviews with 102 companies with a 36-question questionnaire were conducted. Areas were identified and covered in this paper in the ARBP for developing programmes and curricula for tertiary institutions to provide employable students with the right knowledge, skills and attributes to grow and manage existing ventures. In the analysis we point out what education or training is necessary for ARBP to provide greater efficiencies and improvement in profit levels. Recommendations and conclusions are provided.

Investing in knowledge, communications and training/extension for responsible aquaculture

Knowledge has always been critically important to the development of aquaculture whether we are talking about the earliest aquaculture innovations starting in Asia or the more recent challenges confronting the sector worldwide. This panel reviewed selected national and regional case studies. Key topics for discussion include knowledge production and its communication and use (e.g. in new training and extension approaches) among the changing audiences (as aquaculture continues to attract an increasing variety of new stakeholders), and dealing with a widening set of change processes in recent times, often involving a complex mix of governance and social change challenges. We go on to suggest that aquaculture policy-makers, and stakeholders in general, need to better understand knowledge processes such as knowledge translation (implementation), knowledge networks (e.g. the role of farmers’ associations) and the use of knowledge platforms and brokers, all aimed at more effective dissemination and adoption of knowledge. Knowledge management by most stakeholders will become increasingly critical to the sustainable development of aquaculture and its movement towards attaining the goals set out in the Bangkok Declaration a decade back.

Improving police officers' perceptions of sexual offending through intensive training

We examined whether specialist police training on the dynamics of sexual offending can modify officers’ victim-blaming attitudes and negative perceptions regarding likely case authorization. The sample included 77 Australian police officers specialising in sexual assault investigation. The training, delivered face to face over 4 weeks, included focus on identifying elements of grooming in offending relationships and how these elements can be elicited from victims and suspects within a narrative interviewing framework. Officers’ perceptions of cases were assessed immediately pre- and posttraining using a series of case scenarios. For each scenario, officers rated (on a 10-point Likert-type scale) their confidence that the case should be authorised to proceed to prosecution and the responsibility attributable to the victim. For each case, officers also listed up to 5 factors to justify their case authorization decision. Overall, confidence in case authorization increased from pre- to posttraining, whilst perception of victim “responsibility” decreased. The pattern of results, including the qualitative evidence to justify officers’ decisions, support that the attitude change was due to greater understanding of the dynamics of sexual offending. The implications for police trainers, and directions for future research, are discussed.

A mutual confrontation of structure and accident : a framework for researching how lawyer-mentors engage with scholarship of teaching

This is an edited version of 'A mutual confrontation of structure and accident' - a paper presented by Kristoffer Greaves at the International Journal of Clinical Legal Education conference in Brisbane July 2013.

Internationalisation of vocational education and training: an adapting curve for teachers and learners

Competency-based training and training packages are mandatory for Australian vocational education and training (VET). VET qualifications are designed to provide learners with skills, knowledge, and attributes required for Australian workplaces. Yet, toward the end of December 2011, there were 171,237 international student enrolments in the Australian vocational education sector.

VET currently ranks second behind the university sector by volume of international student enrolments in Australia. The flow of international students into Australian vocational education, their diverse learning characteristics, and their different acquired values have created new challenges as well as possibilities for teachers to transform their pedagogic practices and contribute to reshaping the pedagogy landscape in vocational education.

Drawing on interviews with 50 teachers from VET institutes in three states of Australia, this article discusses the emergence of international vocational education pedagogy that enables international students and indeed all learners to develop necessary skills, knowledge, and attributes in response to the new demands of the changing workplace context and global skills and knowledge mobility.

This article addresses a number of important issues concerning the interrelationship of international pedagogy and learner-centered education, notions of productive and inclusive pedagogies, transnational skills mobility, cultural diversity, and internationalization within the context of the Australian VET sector. Finally, the significance of these issues to educational providers and teachers across different educational levels and national contexts is discussed.

Competency-based training, global skills mobility and the teaching of international students in vocational education and training

 In Australia, all vocational education and training (VET) qualifications must be based on competency-based training (CBT) and training packages. Yet, since 2005, there has been a major expansion in the number of VET international students in Australia, 85% of whom are from Asia. Given this development, the teaching and learning contexts in which competency-based training and training packages are located are becoming increasingly diverse and no longer reflect the traditional training characteristics and boundaries that apply for domestic students.
This paper examines the relevance of training packages and CBT for teaching international students in the Australian VET sector. It draws on interviews with teachers and international students from 25 public and private training providers in Australia. The discussion of the findings aims to assist the VET sector create a curriculum framework that supports flexibility, adaptation and responsiveness so that international students’ divergent and shifting study purposes and complex learning characteristics can be catered for effectively. This contributes to helping the sector remain viable in a context in which a VET course is no longer a pathway to migration.

Does CMC fit? Practical legal training students' satisfaction with online discussion

Masters research paper submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Professional Education and Training. The objectives of this study were to investigate students’ perceptions and satisfaction regarding CMC activities, including community of inquiry framework elements and self-system factors, and to frame recommendations that might improve the use of online discussions as a teaching medium in practical legal training.

A mathematical model of neuromuscular adaptation to resistance training and its application in a computer simulation of accommodating loads

A large corpus of data obtained by means of empirical study of neuromuscular adaptation is currently of limited use to athletes and their coaches. One of the reasons lies in the unclear direct practical utility of many individual trials. This paper introduces a mathematical model of adaptation to resistance training, which derives its elements from physiological fundamentals on the one side, and empirical findings on the other. The key element of the proposed model is what is here termed the athlete’s capability profile. This is a generalization of length and velocity dependent force production characteristics of individual muscles, to an exercise with arbitrary biomechanics. The capability profile, a two-dimensional function over the capability plane, plays the central role in the proposed model of the training-adaptation feedback loop. Together with a dynamic model of resistance the capability profile is used in the model’s predictive stage when exercise performance is simulated using a numerical approximation of differential equations of motion. Simulation results are used to infer the adaptational stimulus, which manifests itself through a fed back modification of the capability profile. It is shown how empirical evidence of exercise specificity can be formulated mathematically and integrated in this framework. A detailed description of the proposed model is followed by examples of its application—new insights into the effects of accommodating loading for powerlifting are demonstrated. This is followed by a discussion of the limitations of the proposed model and an overview of avenues for future work.

Common variants of the resistance mechanism in the Smith Machine: analysis of mechanical loading characteristics and application to strength-oriented and hypertrophy-oriented training

The Smith machine is a pervasive weight-training apparatus, used extensively by a wide population of weight trainers, from novices to high-level athletes. The advantages of using a Smith machine over free-weight resistance are disputed, with conflicting findings reported in the literature. In this study, we are interested in practical differences between 3 types of loading mechanisms found in modern Smith machines. In addition to the basic design comprising a constrained weighted barbell, alterations with a counterweight and a viscous resistance component are examined. The approach taken is that of employing a recently proposed representation of force characteristics that may be exhibited by a trainee and a predictive model of thus effected adaptation. A computer simulation is used to predict the effects of the 3 linear Smith machine designs in the framework of different exercise protocols. Our results demonstrate that each resistance component, vertically constrained load, counterweight, and viscous, can be matched with a particular training context, in which it should be preferred. Thus, a number of practical guidelines for weight-training practitioners are recommended. In summary, (a) at low intensities (55–75% of 1 repetition maximum [1RM]) used in strength-endurance training, a viscous resistance containing the Smith machine was found to offer advantages over both a constrained load only and counterweighted designs; (b) at medium intensities (75–85% of 1RM) typically employed in hypertrophy-specific training, the counterweighted Smith machine design was found to offer the best choice in terms of high-force development and total external work performed; finally, (c) at high training intensity (90–100% of 1RM), the optimal prescription was found to be more dependent on the specific athlete’s weaknesses, highlighting the need for continual monitoring of the athlete’s force production capabilities. To ensure that appropriate adjustments are made to the athlete’s training regimen, the practitioner should consider the full set of findings of this article and the accompanying discussion.

Stressors, Recovery Processes, and Manifestations of Training Distress in Dance

Abstract
Dancers are expected to maintain consistently high levels of performance capability and to perform on demand. To meet these expectations, they subject their bodies to long hours of intensive physical training. Such training regimens are often combined with tight rehearsal and performance schedules, which over time, can lead to persistent fatigue, psychological distress, performance decrements, and injury. A similar process has been observed as a consequence of high-intensity training in many different sports, and considerable sport-related research has been devoted to identifying the antecedents, the symptoms that are experienced, and the most cost-effective ways of monitoring symptom development. This paper presents a general heuristic framework for understanding this “training distress process” and discusses the framework with specific reference to dance.