The activities and impacts of part-time employment on full time undergraduate students in property and construction courses in Australia

This paper examines the extent of part-time employment of undergraduate students enrolled in property and construction related courses in five universities across Australia. Forty five percent of the students responded to a questionnaire on their part-time work. Past research reveals that there is need for a more accurate understanding as to why students seek part-time work to the extent that they do and that working long hours has a negative effect on the study patterns of undergraduate students. Increased employer work demands results in less time available for study and an inability to attend lectures because of work. There is growing concern that students are increasingly disinterested in connecting with the broader and total university experience and are instead, seeking to adopt a minimalist approach to education.

Analysis of current research for Property and construction students’ results reveals that students are working on average 18 hours per week during semester time. The students therefore appear to be working beyond what is considered beneficial to their studies, although their contextual understanding and work ethic improves.

The paper concludes with some approaches that could re- engage students into the learning process. It may be helpful to develop a partnership between the University and the industry thereby providing work experience that complements the program of study. Otherwise students may not get the range of experience they need and may struggle to find the linkages between theory and practice.

Measuring work-study engagement in built environment undergraduate education in Australia

The cost of accessing higher education is expensive causing students to juggle the demands of paid work with study responsibilities. Whilst some work can be beneficial to student leaning this research seeks a more accurate understanding of why students undertake paid experience work to the level that they do. This paper examines the extent of work and study during an undergraduate program in construction at RMIT University Australia. Students responded to a questionnaire on the duration and nature of their work and study times. The results indicate that students who were involved in paid work do in excess of 20 hours per week, whist also enrolled as full-time undergraduates. The results of the study show that students in the early years of the program seem to be more engaged with study and spent slightly less time at work. This is contrasted with students in the final two years of the course spend considerable more time in paid work and less time undertaking study.
The paper concludes by suggesting that the results are partly the result of the unstructured work-experience requirements that occur from about year 3 of the program. Students who were encouraged by the university to undertake paid work-experience appeared to be increasingly disinterested in connecting with the broader university experience.

Improving the quality of professionals’ contemporaneous notes taken during interviews about alleged child abuse

The current study explored the effectiveness of note-taking instructions to increase the completeness and accuracy of professionals’ contemporaneous written notes of child abuse interviews. Police members had their base-line note-taking assessed before receiving brief instructions focusing on layout style, abbreviations, and question codes. Participants’ note-taking was reassessed immediately post-instruction and again at follow-up, 4 weeks later. Instructions increased the number of questions that participants recorded and the information that they recorded about question structure. These increases in question information did not occur at the expense of witness response information. Instructions encouraged participants to use more abbreviations and question codes and to use a clearer layout style to differentiate questions and responses. Instructing professionals in simple note-taking strategies immediately increased the completeness and accuracy of their notes. However, electronic recordings remain the most effective method of ensuring complete and accurate interview notes.

(Electronic music) through the past (moody)

(Short 02) An eighties styled ambient piece that uses synth strings modelled on the late seventies-early eighties synths. Evoking the aural objects of that era. Instruments used in this composition are synths only.

(Positive electronic music) mighty boom (full length)

An uplifting, energetic dance styled composition with dirty synth, booming drums, piano and arpeggios.

Automatic genre identification for content-based video categorization

This paper presents a set of computational features originating from our study of editing effects, motion, and color used in videos, for the task of automatic video categorization. These features besides representing human understanding of typical attributes of different video genres, are also inspired by the techniques and rules used by many directors to endow specific characteristics to a genre-program which lead to certain emotional impact on viewers. We propose new features whilst also employing traditionally used ones for classification. This research, goes beyond the existing work with a systematic analysis of trends exhibited by each of our features in genres such as cartoons, commercials, music, news, and sports, and it enables an understanding of the similarities, dissimilarities, and also likely confusion between genres. Classification results from our experiments on several hours of video establish the usefulness of this feature set. We also explore the issue of video clip duration required to achieve reliable genre identification and demonstrate its impact on classification accuracy.

Detection of setting and subject information in documentary video

Interpretation of video information is a difficult task for computer vision and machine intelligence. In this paper we examine the utility of a non-image based source of information about video contents, namely the shot list, and study its use in aiding image interpretation. We show how the shot list may be analysed to produce a simple summary of the 'who and where' of a documentary or interview video. In order to detect the subject of a video we use the notion of a 'shot syntax' of a particular genre to isolate actual interview sections.

Toka boot/the big jam : making music in rural East Timor

This article discusses a community music project in rural East Timor. Australian musician Gillian Howell lived for three months in the isolated town of Lospalos as an Asialink artist-in-residence, where she worked with local community members and visiting Australian musicians to share music and ideas, and to communicate across cultures. Three activities are described in detail: a songwriting project, a large-scale community music event and a series of informal jam sessions, particularly with respect to the context, teaching and learning models used. An evaluation of the impact of the project on participants, other community members and visiting musicians, indicated that stakeholders valued the project highly for a range of different reasons. These included fun and enjoyment, maintenance of cultural heritage, creative expression, English language learning and cross-cultural exchange. Learnings and recommendations for future similar cross-cultural collaborations include the value of integrating local music traditions with new participatory arts approaches.

Using models in teaching and learning science

Models can be excellent tools to help explain abstract scientific concepts and for students to better understand these abstract concepts. A model could be a copy or replica, but it can also be a representation that is not like the real thing but can provide insight about a scientific concept. Models come in a variety of forms, such as three dimensional and concrete, two dimensional and pictorial, and digital forms. The features of models often depend on their purpose: for example, they can be visual, to show what something might look like, dynamic to show how something might work, and or interactive to show how something might respond to changes. One model is often not an accurate representation of a concept, so multiple models may be used.
Students’ modelling ability has been shown to improve through instruction and with practice of mapping the model to the real thing, highlighting the similarities and differences. The characteristics of a model that can be used in this assessment include accuracy and purpose. Models are commonly used by science teachers to describe, and explain scientific concepts, however, pedagogical approaches that include students using models to make predictions and test ideas about scientific concepts encourages students to use models for higher order thinking processes. This approach relates the use of models to the way scientists work, reflecting the nature of science and the development of scientific ideas. This chapter will focus on the way models are used in teaching: identifying pedagogical processes to raise students’ awareness of characteristics of models. In this way, the strengths and limitations of any model are assessed in relation to the real thing so that the accuracy and merit of the model and its explanatory power can be determined.

The class/teacher effects distortion : a critique of purely positivist teacher effectiveness research and inquiry

The current educational context, with its emphasis upon outcomes and accountability, explicitly centralizes the work and role of the classroom teacher in the learning process. This paper argues that the teacher effectiveness debate increasingly represents an intensified incursion into the classroom in the belief that social and educational disadvantage may be overcome if improvements to the effectiveness of teachers and classroom instruction and practice occur. 

The needs, concerns and characteristics of younger Australian adults with Type 2 diabetes

Aims : The mean age of onset of Type 2 diabetes mellitus is decreasing in Australia and internationally. We conducted an internet-based survey to improve our understanding of the emotional well-being and unmet needs of younger adults with Type 2 diabetes, and to inform service provision for this group.

Methods : A random sample of National Diabetes Services Scheme registrants (n = 1,417) with Type 2 diabetes, aged 18–39 years, living in the Australian state of Victoria received an invitation to complete the online survey. The study was also advertised state-wide. The survey included validated scales (PAID-5: diabetes-related distress; WHO-5: general emotional well-being) and study-specific items. A total of 149 eligible respondents participated.

Results : Almost two-thirds (63%) of respondents reported severe-diabetes related distress; more than a quarter (27%) had impaired general emotional well-being. Most (82%) were overweight or obese (BMI ≥ 25); most (77%) had at least one other co-morbidity. Lack of motivation, feeling burned out, and being time-poor were identified as top barriers to self-management. More than half (59%) of respondents had not participated in structured diabetes education. Respondents perceived that younger adults with Type 2 diabetes had different health-care needs than their older counterparts (68%), and that most Type 2 diabetes information/services were aimed at older adults (62%). Of a range of potential new services, respondents indicated greatest interest in an online forum specifically for younger adults with Type 2 diabetes.

Conclusions : Younger adults with Type 2 diabetes have impaired emotional well-being and physical health. Population-based research is needed to confirm the current findings, to further inform service delivery and optimise outcomes for this group.

Multiscale modelling of stress and strain partitioning in high strength dual phase steels

Multiscale modelling of stress and strain partitioning in DP steel was carried out using both realistic microstructure-based RVE models as well as stochastic microstructures generated by Monte Carlo method. The stochastic microstructure models were shown to resemble that of realistic microstructures, enabling research on the specific aspects of the microstructure that could be difficult to control and study during experimental work. One such feature of the realistic microstructures studied in this work was the grain size and microstructure morphology. The microstructures were generated with varying average grain sizes while all other parameters, such as boundary conditions, material properties and volume fractions of martensite and ferrite were kept constant. It is found that the effect of grain size is much more pronounced during the initial localisation of the plastic deformation at and around the interface of the phases. In addition, the decrease in ductility and increase in strength of the DP steels are directly related to the refinement of grain sizes of each phase and the stress-strain partitioning in between them.

Mood sensing from social media texts and its applications

We present a large-scale mood analysis in social media texts. We organise the paper in three parts: (1) addressing the problem of feature selection and classification of mood in blogosphere, (2) we extract global mood patterns at different level of aggregation from a large-scale data set of approximately 18 millions documents (3) and finally, we extract mood trajectory for an egocentric user and study how it can be used to detect subtle emotion signals in a user-centric manner, supporting discovery of hyper-groups of communities based on sentiment information. For mood classification, two feature sets proposed in psychology are used, showing that these features are efficient, do not require a training phase and yield classification results comparable to state of the art, supervised feature selection schemes, on mood patterns, empirical results for mood organisation in the blogosphere are provided, analogous to the structure of human emotion proposed independently in the psychology literature, and on community structure discovery, sentiment-based approach can yield useful insights into community formation.

Finding a place for personal growth in an Australian community singing group for older people

As in many countries, Australia is faced with an aging population. This creates challenges for the maintenance of well-being which can be enhanced by active engagement in society. Music engagement encompasses a range of social participation and has the potential to recognise the contribution of older people to their local communities. Engagement in music by older people (50+) is positively related to individual and community well-being.  Music participation can contribute to a better quality of life, particularly in relation to health and happiness. The possible forms of music engagement are myriad.

This paper focuses on two members of a mixed voluntary singing group formed by older residents of an outer suburban community in Melbourne, Australia.  This study frames music as a positive way for older people to find a place for personal growth and fulfilment in a singing group. This phenomenological qualitative single case study focuses on two members of a small singing ensemble, the Skylarkers, formed to perform at retirement villages, nursing homes and facilities for senior citizens. In this study, data were gathered by interviews and analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis.

Two significant themes emerged. The first concerned the nature of the choir and its fluid membership and notions of self-identity. The second theme concerns the validation offered to individual members by active music participation through which they gained a sense of purpose, fulfilment and personal growth. This emphasis is unusual in discussions of community music engagement that ordinarily identify the importance of social connections. Groups such as the Skylarkers provide a place for members to continue their active engagement with music performance and music learning.

Can a motivational intervention overcome an unsupportive environment for walking : findings from the step-by-step study

Background : Interventions to promote walking have rarely examined how their effects varied by the attributes of the physical environment.

Purpose : The purpose of this study is to examine whether perceptions of environmental walkability predicted change in walking behavior following an individual-based intervention to promote walking and whether the intervention buffered the effects of unsupportive environment for walking.

Methods : Inactive adults (aged 30–65 years, 85% women) who completed a 3-month randomized control trial comparing the effect of a single mail-out of a theoretically based self-help walking program (WP, n = 102); the same program plus a pedometer (WPP, n = 105); and a “no-treatment” control group (C, n = 107). Measures included change in self-reported walking time for all purposes and in the proportion of people reporting regular walking (i.e., ≥150 min/week and ≥5 sessions/wk). Perceptions of environmental esthetics, safety from crime, proximity to destinations, access to walking facilities, traffic, streetlights, connectivity, and hilliness were assessed at baseline and dichotomized into “low” or “high” by the median score. Covariates were social support, self-efficacy, intention to change behavior, and sociodemographic characteristics.

Results : Adjusting for baseline walking, significant covariates, and study groups, walking time at follow-up was lower if streetlights or esthetics were perceived to be “low” (−24% and −22%, respectively) compared with “high” (p < 0.05). In “low” esthetic conditions, those in the WPP were significantly more likely than controls to increase total walking time (Exp (b) = 2.53, p < 0.01) and to undertake regular walking (OR = 5.85, 95% CI 2.60–12.2), whereas in esthetically pleasing environments, the between-group differences were nonsignificant.

Conclusions : Walkability attributes can influence individual-based walking programs. Some environmental barriers for walking can be overcome by motivational aids.