Secondary students` perceptions of a constructivist-informed teaching and learning environment for geometric optics

This article describes an exploration of a class of secondary school students perceptions of a constructivist informed teaching and learning environment for geometric optics. The students perceived the environment as one where they could freely express their ideas and be involved in activities. What was also apparent in this exploration was the students' preference for a classroom that involved small group discussions to whole class discussions that reflected a need for time to think about issues. They also have a preference for relevant, practical work that tests their ideas and a preference to have fewer notes that they construct themselves rather than notes dictated by the teacher.

NT: Refereed article. Includes bibliographical references.

The perennial problem of police gratuities : public concerns, political optics, and an accountability ethos

Despite the perennial nature of the problem of gratuities in considerations of police ethics, many prior analyses of this issue have rested on anecdotal, piecemeal or hypothetical considerations.. This paper draws on a unique sample of actual complaint cases involving gratuities, providing evidence of a range of public concerns about the problem. Gratuities are analysed and contextualised by reference to the concept of conflict of interest, which draws attention to the potential for the performance of public duty to be tainted in fact or appearance. In either case, public trust in the integrity of the police is damaged, giving rise to "political optics" as a key problem with gratuities.  The paper argues that an accountability ethos must be developed to promote active responsibility and a preparedness to prioritise the public interest in policing.

Managing the optics of Indigenous policy

This monograph reports the findings of the Australian Research Council Discovery Project 'Australian news media and indigenous policymaking 1988-2008'