Research productivity and academics’ conceptions of research

This paper asks the question: do people with different levels of research productivity and identification as a researcher think of research differently? It discusses a study that differentiated levels of research productivity among English and Australian academics working in research-intensive environments in three broad discipline areas: science, engineering and technology; social science and humanities; and medicine and health sciences. The paper explores the different conceptions of research held by these academics in terms of their levels of research productivity, their levels of research training, whether they considered themselves an active researcher and a member of a research team, and their disciplinary differences.

Examining the significance of different conceptions of learning

Since the 1990s the system-wide introduction of vocational learning programs into schools has now created the need for students to blend their learning experiences gained from previously discretely organised institutions such as schools, TAFEs, and workplaces. This paper explores the significance of differing institutional conceptions of learning for the students who undertake these pathways. It examines potentially conflicting messages about learning that students must overcome if they are to be successful.

Broadening conceptions of curriculum for young people : reports from three student - teachers on exchange

Research reports prepared by three Australian preservice teachers Paula Shaw, Chris Sharp and Scott McDonald undertaking their teacher education practicum in Canada, form the basis of this paper. The reports provide critical insights into three aspects of education for young people in both Canada and Australia. They also provide critical insight into the ways in which a practicum research project, along with the opportunities afforded through an international experience, enabled the preservice teachers to broaden their understanding of the curriculum for young people, of issues relevant to the diverse needs of young people, and of themselves and their priorities as teachers. The preservice teachers investigated three topics: attempts to reduce homophobia in schools; the presence or absence of Aboriginal content in the school curricula in British Columbia and Queensland; and “schools-within-schools” as a means to meet the needs of diverse student populations. Linda Farr Darling from the University of British Columbia provides a response to the three reports.

The influence of learning environment on student conceptions of learning

Responding to the increasing numbers of students who now study across more than one of the traditional sectors of education and training, this research explored quantitative differences in conceptions of learning between students who had entered university study on the basis of a VET qualification, and those who had entered on a basis of previous university studies. Using the Conceptions of Learning Inventory the research also used gender as an independent variable. While some differences were shown between the previously-VET and previously-university students and some differences between genders these differences were characterised by low to moderate effect sizes only. The authors conclude that the quantitative differences are not particularly important, but that qualitative research may indicate differences in kind between the conceptions of learning of the two groups.

Revealing conceptions of rate of change

Rate of change is an important mathematical concept. Research referring to students’ difficulties with this concept spans more than twenty years. Research suggests that problems experienced by some calculus students are likely a result of pre-existing limited or incorrect conceptions of rate of change. This study investigated 23 Victorian Year 10 students’ understanding of rate as revealed by phenomenographic analysis of interviews. Eight conceptions of rate of change emerged. Four important aspects of the concept were identified and gaps in students’ thinking defined. In addition, the employment of phenomenography, to reveal conceptions of rate, is described in detail.

Impact of context and representation on year 10 students' expression of conceptions of rate

Rate is an important, but difficult mathematical concept. More than twenty years of research, especially with calculus students, report difficulties with this concept. This paper reports on an alternative analysis, from the perspective of multiple representations and context, of interviews probing twenty Victorian Year 10 students’ conceptions of rate. This analysis shows that multiple representations of functions provide different rate-related
information for different students. Understandings of rate in one representation or context are not necessarily transferred to another representation or context.

Australian primary pre-service teachers’ conceptions of geography

This article reports on the results of a survey of Australian primary pre-service teachers’ experiences, conceptions and perceptions of geography. Research was conducted with two cohorts of undergraduate primary pre-service teachers; one group in second year and another in the final year of a four-year teacher education course. The findings show congruence with similar studies conducted in the UK and indicate that pre-service teachers had a very narrow conception of geography and geography education; a conception that was information-oriented and focused on broad knowledge about the world and locational knowledge and skills. The article concludes by exploring some of the implications for the implementation of the new national geography curriculum in Australia and for primary pre-service geography teacher education more broadly.

Interrogating conceptions of “vulnerable youth” in theory, policy and practice

Young people who are considered ‘vulnerable’ or ‘at risk’ are a particular target of various policies, schemes and interventions. But what does vulnerability mean? Interrogating Conceptions of “Vulnerable Youth” explores this question in relation to various policy fields that are relevant to young people, as well for how this plays out in practice and how it is experienced by young people themselves. What makes this book unique is that most authors had the opportunity to jointly explore these issues during a two-day workshop, and their chapters are informed by their cross-agency and cross-discipline discussions, making for a nuanced and thoughtful set of contributions. This collection is highly recommended for researchers and research students in the social sciences, as well as professional staff working in youth policy and youth services, in government departments and in NGOs. “Those who are most vulnerable should receive our greatest moral attention. However, the translation of generalised moral principles into effective policy and programs has never been easy. Political interests have invariably intervened, leading to complex debates about how vulnerability should be defined, classified, measured and represented. In recent years, these debates have become further complicated, as nation-states around the world have preached austerity. This timely book suggests that the responsibility for protecting the vulnerable cannot be left to individuals, but demands collective action, through institutions such as education, health and welfare. It examines some of the ways in which public policies and programs represent those who are vulnerable, involving a range of assumptions about the social, economic and political conditions that produce their vulnerabilities.” From the Foreword by Professor Fazal Rizvi

EAP teachers' conceptions of and interactions with professional development: a phenomenographic investigation

This research explores the conceptions of professional development held by a group of teachers of English for academic purposes (EAP), the influence of their conceptions on their interaction with professional development activities and the learning outcomes resulting from this interaction.

'They don't associate it with feminism' : in-service educators' conceptions of gender-inclusive curriculu

This article seeks to address significant gaps in educational policy discourses. Namely, to respond to professional development discourses that lack significant engagement with feminist perspectives, as well as to feminist discourses that fail to consider the significance of in-service education. The data reported here are drawn from a broader case study of Australian primary practitioners from 1975 who were interviewed about their enactment of gender-inclusive reform in the state of Victoria. This discussion takes as its focus the standpoint of 17 in-service educators in terms of their conceptualisation of gender inclusiveness. Three distinctive conceptions emerged in data analysis, which may be represented as three amalgams on a continuum according to a feminist perspective. Implications of this plurality of meaning for professional development are concluded.[2]

The effects of various binders and moisture content on pellet stability of research diets for freshwater crayfish

Two experiments were conducted to assess the water stability of a practical research diet manufactured with various binders and differing levels of moisture. In the first experiment the binders – agar, gelatine, carrageenan, and carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) were included at both 3 and 5% of total ingredient weight. All binders were tested with equal ingredient weight to water volume, and additionally carrageenan was tested in a diet with double the water volume. The dry matter remaining following immersion for up to 180 min was calculated and the rate of pellet decay was modelled using the Weibull distribution. The analysis revealed that the rate of dry matter loss decreased with time, and that carrageenan and CMC binders were significantly better (P < 0.001) binders than the agar and gelatine. The 5% binder concentration slowed the decay rate by as much as 62% as compared with the 3% binder concentration. The second experiment compared the binding performance of carrageenan and sodium alginate in both 50% moisture and 10% moisture pellets. The same analysis revealed that 10% moisture alginate-bound pellets were more water stable than the others. A discussion of the use of moist diets for crayfish research is included.

Part-time research students: the`reserve army` of research students for universities

Over the past twenty years, in Australia, there has been a steady growth in the numbers of part-time research students. However, they have generally been invisible in government policy on research training, and have rarely been the focus of specific treatment in universities, where the full-time scholarship-holder is taken as the norm. Yet, these are people who often undertake their research in their workplaces on problems germane to their work. They do so with relatively less ‘drain on the public purse’ and they are well-placed to ensure their research has effect. This paper suggests that this ‘reserve army’ of research labour—part-time research students—could benefit from the integration of the perspectives that have driven other aspects of adult education with those, often economic rationalist perspectives, that have driven research training policy. In this way, government policy-makers may appreciate that this ‘reserve army’ provides good value, and universities may shape their research training policies and practices to provide support, infrastructure and supervision that matches the needs and contexts of part-time students, and which facilitates ‘technology transfer’ and links between universities and industries and the professions.

Decades of research efforts to link economic and environmental performance: still data in search of a theory?

With the proliferation of social investment vehicles, stakeholders, particularly investors, are increasingly aware of the relationship between economic, social and environmental performance, and disclosure to external parties. This is particularly evident in The Securities and Exchange Commission's Environmental Disclosure Rules. The thesis of this paper is that, after three decades of academic and professional research efforts, there are still no firm proactive guidelines to firmly link the financial performance with environmental and social performance. The purpose of this paper is to revisit empirical research efforts spanning three decades in order to delineate potential links that may assist in systematic, comparable reporting