Working with local government to research strategic development within regional Victoria

Changes in population size and composition, forecasted for regional Victorian cities, have the potential to significantly impact upon their urban environments. The Built Environment Research Group (BERG) at Deakin
University, in collaboration with The Centre for Sustainable Regional Communities at La Trobe University, is currently working with the City of Greater Bendigo and the City of Warrnambool to research this situation. The following paper introduces the work being undertaken to develop strategies for promoting an integrated approach to regional development, and  addresses the administrative context supporting current decision-making processes within local government.

Musical arts education in Africa : differentiation, integration and disassociation

By discussing the future challenges to musical arts education in Africa in which local cultural practices are valued, the differences of those historically marginalised by virtue of gender, race, ethnicity, and class, are celebrated. In Africa, musical arts education and culture are regarded as an integral part of our life, which not only embraces the spiritual, material and intellectual aspects of our society, but also contributes greatly toward our emotional development. This affirms the integrity and importance of various forms of 'Art' including literature, technology, design, dance, drama, music, visual art, media and communication.

This paper will discuss the future of African musical arts education programmes through the dynamic cycle of differentiation, integration and disassociation. The authors will consider the concept of ‘differentiation’, ‘integration’ and ‘disassociation’ within musical arts practice. An analysis of selected international arts education programmes provides a globally differentiated perspective through a discipline-based approach. In the African context, arts education programmes are located within an integrated approach. The structure of a Music Action Research Team (MAT cell) in Southern African Developing Community (SADC) countries will be highlighted as a means to address disassociation through the active engagement of professional development programmes offered by the Centre for Indigenous African Instrumental Music and Dance (CIIMDA).

Towards a renewable adaptive recyclable and environmental architecture

Research in pursuit of an effective response to the demands for a sustainable architecture has lead towards the conception of a Renewable, Adaptive, Recyclable and Environmental (R.A.R.E.) building typology. The term R.A.R.E. expresses issues that have assumed central importance in the current architectural debate. This paper establishes the principles of the typology, drawing on the contents and pedagogical methods applied in a building technology academic course, at fourth year level. The R.A.R.E methodology is presented to and explored by students in the search for a definition of an innovative architecture, which is both progressive and sustainable. The unit is structured into eight subjects: Sustainable Site & Climate Analysis; Flexible & Adaptive Structural Systems; Renewable & Environmental Building Materials; Modular Building Systems; Innovative Building Envelope Systems; Renewable & Non-conventional Energy Systems; Innovative Heating, Ventilation & Air Conditioning Systems; Water Collection & Storage Systems. Through a holistic and integrated approach, the unit presents a comprehensive overview of these ‘Sustainable Building Categories’, so that the students can produce a guide towards the design requirements of a Renewable, Adaptive, Recyclable and Environmental (R.A.R.E.) Architecture.

A roadmap to Renewable Adaptive Recyclable Environmental (R.A.R.E.) architecture

R.A.R.E. stands for Renewable Adaptive Recyclable Environmental Architecture; the acronym expresses a demand that is becoming increasingly important today in the eyes of designers and clients. The paper draws on the contents and the pedagogical methods applied in a Building Technology Unit (SRT 450) – at forth year level – at the School of Architecture and Building, Deakin University, Australia. The unit is basically structured upon eight subjects derived as relevant to the research and development for a R.A.R.E. Architecture: Sustainable Site & Climate Analysis; Flexible & Adaptive Structural Systems; Renewable Adaptive & Environmental Building Materials; Modular Building Systems; Innovative Building Envelope Systems; Renewable or Non-conventional Energy Systems; Innovative Heating, Ventilation & Air Conditioning; Water Storage & Systems. The overall objective of the unit is to present a comprehensive overview of all these Sustainable Building Categories (SBCs) so that the students can produce a guide towards the design of a R.A.R.E. Architecture. The push towards a holistic and integrated approach will contribute to the definition of an innovative architecture, which is both progressive and sustainable.

Labour and economic development: emerging issues in developing Asia

Contents:
Child labour and economic development : emerging issues in developing Asia /​ Gamini Herath and Kishor Sharma
Child labour in developing countries : review of theoretical and : empirical issues /​ Gamini Herath
Cumulative causation as explanation and policy base for child labour /​ G. Bamberry
Child labour : an integrated approach /​ Manohar Pawar
Trade, growth and child labour practices in South Asia /​ Kishor Sharma
An overview of child labour laws, prevention strategies and assessment of their effectiveness in Bangladesh /​ Jesmul Hasan
An overview of child labour in India /​ Subhashini Subbaraman and Harald von Witzke
Child labour in India : a critical evaluation of four issues /​ Anna Pinto
Prevention of child labour in Nepal : an overview of strategy and effectiveness
Chiranjibi nepal
Prevention of child labour in Pakistan : analysis of strategy and effectiveness /​ Shafqat Munir and Hassan Mangi
Issues relating to prevention of child labour in Sri Lanka /​ Nisha Arunatilake and Roshani de Silva.

Child labour in developing countries: review of theoretical and empirical issues

Contents:Child labour and economic development : emerging issues in developing Asia /​ Gamini Herath and Kishor Sharma
Child labour in developing countries : review of theoretical and : empirical issues /​ Gamini Herath
Cumulative causation as explanation and policy base for child labour /​ G. Bamberry
Child labour : an integrated approach /​ Manohar Pawar
Trade, growth and child labour practices in South Asia /​ Kishor Sharma
An overview of child labour laws, prevention strategies and assessment of their effectiveness in Bangladesh /​ Jesmul Hasan
An overview of child labour in India /​ Subhashini Subbaraman and Harald von Witzke
Child labour in India : a critical evaluation of four issues /​ Anna Pinto
Prevention of child labour in Nepal : an overview of strategy and effectiveness
Chiranjibi nepal
Prevention of child labour in Pakistan : analysis of strategy and effectiveness /​ Shafqat Munir and Hassan Mangi
Issues relating to prevention of child labour in Sri Lanka /​ Nisha Arunatilake and Roshani de Silva.

A new model of workbased learning in the VET sector

This report provides a revised model of workbased learning for the vocational education and training (VET) sector in Australia, in response to emerging needs. The study provides a brief review of the theoretical foundations of the contemporary discussions surrounding workbased learning, drawn from literature on adult education and learning organisations. Literature on adult learning and learning organisations in the 1990's explored new dimensions of these topics and this new theorising enriched the concept of workbased learning. This examination of the literature enables the development of a model of an integrated approach to workbased learning. The model integrates compatible ideas from adult learning, learning organisations and action learning/research and facilitates new ways of thinking about workbased learning as a staff development model. This model confirms that workbased learning is an appropriate and relevant approach to staff development in contemporary times.

Show me the money

In the rush to become part of the e-business revolution many companies are tossing aside conventional thinking when it comes to analyzing the return on their investment. Too often, however, ignoring formal justification of any investment is a recipe for disaster. With this in mind, a study on the justification processes used by companies when investing in e-business was conducted. The research identified several benefits gained from investing in e-business. Participants highlighted several e-business benefits including: opening up new markets, improving access to management information and reducing operating costs. The justification methods used in organizations could be easily classified into 4 groups: 1. a strategic approach, 2. the integrated approach, 3. an analytical approach, and 4. a financial approach.

Futures in education

Futures education (FE) in a rapidly changing world is critical if young people are to be empowered to be proactive rather than reactive about the future. Research into young people's images and ideas of the future lead to the disturbing conclusion that, for many, the future is a depressing and fearful place where they feel hopeless and disempowered. On the other hand, as Richard Slaughter writes, 'young people are passionately interested in their own futures, and that of the society in which they live. They universally 'jump at the chance to study something with such intrinsic interest that also intersects with their own life interests in so many ways'. FE explicitly attempts to build on this interest and counter these fears by offering a profound and empowering set of learning strategies and ideas that can help people think and act critically and creatively about the future, without necessarily trying to predict it. Futures educators have, over the past decades, developed useful tools, ideas and a language for use with students of all ages to enable them to develop foresight literacy. Most of us tend to view the future as somehow beyond the present and rarely consider how decisions and choices made today profoundly affect not just one fixed future but any number of futures. The underlying goal of FE is to move from the idea of a single, pre-determined future to that of many possible futures, so that students begin to see that they can determine the future, that they need not be reactive and that they are not powerless. How does one do that? Ideas include, but are not limited to: timelines and Y-diagrams, futures wheels and mind maps, and 'Preferable, possible and probable' futures - a.k.a. the 3Ps. Current Australian curricula present education about the future in various implicit or explicit guises. A plethora of statements and curriculum outcomes mention the future, but essentially take 'it' for granted, and are uninformed by FE literature, language, ideas or tools. Science, the humanities and technology tend to be the main areas where such an implicit futures focus can be found. It also appears in documents about vocational education, civics and lifelong learning. Explicit FE is, as Beare and Slaughter put it, still the missing dimension in education. Explicit FE attempts to develop futures literacy, and draws widely upon futures studies literature for processes and content. FE provides such a wide range of ideas and tools that it can be incorporated into education in any number of ways. Programs in two very different schools, one primary and one secondary, are described in this article to provide examples of some of these ways. The first school, Kimberley Park State Primary School in Brisbane, operates with multi-age classrooms based on a 'thinking curriculum' developed around four organisers: change, perspectives, interconnectedness and sustainability. The second school, St John's Grammar School in Adelaide, is an independent school where FE operates as an integrated approach in Year Seven, as a separate one-semester subject in Year Nine and in separate subjects at other levels. Teachers both at Kimberley Park and St John's are very positive about FE. They say it promotes valuable and authentic learning, assists students to realise they have choices that matter and helps them see that the future need not be all doom and gloom. Because students are interested in the Big Questions, as one teacher put it, FE provides a perfect opportunity to address them, and to consider values that are fundamental for them and the future of the planet. Like any innovation, the long-term success of FE in schools depends on an embedding process so that the innovation does not depend on the enthusiasm and energy of a few individuals, only to disappear when they move on. It requires strong leadership, teacher knowledge, support and enthusiasm, and the support and understanding of the wider school community.

Reducing position error of cantilevered loads in motion systems

The positioning error of a large cantilevered mass that is actuated at its supported end is minimized as this mass travels at challenging high speeds and accelerations. An integrated approach is adopted to realize the task. After selecting the appropriate actuator that would provide higher rigidity, the system is viewed as a multi-degree of freedom system, and hence the concept of system-generated disturbance is introduced. This allows the use of appropriate mechanical design considerations and a proper generation of the kinematics commands to minimize such disturbance. A disturbance observer is then designed to detect and compensate the remaining disturbance, hence minimizing the positioning error.

Catchment to regional scale indicators of sustainability

Ecologically sustainable development requires an integrated approach to environmental integrity, social equity and economic performance. Development of sustainability strategies and empowerment of communities to achieve sustainability will only be effective if progress is monitored. This project provides an opportunity to work within a regional partnership to develop indicators for measuring progress toward sustainability in the south west region of Victoria, Australia. As sustainability is contextual, local organizations have been involved in the identification of key regional values (social, environmental, economic and institutional) and in selecting indicators that can be used to assess to what extent these values are being protected, depleted or enhanced. These indicators are to be used as the basis for exploring relationships between biophysical and socio-economic indicators, to determine what can be deduced from these relationships about sustainability and whether these relationships hold at different spatial scales (catchment, regional and sub-catchment). A rigorous and systematic analysis of indicators and the relationships between them will assist in developing a tool to facilitate decision making for regional sustainability.

Opportunities and challenges for global education in social education curriculum

This paper will explore understandings about global education as expressed in national and local curriculum statements. Despite curriculum statements in Studies of Society and Environment area including ‘global’ in their rationale, slippage occurs between policy documents and the translation to standards statements. The curriculum area - Studies of Society and Environment is - changing as new titles describe the field and a more integrated approach is being developed in some states – Tasmania and Victoria, this presents challenges for global education.

My work in global education is a result of many years as a Geography teacher, nine years at the Asia Education Foundation, a leader of teacher study tours to Asia and pre-service teacher education students to Canada and Northern Territory. I am a passionate believer in the power of travel to unsettle, to educate, and to be reminded of all I have, and to be thankful.

An index of diet and eating patterns is a valid measure of diet quality in an Australian population

Diet indices represent an integrated approach to assessing eating patterns and behaviors. The aim of this study was to develop a comprehensive food-based dietary index to reflect adherence to healthy eating recommendations, evaluate the construct validity of the index using nutrient intakes, and evaluate this index in relation to sociodemographic factors, health behaviors, risk factors, and self-assessed health status. Data were analyzed from adult participants of the Australian National Nutrition Survey who completed a 108-item FFQ and a food habits questionnaire (n = 8220). The dietary guideline index (DGI) consisted of 15 items reflecting the dietary guidelines, including dietary indicators of vegetables and legumes, fruit, total cereals, meat and alternatives, total dairy, beverages, sodium, saturated fat, alcoholic beverages, and added sugars. Diet quality was incorporated using indicators relating to whole-grain cereals, lean meat, reduced/low fat dairy, and dietary variety. We investigated associations between the DGI score, sociodemographic factors, health behaviors, chronic disease risk factors, and nutrient intakes. We found associations between the DGI scores and sex, age, income, area-level socioeconomic disadvantage, smoking, physical activity, waist:hip ratio, systolic blood pressure (males only), and self-assessed health status (females only) (all P < 0.05). Higher DGI scores were associated with lower intakes of energy, total fat, and saturated fat and higher intakes of fiber, β-carotene, vitamin C, folate, calcium, and iron (P < 0.05). This food-based dietary index is able to discriminate across a variety of sociodemographic factors, health behaviors, and self-assessed health and reflects intakes of key nutrients.

Recolonisation of powerline corridor vegetation by small mammals : timing and the influence of vegetation management

Powerline corridors through forested ecosystems have been criticised due their potential to fragment the landscape and facilitate the intrusion of undesirable species into natural areas. This study investigates the effects of vegetation management (slashing), on: (1) timing of small mammal recolonisation; (2) vegetation characteristics that drive small mammal responses; and (3) the point where corridor resources are sufficient to provide functional habitat for native species. Small mammal trapping was undertaken within Bunyip State Park, Australia, across three sites, once a month from January 2001 to May 2002 and every 2 months thereafter until January 2004. Changes in vegetation around each trap station were assessed annually in the forest and bi-annually in the corridor. Principal components analysis on the vegetation structural complexity values produced factors for use in species abundance models. Native small mammal species recolonised the corridor 1.5–3.5 years after management and the corridor supported a breeding population of small mammals around 2.5 years post-management. Males however, generally recolonised the corridor first, resulting in a sex-biased population in these areas. Species corridor habitat models for five native and one introduced species suggested cover and shelter were more important in determining corridor use than plant species per se. Powerline corridors have the potential to create a mixture of different successional stages, enhancing habitat availability for many species. However, the intensity of current management needs to be reduced and an integrated approach to management needs to be undertaken if powerline corridors are to continuously provide habitat for native small mammal species.

Contribution of multi-tenure reserve networks to biodiversity conservation

A consistent and integrated approach to nature conservation across the landscape and regardless of tenure is widely recognised as essential in ensuring the effective conservation of biodiversity. 'Multi-tenure reserve networks', which incorporate public and private lands managed for conservation, are considered a means of achieving landscape scale conservation. Biosphere Reserves (BR) and Conservation Management Networks (CMN) are characteristic models in Australia. This thesis aims to evaluate the role of such networks in protecting biodiversity, specifically by: (1) analysing the spatial configuration (size, shape, connectivity) of networks and their individual components; (2) evaluating the contribution of networks (in real terms and in reporting procedures) to biodiversity conservation objectives; (3) analysing the influence of the attitudes and perceptions of land managers on the functionality of networks; and (4) evaluating the influence of coordinating bodies on network functionality. In order to account for deficiencies in existing classifications of conservation lands, a new classification system was developed for this thesis - the Conservation Lands Classification. This classification incorporates conservation mechanisms on public and private lands and forms the basis for comparing network components in three Australian case studies - the Bookmark BR located in the Murray Mallee of South Australia, the Gippsland Plains CMN on the eastern Gippsland Plains of Victoria and the Grassy Box Woodlands CMN across the inland slopes of New South Wales. The spatial configuration of individual components within networks was measured using spatial analysis techniques within a geographic information system (GIS). GIS was also used to measure the contribution that networks made to a comprehensive, adequate and representative reserve system through the ecosystems they protected. The attitudes and perceptions of landowners and managers within the networks were obtained using questionnaires. Questionnaires were also sent to network coordinators. Statistical and descriptive analysis was conducted on the results. The sizes of individual components varied markedly between the three networks, however within each network public reserves were on average larger than private conservation lands. Although levels of physical connectivity varied between networks, Bookmark BR and Gippsland Plains CMN showed greater similarity to each other than to the Grassy Box Woodlands CMN. The findings raise important questions about the real and perceived differences in the BR and CMN models. All networks, and particularly those components outside the public protected area estate, contributed to enhancing the protection of ecosystems unrepresented or under-represented in the reserve system, although the extent of this contribution varied between networks. Trade-offs between reserve design efficiency and a contribution to a comprehensive, adequate and representative reserve system were evident between networks. Bookmark BR was characterised by high connectivity, strong reserve design integrity but a lower contribution to protecting under-reserved ecosystems, whereas the opposite was evident in the Grassy Box Woodlands CMN. Over 88% of managers considered their involvement in multi-tenure reserve networks to be a positive or very positive experience. A lack of resources and time for management were considered major limitations of these networks. The majority (80%) of private land managers within networks were willing to be included in a national reserve system of conservation lands. This has important implications for the Australian National Reserve System, which currently incorporates mostly public land. The changing nature of the network coordination arrangements suggests an organic fluid evolution of network structures is likely, contrasting with the desire for legalistic and administrative rigidity promoted by government agencies. The thesis concludes that all the networks studied contribute in varying degrees to biodiversity conservation. The key factors influencing the current and potential contribution that such networks make are: (1) the aims, directions and restrictions set by or imposed upon the coordinating body; and (2) the biophysical nature of the surrounding bioregion and resultant historical land use and tenure pattern. Although the successful operation of such 'multi-tenure' networks ultimately relies on the willing participation of private landholders, ongoing institutional support is likely to be required for maintaining networks in the longer term. Considering networks are increasingly formed outside of the influence of government institutions, this presents a significant challenge for effective coordinated conservation.