Participatory action research card set

These cards are designed as a resource for implementing participatory action research (PAR) in social programs. Each card covers one of the five key stages of PAR as outlined in the manual 'On PAR- Using participatory Action Research to Improve Early Intervention' (Crane and O'Regan 2010).

Rethinking public service media and citizenship: digital strategies for news and current affairs at Australia’s Special Broadcasting Service

This article considers the concept of media citizenship in relation to the digital strategies of the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS). At SBS, Australia’s multicultural public broadcaster, there is a critical appraisal of its strategies to harness user-created content (UCC) and social media to promote greater audience participation through its news and current affairs Web sites. The article looks at the opportunities and challenges that user-created content presents for public service media organizations as they consolidate multiplatform service delivery. Also analyzed are the implications of radio and television broadcasters’ moves to develop online services. It is proposed that case study methodologies enable an understanding of media citizenship to be developed that maintains a focus on the interaction between delivery technologies, organizational structures and cultures, and program content that is essential for understanding the changing focus of 21st-century public service media.

Project-based IHRM : the emerging approach for the post-GFC world?

This paper reviews some past emphases in IHRM, and recommends that IHR teachers and practitioners consider using project management methodologies to tighten the focus of our diverse activities.

Customers behaving badly : a state of the art review, research agenda and implications for practitioners

The purpose of this paper is to highlight important issues in the study of dysfunctional customer behavior and to provide a research agenda to inspire, guide, and enthuse. Through a critical evaluation of existing research, the aim is to highlight key issues and to present potentially worthy avenues for future study.

The evaluation of qualitative methods selection in the field of design and emotion

The aim of this paper is to aid researchers in selecting appropriate qualitative methods in order to develop and improve future studies in the field of emotional design. These include observations, think-aloud protocols, questionnaires, diaries and interviews. Based on the authors’ experiences, it is proposed that the methods under review can be successfully used for collecting data on emotional responses to evaluate user product relationships. This paper reviews the methods; discusses the suitability, advantages and challenges in relation to design and emotion studies. Furthermore, the paper outlines the potential impact of technology on the application of these methods, discusses the implications of these methods for emotion research and concludes with recommendations for future work in this area.

Tips for generating a media release and media coverage : how the media ate up my research on Aussie horror movies

The focus of this paper is preparing research for dissemination by mainstream print, broadcast, and online media. While the rise of the blogosphere and social media is proving an effective way of reaching niche audiences, my own research reached such an audience through traditional media. The first major study of Australian horror cinema, my PhD thesis A Dark New World: Anatomy of Australian Horror Films, generated strong interest from horror movie fans, film scholars, and filmmakers. I worked closely with the Queensland University of Technology’s (QUT) public relations unit to write two separate media releases circulated on October 13, 2008 and October 14, 2009. This chapter reflects upon the process of working with the media and provides tips for reaching audiences, particularly in terms of strategically planning outcomes. It delves into the background of my study which would later influence my approach to the media, the process of drafting media releases, and key outcomes and benefits from popularising research. A key lesson from this experience is that redeveloping research for the media requires a sharp writing style, letting go of academic justification, catchy quotes, and an ability to distil complex details into easy-to-understand concepts. Although my study received strong media coverage, and I have since become a media commentator, my experiences also revealed a number of pitfalls that are likely to arise for other researchers keen on targeting media coverage.

Impaired drivers : The need to yoke treatment and sanctions

Objective: To understand the levels of substance abuse and dependence among impaired drivers by comparing the differences in patients in substance abuse treatment programs with and without a past-year DUI arrest based on their primary problem substance at admission (alcohol, cocaine, cannabis, or methamphetamine). Method: Records on 345,067 admissions to Texas treatment programs between 2005 and 2008 have been analyzed for differences in demographic characteristics, levels of severity, and mental health problems at admission, treatment completion, and 90-day follow-up. Methods will include t-tests,??, and multivariate logistic regression. Results: The analysis found that DUI arrestees with a primary problem with alcohol were less impaired than non-DUI alcohol patients, had fewer mental health problems, and were more likely to complete treatment. DUI arrestees with a primary problem with cannabis were more impaired than non-DUI cannabis patients and there was no difference in treatment completion. DUI arrestees with a primary problem with cocaine were less impaired and more likely to complete treatment than other cocaine patients, and there was little difference in levels of mental health problems. DUI arrestees with a primary problem with methamphetamine were more similar to methamphetamine non-arrestees, with no difference in mental health problems and treatment completion. Conclusions: This study provides evidence of the extent of abuse and dependence among DUI arrestees and their need for treatment for their alcohol and drug problems in order to decrease recidivism. Treatment patients with past-year DUI arrests had good treatment outcomes but closer supervision during 90 day follow-up after treatment can lead to even better long-term outcomes, including reduced recidivism. Information will be provided on the latest treatment methodologies, including medication assisted therapies and screening and brief interventions, and ways impaired driving programs and substance dependence programs can be integrated to benefit the driver and society.

Getting research data ‘out there’ : collaborative solutions to identifying, describing and making research data more visible

At QUT research data refers to information that is generated or collected to be used as primary sources in the production of original research results, and which would be required to validate or replicate research findings (Callan, De Vine, & Baker, 2010). Making publicly funded research data discoverable by the broader research community and the public is a key aim of the Australian National Data Service (ANDS). Queensland University of Technology (QUT) has been innovating in this space by undertaking mutually dependant technical and content (metadata) focused projects funded by ANDS. Research Data Librarians identified and described datasets generated from Category 1 funded research at QUT, by interviewing researchers, collecting metadata and fashioning metadata records for upload to the Australian Research Data commons (ARDC) and exposure through the Research Data Australia interface. In parallel to this project, a Research Data Management Service and Metadata hub project were being undertaken by QUT High Performance Computing & Research Support specialists. These projects will collectively store and aggregate QUT’s metadata and research data from multiple repositories and administration systems and contribute metadata directly by OAI-PMH compliant feed to RDA. The pioneering nature of the work has resulted in a collaborative project dynamic where good data management practices and the discoverability and sharing of research data were the shared drivers for all activity. Each project’s development and progress was dependent on feedback from the other. The metadata structure evolved in tandem with the development of the repository and the development of the repository interface responded to meet the needs of the data interview process. The project environment was one of bottom-up collaborative approaches to process and system development which matched top-down strategic alliances crossing organisational boundaries in order to provide the deliverables required by ANDS. This paper showcases the work undertaken at QUT, focusing on the Seeding the Commons project as a case study, and illustrates how the data management projects are interconnected. It describes the processes and systems being established to make QUT research data more visible and the nature of the collaborations between organisational areas required to achieve this. The paper concludes with the Seeding the Commons project outcomes and the contribution this project made to getting more research data ‘out there’.

It really is black and white when you look at it like this : reporting on a study into Australian professors' research and teaching priorities

Despite optimistic claims about the research-teaching nexus, Australian academics still face tension between research and teaching. The teaching and research priorities, beliefs and behaviours of 70 Professorial and Associate Professorial academics in Science, Information Technology and Engineering were examined in this study. The academics from 4 faculties in 3 Australian universities, were asked to rank 16 research activities and 16 matched learning and teaching (L&T) activities from each of three perspectives: job satisfaction, leadership behaviour, and perceptions of professional importance. The findings, which were remarkably consistent across the three universities, were unequivocally in favour of Research. The only L&T activity that was ranked consistently well was “Improving student satisfaction ratings for Teaching”. The data demonstrates that Australian government and university initiatives to raise the status of L&T activity are not impacting significantly on Australia’s future leaders of university learning.

Design and implementation of sensor networks for the observation and research of harmful algal blooms in southern California coastal waters

Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) have become an important environmental concern along the western coast of the United States. Toxic and noxious blooms adversely impact the economies of coastal communities in the region, pose risks to human health, and cause mortality events that have resulted in the deaths of thousands of fish, marine mammals and seabirds. One goal of field-based research efforts on this topic is the development of predictive models of HABs that would enable rapid response, mitigation and ultimately prevention of these events. In turn, these objectives are predicated on understanding the environmental conditions that stimulate these transient phenomena. An embedded sensor network (Fig. 1), under development in the San Pedro Shelf region off the Southern California coast, is providing tools for acquiring chemical, physical and biological data at high temporal and spatial resolution to help document the emergence and persistence of HAB events, supporting the design and testing of predictive models, and providing contextual information for experimental studies designed to reveal the environmental conditions promoting HABs. The sensor platforms contained within this network include pier-based sensor arrays, ocean moorings, HF radar stations, along with mobile sensor nodes in the form of surface and subsurface autonomous vehicles. FreewaveTM radio modems facilitate network communication and form a minimally-intrusive, wireless communication infrastructure throughout the Southern California coastal region, allowing rapid and cost-effective data transfer. An emerging focus of this project is the incorporation of a predictive ocean model that assimilates near-real time, in situ data from deployed Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs). The model then assimilates the data to increase the skill of both nowcasts and forecasts, thus providing insight into bloom initiation as well as the movement of blooms or other oceanic features of interest (e.g., thermoclines, fronts, river discharge, etc.). From these predictions, deployed mobile sensors can be tasked to track a designated feature. This focus has led to the creation of a technology chain in which algorithms are being implemented for the innovative trajectory design for AUVs. Such intelligent mission planning is required to maneuver a vehicle to precise depths and locations that are the sites of active blooms, or physical/chemical features that might be sources of bloom initiation or persistence. The embedded network yields high-resolution, temporal and spatial measurements of pertinent environmental parameters and resulting biology (see Fig. 1). Supplementing this with ocean current information and remotely sensed imagery and meteorological data, we obtain a comprehensive foundation for developing a fundamental understanding of HAB events. This then directs labor- intensive and costly sampling efforts and analyses. Additionally, we provide coastal municipalities, managers and state agencies with detailed information to aid their efforts in providing responsible environmental stewardship of their coastal waters.

Frank and Stein : from research scientist to creative writer (a screenplay and exegesis)

The screenplay, “Perfect Blood” (Frank and Stein), is the first two-hour episode of a two-part television miniseries Frank and Stein. This creative work is a science fiction story that speculates on the future of Western nations in a world where petroleum is scarce. A major theme that has been explored in the miniseries is the tension between the advantages and dangers of scientific progress without regard to human consequences. “Perfect Blood” (Frank and Stein) was written as part of my personal creative journey, which has been the transformation from research scientist to creative writer. In the exegetical component of this thesis, I propose that a key challenge for any scientist writing science fiction is the shift from conducting empirical research in a laboratory-based situation to engaging in creative practice research. During my personal creative journey, I found that a predominant difficulty in conducting research within a creative practice-led paradigm was unleashing my creativity and personal viewpoint, practices that are frowned upon in scientific research. The aim of the exegesis is to demonstrate that the transformative process from science to art is not neat and well-structured. My personal creative journey was fraught with many ‘wrong’ turns. However, after reflecting on the experience, I realise that every varied piece of research that I undertook allowed me to progress to the next stage, the next draft of Frank and Stein. And via the disorder of the creative process, a screenplay finally emerged that was both structured and creative, which are equally essential elements in screenwriting.

Nurse-led telephone interventions for people with cardiac disease : A review of the research literature

Background: Nurse-led telephone follow-up offers a relatively inexpensive method of delivering education and support for assisting recovery in the early discharge period; however, its efficacy is yet to be determined. Aim: To perform a critical integrative review of the research literature addressing the effectiveness of nurse-led telephone interventions for people with coronary heart disease (CHD). Methods: A literature search of five health care databases; Sciencedirect, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Pubmed, Proquest and Medline to identify journal articles between 1980 and 2009. People with cardiac disease were considered for inclusion in this review. The search yielded 128 papers, of which 24 met the inclusion criteria. Results: A total of 8330 participants from 24 studies were included in the final review. Seven studies demonstrated statistically significant differences in all outcomes measured, used two group experimental research design and valid and reliable instruments. Some positive effects were detected in eight studies in regards to nurse-led telephone interventions for people with cardiac disease and no differences were detected in nine studies. Discussion: Studies with some positive effects generally had stronger research designs, large samples, used valid and reliable instruments and extensive nurse-led educative interventions. Conclusion: The results suggest that people with cardiac disease showed some benefits from nurse-led/delivered telephone interventions. More rigorous research into this area is needed.

Book review : Kellett, M (2010) Rethinking children and research : attitudes in contemporary society

Rethinking Children and Research characterizes Mary Kellett’s vision as campaigner and sociologist actively working for and with children for many years. The book itself is not only visionary; it is informative, thought provoking and pragmatic. From a contemporary standpoint, the manuscript presents a detailed synopsis of the shifts in thinking about research with children and provides an appraisal of the theoretical movements that have driven a participatory research agenda. A strong theoretical approach of the combined lenses of sociologies of childhood and rights discourse is introduced early in the book. From the outset, the reader receives loud and clear, the key message of the book: that children in research should and can be included as competent members who lead research in the study of their everyday lives. The argument for a more mutual research approach is shaped throughout the book using research examples and practical suggestions on how this might be achieved. Overall, the reader is left feeling compelled to adopt such an approach.

Establishing Aboriginal health research priorities in Victoria

The Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (VACCHO) conducted a research project to find out the impact of social determinants such as education, employment, income, racism and housing on the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal peoples. Forums and workshops were conducted to establish future research outcomes and priorities. The project will help in developing localised and community-oriented solutions to Aboriginal health issues.