Building a supportive environment for teaching and learning : a reflective commentary

Universities are increasingly caught in the transition between college institutions of independant academics to become managed businesses of research and teaching and learning. This is introducing substantial issues with the work, approach and personal development needs of individual academics. It is causing even greater concerns for managers within universities. The developments in University Management have increasingly become driven towards issues of finance, quality and marketing. Organizational development in teaching and learning practices has been less commonly a point of focus. This paper outlines developments of this nature at the University of Salford. Through its combination of authors it does so at whole University, Faculty and School levels. It outlines the variety of ways in which teaching and learning developments can be supported within an organisation.

Landscape symphonies : gardening as a source of landscape architecture practice engaged with change

The notion of designing with change constitutes a fundamental and foundational theoretical premise for much of what constitutes landscape architecture, notably through engagement with ecology, particularly since the work of Ian McHarg in the 1960s and his key text Design with Nature. However, while most if not all texts in landscape architecture would cite this engagement of change theoretically, few go any further than citation, and when they do their methods seem fixated on utilising empirical, quantitative scientific tools for doing so, rather than the tools of design, in an architectural sense, as implied by the name of the discipline, landscape architecture.

Governance and effectiveness in regional planning: an analysis of North American, European, and Australasian practice

Over the past several years, there has been resurgent interest in regional planning in North America, Europe and Australasia. Spurred by issues such as metropolitan growth, transportation infrastructure, environmental management and economic development, many states and metropolitan regions are undertaking new planning initiatives. These regional efforts have also raised significant question about governance structures, accountability and measures of effectiveness.n this paper, the authors conducted an international review of ten case studies from the United States, Canada, England, Belgium, New Zealand and Australia to explore several critical questions. Using qualitative data template, the research team reviewed plans, documents, web sites and published literature to address three questions. First, what are the governance arrangements for delivering regional planning? Second, what are the mechanisms linking regional plans with state plans (when relevant) and local plans? Third, what means and mechanisms do these regional plans use to evaluate and measure effectiveness? The case study analysis revealed several common themes. First, there is an increasing focus on goverance at the regional level, which is being driven by a range of trends, including regional spatial development initiatives in Europe, regional transportation issues in the US, and the growth of metropolitan regions generally. However, there is considerable variation in how regional governance arrangements are being played out. Similarly, there is a range of processes being used at the regional level to guide planning that range from broad ranging (thick) processes to narrow and limited (thin) approaches. Finally, evaluation and monitoring of regional planning efforts are compiling data on inputs, processes, outputs and outcomes. Although there is increased attention being paid to indicators and monitoring, most of it falls into outcome evaluations such as Agenda 21 or sustainability reporting. Based on our review we suggest there is a need for increased attention on input, process and output indicators and clearer linkages of these indicators in monitoring and evaluation frameworks. The focus on outcome indicators, such as sustainability indicators, creates feedback systems that are too long-term and remote for effective monitoring and feedback. Although we found some examples of where these kinds of monitoring frameworks are linked into a system of governance, there is a need for clearer conceptual development for both theory and practice.

From the consciousness industry to the creative industries : consumer-created content, social network markets, & the growth of knowledge

In studies of media industries, too much attention has been paid to providers and firms, too little to consumers and markets. But with user-created content, the question first posed more than a generation ago by the uses & gratifications method and taken up by semiotics and the active audience tradition (‘what do audiences do with media?’), has resurfaced with renewed force. What’s new is that where this question (of what the media industries and audiences did with each other) used to be individualist and functionalist, now, with the advent of social networks using Web 2.0 affordances, it can be re-posed at the level of systems and populations as well.

Digital scholarship and pedagogy, the next step : cultural science.

There are two aspects to the problem of digital scholarship and pedagogy. One is to do with scholarship; the other with pedagogy. In scholarship, the association of knowledge with its printed form remains dominant. In pedagogy, the desire to abandon print for ‘new’ media is urgent, at least in some parts of the academy. Film and media studies are thus at the intersection of opposing forces – pulling the field ‘back’ to print and ‘forward’ to digital media. These tensions may be especially painful in a field whose own object of study is another form of communication, neither print nor digital but broadcast. Although print has been overtaken in the popular marketplace by audio-visual forms, this was never achieved in the domain of scholarship. Even when it is digitally distributed, the output of research is still a ‘paper.’ But meanwhile, in the realm of teaching, production- and practice-based pedagogy has become firmly established. Nevertheless a disjunction remains, between high-end scholarship in research universities and vocational training in teaching institutions; but neither is well equipped to deal with the digital challenge.

i-Cobb - An innovative technique in spinal radiographic measurement

The measurement of Cobb angles from radiographs is routine practice in spinal clinics. The technique relies on the use and availability of specialist equipment such as a goniometer, cobbometer or protractor. The aim of this study was to validate the use of i-Phone (Apple Inc) combined with Tilt Meter Pro software as compared to a protractor in the measurement of Cobb angles. Between November 2008 and December 2008 20 patients were selected at random from the Paediatric Spine Research Groups Database. A power calculation was performed which indicated if n=240 measurements the study had a 96% chance of detecting a 5 degree difference between groups. All patients had idiopathic scoliosis with a range of curve types and severities. The study found the i-Phone combined with Tilt Meter Pro software offers a faster alternative to the traditional method of Cobb angle measurement. The use of i-Phone offers a more convenient way of measuring Cobb angles in the outpatient setting. The intra-observer repeatability of the iPhone is equivalent to the protractor in the measurement of Cobb angles.

Creative Industries come to China (MATE)

This paper introduces the special issue “China: Internationalizing the Creative Industries”, describing the Australian Research Council funded “MATE” project which provides the conceptual background for the questions the issue explores. The MATE project began with the expectation that as China evolves from its status as a developing country with an emphasis on primary industries and manufacturing, to a mature, market-driven economy benefiting from high levels of international investment, it will become more actively engaged with the global “knowledge economy” and “information society”. In this context, developments in the “creative industries”, which are playing such an important role in developed economies, might reasonably be expected in China. Although China continues to be characterised by strong central-policy settings, as the domestic consumer market matures there is greater scope for consumer-led creative business development. The “MATE” project aimed to capture some of these changes as they began to gain momentum across a range of services: Media, Advertising, Tourism and Education. This special issue continues this theme with papers that explore the theoretical challenges, economic questions and implications, and practical instantiations of creative industries growth in China. All papers contained in this special issue have been peer-reviewed.

Challenging 'best practice' subtropical design

Genuine sustainability would require that urban development provide net positive social and ecological gains to compensate for previous lost natural capital and carrying capacity. Thus far, green buildings do not contribute to net sustainability. While they reduce relative resource consumption, they consume vast quantities of materials, energy and water.i Moreover, they replace land and ecosystems with structures that, at best, ‘mimic’ ecosystems. Elsewhere, the author has proposed a‘sustainability standard’, where development would leave the ecology, as well as society, better off after construction than before.ii To meet this standard, a development would need to add natural and social capital beyond what existed prior to development. Positive DesignTM or Positive DevelopmentTM is that which expands both the ecological base (life support system) and the public estate (equitable access to means of survival). How to achieve this is discussed in Positive Development (Birkeland 2008). This paper examines how net positive gains can be achieved in a ubtropical as well as temperate environment.

Show

Script for non-verbal performance. Research Component: Silent Treatment: Creating Non-verbal Performance Works for Children The research field of theatre for young people draws on theories of child development and popular culture. SHOW explored personal and social development, friendship and creative play through the lens of the experience of girls aged 8-12. This project consolidated and refined innovative approaches to creating non-verbal theatre performance, and addressed challenges inherent in the creation of a performance by adults for young audiences. A significant finding of the project was the unanticipated convergence of creative practice and research into child behaviour and development: the congruence of content (Female bullying) and theatrical form (non-verbal performance: “Within the hidden culture of aggression, girls fight with body language and relationships instead of fists and knives. In this world, friendship is a weapon, and the sting of a shout pales in comparison to a day of someone’s silence. There is no gesture more devastating than the back turning away Simmons, Rachel (2002:3) Odd Girl Out: The Hidden Culture Of Aggression In Girls Schwartz Books The creative development and drafting process focussed on negotiating the conceptual design and practical constraints of incorporating diegetic music and video sources into the narrative. The authorial (and production) challenges of creating a script that could facilitate the re-mount a non-verbal work for a company specialising in text-based theatre . Show was commissioned by the Queensland Theatre Company in 2003, toured into Queensland Schools by the Queensland Arts Council and in 2004 was performed at the Sydney Opera House.

Advanced nursing practice : a global perspective

Aim: To review the titles, roles and scope of practice of Advanced Practice Nurses internationally.----- Background: There is a worldwide shortage of nurses but there is also an increased demand for nurses with enhanced skills who can manage a more diverse, complex and acutely ill patient population than ever before. As a result, a variety of nurses in advanced practice positions has evolved around the world. The differences in nomenclature have led to confusion over the roles, scope of practice and professional boundaries of nurses in an international context.----- Method: CINAHL, Medline, and the Cochrane database of Systematic Reviews were searched from 1987 to 2008. Information was also obtained through government health and professional organisation websites. All information in the literature regarding current and past status, and nomenclature of advanced practice nursing was considered relevant.----- Findings: There are many names for Advanced Practice Nurses, and although many of these roles are similar in their function, they can often have different titles.----- Conclusion: Advanced Practice Nurses are critical for the future, provide cost-effective care and are highly regarded by patients/clients. They will be a constant and permanent feature of future health care provision. However, clarification regarding their classification and regulation is necessary in some countries.

The Second Life of urban planning? Using neogeography tools for community engagement

The majority of the world’s citizens now live in cities. Although urban planning can thus be thought of as a field with significant ramifications on the human condition, many practitioners feel that it has reached the crossroads in thought leadership between traditional practice and a new, more participatory and open approach. Conventional ways to engage people in participatory planning exercises are limited in reach and scope. At the same time, socio-cultural trends and technology innovation offer opportunities to re-think the status quo in urban planning. Neogeography introduces tools and services that allow non-geographers to use advanced geographical information systems. Similarly, is there potential for the emergence of a neo-planning paradigm in which urban planning is carried out through active civic engagement aided by Web 2.0 and new media technologies thus redefining the role of practicing planners? This paper traces a number of evolving links between urban planning, neogeography and information and communication technology. Two significant trends – participation and visualisation – with direct implications for urban planning are discussed. Combining advanced participation and visualisation features, the popular virtual reality environment Second Life is then introduced as a test bed to explore a planning workshop and an integrated software event framework to assist narrative generation. We discuss an approach to harness and analyse narratives using virtual reality logging to make transparent how users understand and interpret proposed urban designs.

Fallen Awake

Photo from process: David Megarrity, albury 2007 - example of convergence of writing/design/perfomance/video RESEARCH COMPONENT Fallen Awake was a practice-led research process that opened the development process to the influence of collaborative authorship across artforms. The project focused on of how multiple artforms and artists converge their vision into a singular text, in the context of collaborative authorship. The work also uncovered new questions relating to the dream-life of children. The stimulus for the work was a selection of verbal statements by three-year-olds, raising complex ethical questions as the project progressed about the child’s voice, mediated by the adult artist, for the eventual presentation to a child audience. With the text emergent and open to influence, this project raised other questions related to the lived experience of children, dreaming, creative play and the development of consciousness. It pushed the creative process to experiment with associative, rather then causal narratives, and to negotiate the challenges this raises for traditional story structures and the development processes that usually shape them. It led to the consideration of each artforms and artist as equal contributors in the development of story: traditionally the province of the sole author. The outcomes appeared in various artforms, none of which was live-performance based. An ‘artist’s book’ by the designer, a ‘video treatment’ - a DVD capturing the approach to the performance and a script for an innovative large-scale performance. Fallen Awake was developed with the assistance of Strut & Fret Production House, Arts Queensland, and HotHouse Theatre, Albury Wodonga, through their ‘Month in the Country’ initiative.

Cholesterol-lowering management of stroke : inconsistencies of evidence and practice

Cholesterol-lowering treatment by statins is an important and costly issue; however, its role in stroke has not been well documented. The aim of the present study was to review literature and current practice regarding cholesterol-lowering treatment for stroke patients. A literature review was conducted on lipids in stroke and their management with both statins and diet, including the cost-effectiveness of medical nutrition therapy. Qualifying criteria and prescription procedures of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) were also reviewed. Data on lipid levels and statin prescriptions were analysed for 468 patients admitted to a stroke unit. The literature shows that management with both medication and diet can be effective, especially when combined; however, 60% of patients with an ischaemic event had fasting total cholesterol measures ≥4 mmol/L (n = 231), with only 52% prescribed statins on discharge (n = 120). Hypercholesterolaemia is an underdiagnosed and undertreated risk factor within the stroke population. It appears that the PBS has not kept pace with advances in the evidence in terms of statin use in the stroke population, and review is needed. The present review should address the qualifying criteria for the stroke population and recommendations on referral to dietitians for dietary advice. Cholesterol-lowering treatment for both stroke patients and the wider population is an area that needs awareness raising and review by the PBS, medical practitioners and dietitians. The role of dietary and pharmacological treatments needs to be clearly defined, including adjunct therapy, and the cost-effectiveness of medical nutrition therapy realised.

Meaning in movement : a gestural design game

This paper describes a design game that we called 'Meaning in Movement'. The purpose was to explore notions of professional dental practice with dental practioners in terms of gestures, actions and movements. The game represents a first step towards involving gestures, actions and movements in a design dialog with practioners for the purpose of designing future interactive systems which are more appropriate to the type of skilful actions and richly structured environments of dentists and dental assistants.

Work at hand : an exploration of gesture in the context of work and everyday life to inform the design of gestural input devices

This research explores gestures used in the context of activities in the workplace and in everyday life in order to understand requirements and devise concepts for the design of gestural information applicances. A collaborative method of video interaction analysis devised to suit design explorations, the Video Card Game, was used to capture and analyse how gesture is used in the context of six different domains: the dentist's office; PDA and mobile phone use; the experimental biologist's laboratory; a city ferry service; a video cassette player repair shop; and a factory flowmeter assembly station. Findings are presented in the form of gestural themes, derived from the tradition of qualitative analysis but bearing some similarity to Alexandrian patterns. Implications for the design of gestural devices are discussed.