A Reliability test system for educational purposes-basic data

The IEEE Reliability Test System (RTS) developed by the Application of Probability Method Subcommittee has been used to compare and test a wide range of generating capacity and composite system evaluation techniques and subsequent digital computer programs. A basic reliability test system is presented which has evolved from the reliability education and research programs conducted by the Power System Research Group at the University of Saskatchewan. The basic system data necessary for adequacy evaluation at the generation and composite generation and transmission system levels are presented together with the fundamental data required to conduct reliability-cost/reliability-worth evaluation

A Reliability test system for educational purposes-basic results

A set of basic reliability indices at the generation and composite generation and transmission levels for a small reliability test system are presented. The test system and the results presented have evolved from reliability research and teaching programs. The indices presented are for fundamental reliability applications which should be covered in a power system reliability teaching program. The RBTS test system and the basic indices provide a valuable reference for faculty and students engaged in reliability teaching and research

Validation of the Educational Stress Scale for Adolescents (ESSA) in Vietnam

Introduction To date, there has been little systematic, quantitative research on the links between academic pressure and mental health among adolescents in Asia, and none in Vietnam. In part, this is because of a lack of appropriate tools to measure this complex phenomenon. This study was to validate the Educational Stress Scale for Adolescents (ESSA), developed and tested in China, with the aim of fostering further research in Asia. Methods A total of 1283 students were recruited in 3 secondary schools and 3 high schools in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Anonymous, selfreport questionnaires included the ESSA and previously validated measures of mental health. Results Among the 1226 questionnaires available, 54% of respondents were female. The mean age was 15.3 years. Students reported substantial study burden. The ESSA had good internal consistency, and factorial validity and concurrent validity were established. Conclusion The ESSA is a suitable measure for school-based mental health research in Asia.

Revisiting educational equity and quality in China through confucianism, policy, research, and practice

The promotion of educational equity and improvement of educational quality in China are contextualised in tenets of Confucianism and policy directives, inspiring educational research and practice. In this paper, we first explore the historical and cultural roots of educational equity and quality through Confucianism and elaborate on the current policy priority that aims to address educational equity and quality. We then present an overview of research on equity and quality in Chinese education. Informed by Confucianism, policy, and research, we pose a framework to structure our investigation and analysis of three illustrative examples, namely the Special Post Teacher Plan, amalgamation of rural schools, and schooling of floating children. Drawing insights from Confucianism, policy, research, and practice, we conclude that the promotion of educational equity through high quality provision of education for disadvantaged groups can help to narrow the gap in educational quality currently existing in China.

How to improve pupils' literacy? A cost-effectiveness analysis of a French educational project

The Action Lecture program is an innovative teaching method run in some nursery and primary schools in Paris and designed to improve pupils’ literacy. We report the results of an evaluation of this program. We describe the experimental protocol that was built to estimate the program’s impact on several types of indicators. Data were processed following a Differences-in-Differences (DID) method. Then we use the estimation of the impact on academic achievement to conduct a cost-effectiveness analysis and take a reduction of the class size program as a benchmark. The results are positive for the Action Lecture program.

A commentary on the current and future status of educational and developmental psychology in Australia

Educational and developmental psychology faces a number of current and future challenges and opportunities in Australia. In this commentary we consider the identity of educational and developmental psychology in terms of the features that distinguish it from other specialisations, and address issues related to training, specialist endorsement, supervision and rebating under the Australian government's Medicare system. The current status of training in Australia is considered through a review of the four university programs in educational and developmental psychology currently offered, and the employment destinations of their graduates. Although the need for traditional services in settings such as schools, hospitals, disability and community organisations will undoubtedly continue, the role of educational and developmental psychologists is being influenced and to some extent redefined by advances in technology, medicine, genetics, and neuroscience. We review some of these advances and conclude with recommendations for training and professional development that will enable Australian educational and developmental psychologists to meet the challenges ahead.

To what extent is the Mayer and Salovey (1997) model of emotional intelligence a useful predictor of leadership style and perceived leadership outcomes in Australian educational institutions?

Researchers have found that transformational leadership is related to positive outcomes in educational institutions. Hence, it is important to explore constructs that may predict leadership style in order to identify potential transformational leaders in assessment and selection procedures. Several studies in non-educational settings have found that emotional intelligence is a useful predictor of transformational leadership, but these studies have generally lacked methodological rigor and contextual relevance. This project, set in Australian educational institutions, employed a more rigorous methodology to answer the question: to what extent is the Mayer and Salovey (1997) model of emotional intelligence a useful predictor of leadership style and perceived leadership outcomes? The project was designed to move research in the field forward by using valid and reliable instruments, controlling for other predictors, obtaining an adequately sized sample of current leaders and collecting multiple ratings of their leadership behaviours. The study (N = 144 leaders and 432 raters) results indicated that emotional intelligence was not a useful predictor of leadership style and perceived leadership outcomes. In contrast, several of the other predictors in the study were found to predict leadership style.

A review of the educational needs of nurses administering cancer chemotherapy in rural and remote areas of Queensland

This paper describes current issues in chemotherapy nursing practice in rural and remote Australia. There is a trend to refer chemotherapy clients back to their rural and remote health facility for treatment from major oncology centres in Australia. However, it is increasingly apparent that the majority of nurses administering chemotherapy in smaller centres lack the theoretical and clinical knowledge to ensure optimum client outcomes and nurse/client safety. There are also issues unique to rural and remote life which will influence optimum chemotherapy service delivery. The research program described in the paper will ascertain the education requirements of rural and remote nurses administering chemotherapy and the design and delivery of a chemotherapy education package specific to the rural and remote context. Similar programs will ensure the best standards of chemotherapy practice in non-metropolitan areas by enhancing the practical and theoretical knowledge base of rural and remote nurses.

The effect of employment while in high school on educational attainment : a conditional difference-in-differences approach

Using American panel data from the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988, this article investigates the effect of working during grade 12 on attainment.We employ, for the first time in the related literature, a semiparametric propensity score matching approach combined with difference-in-differences. We address selection on both observables and unobservables associated with part-time work decisions, without the need for instrumental variable. Once such factors are controlled for, little to no effects on reading and math scores are found. Overall, our results therefore suggest a negligible academic cost from part-time working by the end of high school.

Realigning capital portfolios : international students' educational experiences in higher education

This paper reports on first year experiences of international students who use English as an additional language (EAL) in higher education in Australia. It examines how valued resources can foster a positive educational experience of these students from sociological perspectives. It draws data from an interview study, exploring narrative accounts of 17 EAL international students from nine countries about their educational relations and strategies across their first year of study. Their narratives were analysed through Bourdieu's concepts of field, habitus, capital and legitimation, as well as tools of narrative inquiry. The paper finds that the students took up strategies to realign their capital portfolios with new rules of the game. Their decisions were dependent on their personal trajectories and conditions on offer. This paper suggests that more effort needs to be made to understand international students' differentiated access to valued resources in higher education.

The view from here : educational program creates momentum for positive change

Kate Nayton, Elaine Fielding and Elizabeth Beattie describe how they developed a successful program to educate hospital staff about dementia care. The program may soon be trialled in other acute care facilities.

‘Teachers flipping out’ beyond the online lecture : maximising the educational potential of video

While video is recognised as an important medium for teaching and learning in the digital age, many video resources are not as effective as they might be, because they do not adequately exploit the strengths of the medium. Presented here are some case studies of video learning resources produced for various courses in a university environment. This ongoing project attempts to identify pedagogic strategies for the use of video; learning situations in which video has the most efficacy; and what production techniques can be employed to make effective video learning resources.

Delirium knowledge and recognition : a randomized controlled trial of a web-based educational intervention for acute care nurses

Delirium is a significant problem for older hospitalized people and is associated with poor outcomes. It is poorly recognized and evidence suggests that a major reason is lack of education. Nurses, who are educated about delirium, can play a significant role in improving delirium recognition. This study evaluated the impact of a delirium specific educational website. A cluster randomized controlled trial, with a pretest/post-test time series design, was conducted to measure delirium knowledge (DK) and delirium recognition (DR) over three time-points. Statistically significant differences were found between the intervention and non-intervention group. The intervention groups' DK scores were higher and the change over time results were statistically significant [T3 and T1 (t=3.78 p=<0.001) and T2 and T1 baseline (t=5.83 p=<0.001)]. Statistically significant improvements were also seen for DR when comparing T2 and T1 results (t=2.56 p=0.011) between both groups but not for changes in DR scores between T3 and T1 (t=1.80 p=0.074). Participants rated the website highly on the visual, functional and content elements. This study supports the concept that web-based delirium learning is an effective and satisfying method of information delivery for registered nurses. Future research is required to investigate clinical outcomes as a result of this web-based education.

Agentive motility meets structural viscosity: Australian families relocating in educational markets

This paper will develop and illustrate a concept of institutional viscosity to balance the more agentive concept of motility with a theoretical account of structural conditions. The argument articulates with two bodies of work: Archer’s (2007, 2012) broad social theory of reflexivity as negotiating agency and social structures; and Urry’s (2007) sociology of mobility and mobility systems. It then illustrates the concept of viscosity as a variable (low to high viscosity) through two empirical studies conducted in the sociology of education that help demonstrate how degrees of viscosity interact with degrees of motility, and how this interaction can impact on motility over time. The first study explored how Australian Defence Force families cope with their children’s disrupted education given frequent forced relocations. The other study explored how middle class professionals relate to career and educational opportunities in rural and remote Queensland. These two life conditions have produced very different institutional practices to make relocations thinkable and doable, by variously constraining or enabling mobility. In turn, the degrees of viscosity mobile individuals meet with over time can erode or elevate their motility.

Does improving school level attendance lead to improved school level achievement? An empirical study of indigenous educational policy in Australia

Current federal government policy initiatives in Aboriginal education and social welfare reform are based on assumptions about the relationship between increased attendance and increased student performance on standardized tests. There are empirical assumptions underlying these policy interventions and their accompanying public debates. Our aim here is to empirically explore the relationships between patterns of student attendance and patterns of student achievement in schools with significant cohorts of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander students at the school level. Based on an analysis of the publicly available data reported on the ‘MySchool’ website, we find that reforms and policies around attendance have not and are unlikely to generate patterns of improved achievement. Questions about the rationale and rhetoric of government policy focused at the school level as opposed to the need to focus on pedagogy and curriculum are discussed.