Reading fictions

Each of the six chapters, which offer a cumulative course of study, begins with a concise overview of the concepts to be explored through the students’ reading of selected stories. The first chapter, 'Texts and readings', tries to make reading seem 'strange' through a series of de-familiarising activities that ask students to consider not only what particular stories might mean, but also how they are made to mean in different, and often quite contradictory, ways. This is explored further in the second chapter which introduces the idea of 'reading positions' and investigates the idea that in some senses, stories are always 'already read'. The next two chapters, called 'Intertextuality' and 'Re-readings?', invite students to consider how they produce particular readings and how they might choose among quite different readings or interpretations of the same story. The fifth chapter explores ideas about texts and their relationship to 'reality' through readings of racism, while the final chapter, 'Real people?' asks students to consider how they produce often rich and detailed readings of characters from minimal textual information. Terms and concepts which may be new to some students are highlighted in the text and indexed for easy reference. The short stories in this collection are by writers from different parts of the world and will appeal to students. They range from 'expressive realist' texts to less conventional narrative forms. Those teachers who have enjoyed using Reading Stories with their students will have a lot to look forward to in this collection of surefire 'winners' - by writers as varied as Bessie Head, Kristin Hunter, Tim Winton, Joyce Carol Oates, John Wain and Patricia Grace - each of which is accompanied by imaginative, enjoyable and thought-provoking activities.

An introduction to inertial and visual sensing

In this paper we present a tutorial introduction to two important senses for biological and robotic systems — inertial and visual perception. We discuss the fundamentals of these two sensing modalities from a biological and an engineering perspective. Digital camera chips and micro-machined accelerometers and gyroscopes are now commodities, and when combined with today's available computing can provide robust estimates of self-motion as well 3D scene structure, without external infrastructure. We discuss the complementarity of these sensors, describe some fundamental approaches to fusing their outputs and survey the field.

Merging fact with fiction : a study of year 9 students' developing scientific literacy through the writing of hybridised scientific narratives on a socioscientific issue

International assessments of student science achievement, and growing evidence of students' waning interest in school science, have ensured that the development of scientific literacy continues to remain an important educational priority. Furthermore, researchers have called for teaching and learning strategies to engage students in the learning of science, particularly in the middle years of schooling. This study extends previous national and international research that has established a link between writing and learning science. Specifically, it investigates the learning experiences of eight intact Year 9 science classes as they engage in the writing of short stories that merge scientific and narrative genres (i.e., hybridised scientific narratives) about the socioscientific issue of biosecurity. This study employed a triangulation mixed methods research design, generating both quantitative and qualitative data, in order to investigate three research questions that examined the extent to which the students' participation in the study enhanced their scientific literacy; the extent to which the students demonstrated conceptual understanding of related scientific concepts through their written artefacts and in interviews about the artefacts; and the extent to which the students' participation in the project influenced their attitudes toward science and science learning. Three aspects of scientific literacy were investigated in this study: conceptual science understandings (a derived sense of scientific literacy), the students' transformation of scientific information in written stories about biosecurity (simple and expanded fundamental senses of scientific literacy), and attitudes toward science and science learning. The stories written by students in a selected case study class (N=26) were analysed quantitatively using a series of specifically-designed matrices that produce numerical scores that reflect students' developing fundamental and derived senses of scientific literacy. All students (N=152) also completed a Likert-style instrument (i.e., BioQuiz), pretest and posttest, that examined their interest in learning science, science self-efficacy, their perceived personal and general value of science, their familiarity with biosecurity issues, and their attitudes toward biosecurity. Socioscientific issues (SSI) education served as a theoretical framework for this study. It sought to investigate an alternative discourse with which students can engage in the context of SSI education, and the role of positive attitudes in engaging students in the negotiation of socioscientific issues. Results of the study have revealed that writing BioStories enhanced selected aspects of the participants' attitudes toward science and science learning, and their awareness and conceptual understanding of issues relating to biosecurity. Furthermore, the students' written artefacts alone did not provide an accurate representation of the level of their conceptual science understandings. An examination of these artefacts in combination with interviews about the students' written work provided a more comprehensive assessment of their developing scientific literacy. These findings support extensive calls for the utilisation of diversified writing-to-learn strategies in the science classroom, and therefore make a significant contribution to the writing-to-learn science literature, particularly in relation to the use of hybridised scientific genres. At the same time, this study presents the argument that the writing of hybridised scientific narratives such as BioStories can be used to complement the types of written discourse with which students engage in the negotiation of socioscientific issues, namely, argumentation, as the development of positive attitudes toward science and science learning can encourage students' participation in the discourse of science. The implications of this study for curricular design and implementation, and for further research, are also discussed.

Shadowlands (Directed by Caroline Heim)

The controversial love affair of CS Lewis, Oxford scholar and writer of the Narnia Chronicles, is set in a constellation of music, sculpture and mime. CS Lewis’s intriguing relationship with poet Joy Davidman moves, inspires and confronts us with the big questions. Beauty contrasts with the ephemeral land of the shadows. Crossbow’s adaption of William Nicholson’s soulful and witty play explores the joy and the grief of “experience: that most brutal of teachers.” Showcasing the abilities of Brisbane and Sydney actors, the company that brought you The Miracle Worker and Anne of the Thousand Days, will quicken your senses and stir your heart with Shadowlands. All performances have a tactile tour of the stage 20 minutes before the start time of the show. Special signed performance for hearing impaired patrons Thur 5 Aug 2pm

A story worth telling : putting oral history and digital collections online in cultural institutions

Digital platforms in cultural institutions offer exciting opportunities for oral history and digital storytelling that can augment and enrich traditional collections. The way in which cultural institutions allow access to the public is changing dramatically, prompting substantial expansions of their oral history and digital story holdings. In Queensland, Australia, public libraries and museums are becoming innovative hubs of a wide assortment of collections that represent a cross-section of community groups and organisations through the integration of oral history and digital storytelling. The State Library of Queensland (SLQ) features digital stories online to encourage users to explore what the institution has in the catalogue through their website. Now SLQ also offers oral history interviews online, to introduce users to oral history and other components of their collections,- such as photographs and documents to current, as well as new users. This includes the various departments, Indigenous centres and regional libraries affiliated with SLQ statewide, who are often unable to access the materials held within, or even full information about, the collections available within the institution. There has been a growing demand for resources and services that help to satisfy community enthusiasm and promote engagement. Demand increases as public access to affordable digital media technologies increases, and as community or marginalised groups become interested in do it yourself (DIY) history; and SLQ encourages this. This paper draws on the oral history and digital story-based research undertaken by the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) for the State Library of Queensland including: the Apology Collection: The Prime Minister’s apology to Australia’s Indigenous Stolen Generation; Five Senses: regional Queensland artists; Gay history of Brisbane; and The Queensland Business Leaders Hall of Fame.

The nonconceptual gateway to early word learning

My research investigates why nouns are learned disproportionately more frequently than other kinds of words during early language acquisition (Gentner, 1982; Gleitman, et al., 2004). This question must be considered in the context of cognitive development in general. Infants have two major streams of environmental information to make meaningful: perceptual and linguistic. Perceptual information flows in from the senses and is processed into symbolic representations by the primitive language of thought (Fodor, 1975). These symbolic representations are then linked to linguistic input to enable language comprehension and ultimately production. Yet, how exactly does perceptual information become conceptualized? Although this question is difficult, there has been progress. One way that children might have an easier job is if they have structures that simplify the data. Thus, if particular sorts of perceptual information could be separated from the mass of input, then it would be easier for children to refer to those specific things when learning words (Spelke, 1990; Pylyshyn, 2003). It would be easier still, if linguistic input was segmented in predictable ways (Gentner, 1982; Gleitman, et al., 2004) Unfortunately the frequency of patterns in lexical or grammatical input cannot explain the cross-cultural and cross-linguistic tendency to favor nouns over verbs and predicates. There are three examples of this failure: 1) a wide variety of nouns are uttered less frequently than a smaller number of verbs and yet are learnt far more easily (Gentner, 1982); 2) word order and morphological transparency offer no insight when you contrast the sentence structures and word inflections of different languages (Slobin, 1973) and 3) particular language teaching behaviors (e.g. pointing at objects and repeating names for them) have little impact on children's tendency to prefer concrete nouns in their first fifty words (Newport, et al., 1977). Although the linguistic solution appears problematic, there has been increasing evidence that the early visual system does indeed segment perceptual information in specific ways before the conscious mind begins to intervene (Pylyshyn, 2003). I argue that nouns are easier to learn because their referents directly connect with innate features of the perceptual faculty. This hypothesis stems from work done on visual indexes by Zenon Pylyshyn (2001, 2003). Pylyshyn argues that the early visual system (the architecture of the "vision module") segments perceptual data into pre-conceptual proto-objects called FINSTs. FINSTs typically correspond to physical things such as Spelke objects (Spelke, 1990). Hence, before conceptualization, visual objects are picked out by the perceptual system demonstratively, like a finger pointing indicating ‘this’ or ‘that’. I suggest that this primitive system of demonstration elaborates on Gareth Evan's (1982) theory of nonconceptual content. Nouns are learnt first because their referents attract demonstrative visual indexes. This theory also explains why infants less often name stationary objects such as plate or table, but do name things that attract the focal attention of the early visual system, i.e., small objects that move, such as ‘dog’ or ‘ball’. This view leaves open the question how blind children learn words for visible objects and why children learn category nouns (e.g. 'dog'), rather than proper nouns (e.g. 'Fido') or higher taxonomic distinctions (e.g. 'animal').

"Re-imagining animation : the changing face of the moving image by Paul Wells and Johnny Hardstaff" (Book Review)

Advances in digital technology have caused a radical shift in moving image culture. This has occurred in both modes of production and sites of exhibition, resulting in a blurring of boundaries that previously defined a range of creative disciplines. Re-Imagining Animation: The Changing Face of the Moving Image, by Paul Wells and Johnny Hardstaff, argues that as a result of these blurred disciplinary boundaries, the term “animation” has become a “catch all” for describing any form of manipulated moving image practice. Understanding animation predicates the need to (re)define the medium within contemporary moving image culture. Via a series of case studies, the book engages with a range of moving image works, interrogating “how the many and varied approaches to making film, graphics, visual artefacts, multimedia and other intimations of motion pictures can now be delineated and understood” (p. 7). The structure and clarity of content make this book ideally suited to any serious study of contemporary animation which accepts animation as a truly interdisciplinary medium.

Using TAM to examine consumer acceptance of a mobile phone assisted smoking cessation program in Australia

This paper study examines Australian smokers’ perceptions of a potential SMS-assisted smoking cessation program. Using TAM we tested perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness and subjective norms on intentions to use this cessation program if it was available. Findings show that perceived usefulness and subjective norms were the significant predictors of intentions to use. Perceived ease of use did not directly influence this outcome instead it has an indirect influence through perceived usefulness. These preliminary findings can be built upon through introducing additional variables to help practitioners better understand consumer acceptance when marketing e-health programs such as this.

Communicating friendships : a case study of women in an Australian 'seachange' town

This thesis proposes =friendworks‘ as an important sub-group of social networks, comprised of networks of friends. It investigates friendworks of a particular group of adult Australian women as a way of understanding neglected aspects of social networking practices. Friendworks are contextualised to highlight two main themes of interest: population mobility and communication practices. The impact of relocation on individuals, local communities and the wider society is explored through a case study of female friendworks in a seachange community. Research findings point to the importance of friendworks in building and cohering social and emotional support, well-being, belonging and senses of place and community. Different types of communication methods were used by research participants for mediating different kinds of social ties within the friendworks considered here. Communication patterns were influenced by geographical proximity to friends, and the type of social support required of them (emotional, instrumental or companionship). Most findings were consistent with broader social patterns of communication. For example, face-to-face interactions were the dominant and most favoured communication method between local friends, regardless of whether they were weak or strong ties. The fixed-telephone and the internet were commonly in use to maintain old and geographically distant social ties, while mobile phones were used the least among friends in comparison with other communication methods. The key finding of this thesis is that friendworks are an extremely important solid network in contemporary society, providing mooring relations in a mobile world. Paradoxically, however, for women in this study, the mobile phone, which is popularly perceived as a flexible, multi-purpose communication technology for people on the move, was the least versatile of all technologies for maintaining friendworks. The cost of services was the main inhibitor here. The internet was found to be the most versatile communication technology and was used to support various types of social ties: strong, weak, local and distant. This thesis also highlights the value of the concept of friendworks as well as networks for communication research and policy investigating individuals‘ motivations and practices.

Re-engaging adolescent students in science : an experienced teachers' classroom

Adolescents are both aware of and have the impetuous to exploit aspects of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) within their personal lives. Whether they are surfing, cycling, skateboarding or shopping, STEM concepts impact their lives. However science, mathematics, engineering and technology are still treated in the classroom as separate fragmented entities in the educational environment where most classroom talk is seemingly incomprehensible to the adolescent senses. The aim of this study was to examine the experiences of young adolescents with the aim of transforming school learning at least of science into meaningful experiences that connected with their lives using a self-study approach. Over a 12-month period, the researcher, an experienced secondary-science teacher, designed, implemented and documented a range of pedagogical practices with his Year-7 secondary science class. Data for this case study included video recordings, journals, interviews and surveys of students. By setting an environment empathetic to adolescent needs and understandings, students were able to actively explore phenomena collaboratively through developmentally appropriate experiences. Providing a more contextually relevant environment fostered meta-cognitive practices, encouraged new learning through open dialogue, multi-modal representations and assessments that contributed to building upon, re-affirming, or challenging both the students' prior learning and the teacher’s pedagogical content knowledge. A significant outcome of this study was the transformative experiences of an insider, the teacher as researcher, whose reflections provided an authentic model for reforming pedagogy in STEM classes.

Accommodating serendipity in the active studio

This paper presents a series of ongoing experiments to facilitate serendipity in the design studio through a diversity of delivery modes. These experiments are conducted in a second year architectural design studio, and include physical, dramatic and musical performance. The act of designing is always exploratory, always seeking an unknown resolution, and the ability to see and capture the value in the unexpected is a critical aspect of such creative design practice. Engaging with the unexpected is however a difficult ability to develop in students. Just how can a student be schooled in such abilities when the challenge and the context are unforeseeable? How can students be offered meaningful feedback about an issue that cannot be predicted, when feedback comes in the form of extrinsic assessment from a tutor? This project establishes a number of student activities that seek to provide intrinsic feedback from the activity itself. Further to this, the project seeks to heighten student engagement with the project through physical expression and performance: utilising more of the students’ senses than just vision and hearing. Diana Laurillard’s theories of conversational frameworks (2002) are used to interrogate the act of dramatic performance as an act of learning, with particular reference to the serendipitous activities of design. Such interrogation highlights the feedback mechanisms that facilitate intrinsic feedback and fast, if not instantaneous, cycles of learning. The physical act of performance itself provides a learning experience that is not replicable in other modes of delivery. Student feedback data and independent assessment of project outcomes are used to assess the success of this studio model.

Wolf Creek by Sonya Hartnett

Australian screen classics are seminal for a range of reasons: whether it is a particular title’s popularity and impact upon popular culture, its cultural and textual meaning, or what the film tells us about the social, political and cultural climate from which it emerged. Wolf Creek (Greg McLean, 2005) is undoubtedly an Australian screen classic. The film was an impressive low-budget breakout success, which played a big part in the renaissance of contemporary Australian genre cinema by opening doors for genre filmmakers targeting international markets in ways that haven’t been seen in Australia since the 1980s. Wolf Creek has become the quintessential Australian horror movie. It has captured collective national fears and anxieties about the Australian outback – the isolation, the repressive desolation, the idea that the landscape itself is your enemy. It challenges traditional representations of Australian masculinity and the “ocker larrikin” to show a negative image of the rural ocker which dominated Australian screen in the 1970s and, to lesser extent, the 1980s.

Without an Alibi

The project is a book collection of 65 poems, primarily with an environmental focus. This practice-led project draws on eco-critical theory (Wilson, 1992; and Bate, 2000) and Darwinian literary theory (Carroll, 2004) to explore ideas of ecology, the ‘natural’, and conservation. The poems explore a proposal of synthesis: that nature is for us both a construction of language/culture (as argued by post structuralism/ cultural studies) and also a pragmatic, empirical entity that can be experienced through the senses as well as through culture. For example, individual poems describe genres of ‘forest’ (‘Literary Forests’, ‘The Conservative Forest’, ‘The Imperial Forest’) which demonstrate how ‘nature’ can be culturally constructed, but also remain an empirical entity with which we experience a more immediate, physical connection, as posited by Bate (following Heidegger’s ‘being-in-the-world’) . The work also explores through satire the concept of evolutionary adaptation, for example the integration of machine into forest (‘The Black Forest’), animals adopting human characteristics (‘In Praise of Bears’), and ‘nature’ as a damaged or absent ‘other’. Without an Alibi makes various strands of theoretical thinking concrete and manifest by ‘showing not telling’, in creative practice. The work has been high positively reviewed in the prestigious Australian Book Review, and by Professor Peter Pierce in the Canberra Times. Several of the poems have since been reproduced in national anthologies including The Penguin Anthology of Australian Poetry (2000) and Australian Poetry Since 1988 (Uni of NSW Press).

Queensland Business Women Stories

These projects build on the research of Klaebe and Burgess into digital story-telling, specifically variable workshop scenarios, co-creative media, participatory public history, and the development of co-creative production processes for cultural institutions. The projects represented a partnership between QUT and the State Library of Queensland. The Five Senses project focused on the distributed digital storytelling workshop model and the development of audiences for digital storytelling. The team worked with regional artists whose work had been selected for inclusion in the Five Senses exhibition at the State Library of Queensland to produce stories about their work; these works were then integrated into the physical exhibition space. The Queensland Businesswomen project produced four digital stories profiling the lives of leading Queensland businesswomen. The digital story telling workshop model was disbanded and research teams worked individually with participants to create the digital stories. Academic research and oral history interviews were conducted initially to foreground these productions. This pilot led to a larger project, Business Leaders Hall of Fame, which now has a dedicated viewing room in the SLQ sponsored by an annual silver service dinner event. With the Responses to the Apology project, which stimulated similar projects in Mt Isa and Cairns, the research team worked with Indigenous facilitators, and the participants created their digital stories with assistance from these facilitators and the QUT research team using a mix of workshop and individual meetings. The research component of the work relates to the further development of co-creative production processes for cultural institutions, involving a wide range of institutional and individual partners, while authentically representing the intensely personal perspectives of each of the primary participants. The Queensland Business Leaders Hall of Fame was a research project that included interviews with eminent Queenslanders that produced oral history interviews and digital stories about the achievements of both Queensland personalities and businesses. This model was able to test and evaluate the use of oral history and digital storytelling for learning and community heritage purposes. Interviewees include; Sir John and Valmai Pidgeon, Joseph Saragossi, Robert Bryan, Clem Jones, Jim Kennedy, Sr Angela Mary, Castelmaine Perkins, Burns and Philp, Qantas, Don Argus & Steve Irwin All digital stories, oral history interviews and transcripts were accessioned into the library collection – an international first for digital stories. Two publications in refereed journals have resulted, and the digital stories are stored in the SLQ permanent collection for the benefit of national and international scholars and the general public.