Genetic and environmental influences on neuroimaging phenotypes: A meta-analytical perspective on twin imaging studies

Because brain structure and function are affected in neurological and psychiatric disorders, it is important to disentangle the sources of variation in these phenotypes. Over the past 15 years, twin studies have found evidence for both genetic and environmental influences on neuroimaging phenotypes, but considerable variation across studies makes it difficult to draw clear conclusions about the relative magnitude of these influences. Here we performed the first meta-analysis of structural MRI data from 48 studies on >1,250 twin pairs, and diffusion tensor imaging data from 10 studies on 444 twin pairs. The proportion of total variance accounted for by genes (A), shared environment (C), and unshared environment (E), was calculated by averaging A, C, and E estimates across studies from independent twin cohorts and weighting by sample size. The results indicated that additive genetic estimates were significantly different from zero for all metaanalyzed phenotypes, with the exception of fractional anisotropy (FA) of the callosal splenium, and cortical thickness (CT) of the uncus, left parahippocampal gyrus, and insula. For many phenotypes there was also a significant influence of C. We now have good estimates of heritability for many regional and lobar CT measures, in addition to the global volumes. Confidence intervals are wide and number of individuals small for many of the other phenotypes. In conclusion, while our meta-analysis shows that imaging measures are strongly influenced by genes, and that novel phenotypes such as CT measures, FA measures, and brain activation measures look especially promising, replication across independent samples and demographic groups is necessary.

Emotionally intense science activities

Science activities that evoke positive emotional responses make a difference to students’ emotional experience of science. In this study, we explored 8th Grade students’ discrete emotions expressed during science activities in a unit on Energy. Multiple data sources including classroom videos, interviews and emotion diaries completed at the end of each lesson were analysed to identify individual student's emotions. Results from two representative students are presented as case studies. Using a theoretical perspective drawn from theories of emotions founded in sociology, two assertions emerged. First, during the demonstration activity, students experienced the emotions of wonder and surprise; second, during a laboratory activity, students experienced the intense positive emotions of happiness/joy. Characteristics of these activities that contributed to students’ positive experiences are highlighted. The study found that choosing activities that evoked strong positive emotional experiences, focused students’ attention on the phenomenon they were learning, and the activities were recalled positively. Furthermore, such positive experiences may contribute to students’ interest and engagement in science and longer term memorability. Finally, implications for science teachers and pre-service teacher education are suggested.

Is there a difference between supervising international and domestic graduate students in Engineering and IT?

This paper explores a key issue identified in two studies of factors influencing the success of international and culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) higher degree research graduate students. The studies include “A model for research supervision of international students in engineering and information technology disciplines” (MRS), which focused on identifying factors that influence successful supervision of culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) and international higher degree research (HDR or graduate) students in Engineering and IT disciplines in three Australian universities, and “Culture, language and the whole graduate experience: Exploring best practices in international graduate supervision” (BPS), which focussed on exploring perceptions regarding best practices in graduate supervision by diverse stakeholders across Australia. Findings suggest most supervisors do not differentiate between international (or CALD) graduate students and non-CALD(domestic) students in terms of factors influence success in graduate studies.

El Aprendizaje Informado

Welcome to Informed Learning. If you have opened this book, it is probably because you are interested in how people learn. It may also be because you are interested in how learners interact with their information environment and would like to help them do so in ways that help them learn better. What should we teach and how, so that our students will use information successfully, creatively and responsibly in their journey as lifelong learners? Informed learning provides a unique perspective on helping students become successful learners in our rapidly evolving information environments. It presents a new framework for informed learning, that will enable teachers, librarians, researchers and teacher-researchers to work together as they continue to respond to the need to help students use information to learn. Do you want to help your students engage with the information practices of their discipline or chosen profession? Are you looking for ideas to invigorate and refresh your curriculum? Are you looking for ways to help your students write better essays or search the internet more successfully? Are you looking for strategies to enhance your research supervision? Are you trying to discover how information literacy and information literacy education can contribute to academic curriculum? Informed Learning can help you. Informed learning is using information, creatively and reflectively, in order to learn. It is learning that draws on the different ways in which we use information in academic, professional and community life; and it is learning that draws on emerging understanding of our varied experiences of using information to learn. Indeed, we cannot learn without using information. It is problemetising the interdependence between information use and learning that is the foundation of this book. Most of the time we take for granted that aspect of learning which we call information use. What might happen to the learning experience if we attend to it? Informed Learning examines research into the experience of using information to learn in academic, workplace and community contexts, that can be used to inform learning and learning design at many levels. It draws on contemporary higher education teaching and learning theory to suggest ways forward for a learning agenda that values the need for engaging with the wider world of information. In doing so, it offers a new and unified framework for implementing curriculum that recognises the importance of successful, creative and reflective information use as a strategy for learning as well as a learning outcome; and proposes a research agenda that will continue to inform learning. Informed Learning reconceptualises information literacy as being about engaging in information practices in order to learn; engaging with the different ways of using information to learn. Based on the author’s work in developing the seven faces of information literacy, it proposes the need for teaching and learning to 1) bring about new ways of experiencing and using information, and 2) engage students with those information practices relevant to their discipline or profession. This book is written for a diverse audience of educators from many disciplines, curriculum designers, researchers, and administrators. While this book both establishes a new approach to learning design and an associated research agenda, it is also intended to be practical. I have sought to ground the ideas in practice through: • using Steve and Jane as academics from different disciplines on a journey; experiencing the implementation of informed learning; • using examples from the literature and personal experience; • using reflective questions towards the end of each chapter. In this book you will find many examples of how people experience information use as they go about learning in different contexts. The research reported here shows that as people go about learning they interact with information in different ways. They may be learning about a content area in a formal context, they may be engaged in informal learning as they go about their everyday work, or they may be learning through doing original research. The emphasis on experience and ways of seeing comes from the work of researchers into student learning such as Ference Marton, Paul Ramsden, Shirley Booth, Michael Prosser, Keith Trigwell and others who have shown that, if we are to help students learn, we must first be aware of how they experience those aspects of the world about which they are learning. Different ways of reading this book The first three chapters of this book establish the broad theoretical framework for informed learning; and the remaining chapters consider the out workings of this in a range of contexts. If you want to browse the general directions of this book, read the narratives at the start of each chapter. If you want to see how the book might influence your practice, read the narratives and the reflective questions at the end of each chapter. If you want to help your students become informed learners in their discipline or profession, focus on chapters one, two, three and five. If you are looking for help with students engaged in information practices such as internet searching or essay writing, focus on chapters one, three and four. If you are interested in informed learning in the community or workplace, focus on chapters one, two, three and six. If you want to help your research students become informed learners, focus on chapters one, two, three, seven and eight. If you are working with colleagues to promote information literacy education and are looking for ideas, read chapter nine. If you are interested in researching informed learning read chapter ten

National testing from an Australian perspective

Introduction This book examines a pressing educational issue: the global phenomenon of national testing in schooling and its vernacular development in Australia. The Australian National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN), introduced in 2008, involves annual census testing of students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 in nearly all Australian schools. In a variety of ways, NAPLAN affects the lives of Australia’s 3.5 million school students and their families, as well as more than 350,000 school staff and many other stakeholders in education. This book is organised in relation to a simple question: What are the effects of national testing for systems, schools and individuals? Of course, this simple question requires complex answers. The chapters in this edited collection consider issues relating to national testing policy, the construction of the test, usages of the testing data and various effects of testing in systems, schools and classrooms. Each chapter examines an aspect of national testing in Australia using evidence drawn from research. The final chapter by the editors of this collection provides a broader reflection on this phenomenon and situates developments in testing globally...

Local experiences, global similarities: Teacher perceptions of the impacts of national testing

Since 2008, Australian schoolchildren in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 have sat a series of tests each May designed to assess their attainment of basic skills in literacy and numeracy. These tests are known as the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN). In 2010, individual school NAPLAN data were first published on the MySchool website which enables comparisons to be made between individual schools and statistically like schools across Australia. NAPLAN represents the increased centrality of the federal government in education, particularly in regards to education policy. One effect of this has been a recast emphasis of education as an economic, rather than democratic, good. As Reid (2009) suggests, this recasting of education within national productivity agendas mobilises commonsense discourses of accountability and transparency. These are common articles of faith for many involved in education administration and bureaucracy; more and better data, and holding people to account for that data, must improve education...

NAPLAN, MySchool and accountability: Teacher perceptions of the effects of testing

This paper explores Rizvi and Lingard’s (2010) idea of the “local vernacular” of the global education policy trend of using high-stakes testing to increase accountability and transparency, and by extension quality, within schools and education systems in Australia. In the first part of the paper a brief context of the policy trajectory of National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is given in Australia. In the second part, empirical evidence drawn from a survey of teachers in Western Australia (WA) and South Australia (SA) is used to explore teacher perceptions of the impacts a high-stakes testing regime is having on student learning, relationships with parents and pedagogy in specific sites. After the 2007 Australian Federal election, one of Labor’s policy objectives was to deliver an “Education Revolution” designed to improve both the equity and excellence in the Australian school system1 (Rudd & Gillard, 2008). This reform agenda aims to “deliver real changes” through: “raising the quality of teaching in our schools” and “improving transparency and accountability of schools and school systems” (Rudd & Gillard, 2008, p. 5). Central to this linking of accountability, the transparency of schools and school systems and raising teaching quality was the creation of a regime of testing (NAPLAN) that would generate data about the attainment of basic literacy and numeracy skills by students in Australian schools.

A preliminary analysis of teacher perceptions of the effects of NAPLAN on pedagogy and curriculum

This paper reports preliminary survey findings of Western Australian and South Australian teacher perceptions of the impact of NAPLAN on curriculum and pedagogy in their classroom and school. The paper examines how teachers perceive the effects of NAPLAN on curriculum and pedagogy and whether these perceptions mediated by the teacher’s gender, the socioeconomics of the school, the State and the school system in which the teacher works. Teachers report that they are either choosing or being instructed to teach to the test, that this results in less time being spent on other curriculum areas and that these effects contribute in a negative way to the class environment and the engagement of students. This largely agrees with a body of international research that suggests that high-stakes literacy and numeracy tests often results in unintended consequences such as a narrow curriculum focus, a return to teacher-centred instruction and a decrease in motivation. Analysis suggests there is a relationship between participant responses to the effect of NAPLAN on curriculum based on the characteristics of which State the teacher taught in, the socioeconomic status of the school and the school system in which they were employed (State, Catholic, and Independent).

Mapping teacher-faces

This paper uses Deleuze and Guattari's concept of faciality to analyse the teacher's face. According to Deleuze and Guattari, the teacher-face is a special type of face because it is an 'overcoded' face produced in specific landscapes. This paper suggests four limit-faces for teacher faciality that actualise different mixes of signifiance and subjectification in a classroom in which individualisation and massifications are affected. Understanding these limit-faces suggests new ways to conceive the affects actualised in the classroom that are subjected to increasing levels of surveillance from education policy makers. Through this ‘partial mapping’ new possibilities emerge to “escape the face”.

The effects of NAPLAN: Teacher perceptions of the impact of NAPLAN on pedagogy and curriculum

This paper reports preliminary findings of a survey of in-service teachers in WA and SA conducted in 2012. Participants completed an online survey open to all teachers in WA and SA. The survey ran for three months from April to June 2012. One section of the survey asked teachers to report their perceptions of the impact that NAPLAN has had on the curriculum and pedagogy of their classroom and school. Two principal research questions were addressed in this preliminary analysis. First what are teacher perceptions of the effects on NAPLAN on curriculum and pedagogy? Second, are there any interaction effects between gender, socioeconomics status, location and school system on teachers perceptions? Statistical analyses examined one- and two-way MANOVA to assess main effects and interaction effects on teachers' global perceptions. These were followed by a series of exploratory one- and two-way ANOVA of specific survey items to suggest potential sources for differences among teachers from different socioeconomic regions, states and systems. Teachers report that they are either choosing or being instructed to teach to the test, that this results in less time being spent on other curriculum areas and that these effects contribute in a negative way on the engagement of students. This largely agrees with a body of international research that suggests that high-stakes literacy and numeracy tests often results in unintended consequences such as a narrow curriculum focus (Au, 2007), a return to teacher-centred instruction (Barret, 2009) and a decrease in motivation (Ryan & Wesinstein, 2009). Preliminary results from early survey respondents suggests there is a relationship between participant responses to the effect of NAPLAN on curriculum and pedagogy based on the characteristics of which State the teacher taught in, their perceptions of the socioeconomic status of the school and the school system in which they were employed (State, Catholic, and Independent).

The role of context and motivation variables in mobile commerce usage: A further perspective on Chong (2013)

We comment on a recent article by Chong (2013) on the roles of demographic and motivation variables in mobile commerce usage. Drawing on the recent research on the service-dominant logic, socioemotional selectivity theory, and data from a first empirical study, we argue that a broader discussion on the value relevance of mobile commerce activities for customers and the consideration of consumers' future time perspectives would provide a richer, potentially more appropriate picture of the drivers of mobile commerce usage. Furthermore, using data from a second empirical study, we highlight several validity issues of the used scales. We hope to motivate a replication and extension of Chong's study and also provide recommendations for future research on this area.

An exploration of The Virtues Project: Ontological, educational and cross-cultural inquiries into a moral education program within a Mongolian school setting

This thesis explores The Virtues Project's ontological, educational and cross-cultural dimensions taking Charles Taylor's philosophical perspective of an anthropological account of the self and a phenomenological account of moral life and engagement. The experience of Mongolian schoolteachers implementing this moral education program is analyzed using a narrative inquiry method. The globally attractive project appears in moral education and virtues ethics research and surveys, yet no critical evaluation has been undertaken. Its conceptual features are appraised from a Taylorean perspective. The Listening Guide analysis of teacher experiences is presented in two narratives. The first is about the teachers' implementation experiences of moral flourishing as selves, in relationships and in community. The second is about their experience of becoming Mongolian in their modern day context. In conclusion, the project is coherent, constructive and potentially suitable cross-culturally.

The impact of nonlinear pedagogy on physical education teacher education students’ intrinsic motivation

Background: Providing motivationally supportive physical education experiences for learners is crucial since empirical evidence in sport and physical education research has associated intrinsic motivation with positive educational outcomes. Self-determination theory (SDT) provides a valuable framework for examining motivationally supportive physical education experiences through satisfaction of three basic psychological needs: autonomy, competence and relatedness. However, the capacity of the prescriptive teaching philosophy of the dominant traditional physical education teaching approach to effectively satisfy the psychological needs of students to engage in physical education has been questioned. The constraints-led approach (CLA) has been proposed as a viable alternative teaching approach that can effectively support students’ self-motivated engagement in physical education. Purpose: We sought to investigate whether adopting the learning design and delivery of the CLA, guided by key pedagogical principles of nonlinear pedagogy (NLP), would address basic psychological needs of learners, resulting in higher self-reported levels of intrinsic motivation. The claim was investigated using action research. The teacher/researcher delivered two lessons aimed at developing hurdling skills: one taught using the CLA and the other using the traditional approach. Participants and Setting: The main participant for this study was the primary researcher and lead author who is a PETE educator, with extensive physical education teaching experience. A sample of 54 pre-service PETE students undertaking a compulsory second year practical unit at an Australian university was recruited for the study, consisting of an equal number of volunteers from each of two practical classes. A repeated measures experimental design was adopted, with both practical class groups experiencing both teaching approaches in a counterbalanced order. Data collection and analysis: Immediately after participation in each lesson, participants completed a questionnaire consisting of 22 items chosen from validated motivation measures of basic psychological needs and indices of intrinsic motivation, enjoyment and effort. All questionnaire responses were indicated on a 7-point Likert scale. A two-tailed, paired-samples t-test was used to compare the groups’ motivation subscale mean scores for each teaching approach. The size of the effect for each group was calculated using Cohen’s d. To determine whether any significant differences between the subscale mean scores of the two groups was due to an order effect, a two-tailed, independent samples t test was used. Findings: Participants’ reported substantially higher levels of self-determination and intrinsic motivation during the CLA hurdles lesson compared to during the traditional hurdles lesson. Both groups reported significantly higher motivation subscale mean scores for competence, relatedness, autonomy, enjoyment and effort after experiencing the CLA than mean scores reported after experiencing the traditional approach. This significant difference was evident regardless of the order that each teaching approach was experienced. Conclusion: The theoretically based pedagogical principles of NLP that inform learning design and delivery of the CLA may provide teachers and coaches with tools to develop more functional pedagogical climates, which result in students exhibiting more intrinsically motivated behaviours during learning.

Dementia and the population health approach: Promise, pitfalls and progress. An Australian perspective

The increasing prevalence of dementia in Australia (and worldwide) over the next few decades poses enormous social, health and economic challenges. In the absence of a cure, strategies to prevent, delay the onset of, or reduce the impact of dementia are required to contain a growing disease burden, and health and care costs. A population health approach has the potential to substantially reduce the impact of dementia. Internationally, many countries have started to adopt population health strategies that incorporate elements of dementia prevention. The authors examine some of the elements of such an approach and barriers to its implementation. International dementia frameworks and strategies were reviewed to identify options utilized for a population health approach to dementia. Internationally and nationally, dementia frameworks are being developed that include population health approaches. Most of the frameworks identified included early diagnosis and intervention, and increasing community awareness as key objectives, while several included promotion of the links between a healthy lifestyle and reduced risk for dementia. A poor evidence base (especially for illness prevention), diagnostic and technical limitations, and policy and implementation issues are significant barriers in maximizing the promise of population health approaches in this area. The review and analysis of the population health approach to dementia will inform national and jurisdictional policy development.

Insolvency academics contributing to the review of insolvency laws: An Australian perspective

Introduction 1 It gives me great pleasure to contribute to this publication to honour Professor Ian Fletcher on his retirement as Foundation Chair of the INSOL International Academic Group. A collection of essays that include topics on domestic, cross-border and international insolvency appropriately reflects the breadth of Professor Fletcher’s impact on the scholarship of insolvency law – not only in his “home” jurisdiction of England and Wales and closer to home in Europe, but also stretching around the globe, in this case, to Australia. 2 In the early 1990s when I first began to research in the area of cross-border insolvency law, a colleague mentioned that they had recently attended the XIIIth International Congress of Comparative Law in Montreal in August 1990 and heard the Cross-border Insolvency: General Report expertly delivered by an English academic, Ian Fletcher, who was widely regarded as an authority in the area. This was my first introduction to Professor Fletcher’s work and over the intervening years I have referred often to his scholarship....