Balancing curriculum processes and content in a project centred curriculum - In pursuit of graduate attributes

Chemical engineering education is challenged around the world by demands and rapid changes encompassing a wide range of technical and social drivers. Graduates must be prepared for practice in increasingly diverse workplace environments in which generic or transferable attributes such as communication and teamwork together with technical excellence are mandated by prospective employers and society at large. If academe is to successfully deliver on these graduate attributes, effective curriculum design needs to include appropriate educational processes as well as course content. Conventional teacher centred approaches, stand-alone courses and retro-fitted remedial modules have not delivered the desired outcomes. Development of the broader spectrum of attributes is more likely when students are engaged with realistic and relevant experiences that demand the integration and practice of these attributes in contexts that the students find meaningful. This paper describes and evaluates The University of Queensland's Project Centred Curriculum in Chemical Engineering (PCC), a programme-wide approach to meeting these requirements. PCC strategically integrates project-based learning with more traditional instruction. Data collected shows improved levels of student attainment of generic skills with institutional and nationally benchmarked indicators showing significant increases in student perceptions of teaching quality, and overall satisfaction with the undergraduate experience. Endorsements from Australian academic, professional and industry bodies also support the approach as more effectively aligning engineering education with professional practice requirements.

Young people's perceptions of police: The impact of race and ethnicity

The continuing problematic nature of interactions between police and youth, especially those of particular ethnic and racial groups, is well-documented. However, our understanding of the development of those attitudes is less well-understood. Using a sample of 14-year-olds from 5 state schools in eastern Australia, we examine how race and ethnicity structure youths' perceptions and assessments of police, and their attitudes towards legal authority. In particular, we explore racial/ethnic differences in the intergenerational transmission of perceptions of police.

The dynamics of power and resistance in police interview discourse

This is a study of police interviewing using an integrated approach, drawing on CA, CDA and pragmatics. The study focuses on the balance of power and control, finding that in particular the institutional status of the participants, the discursive roles assigned to them by the context, and their relative knowledge, are significant factors affecting the dynamics of the discourse. Four discursive features are identified as particularly significant, and a detailed analysis of the complex interplay of these features shows that power and control are constantly under negotiation, and are always open to challenge and resistance. Further it is shown that discursive dominance is not necessarily advantageous to participants, due to the specific goals and purposes of the police interview context. A wider consideration of the context illustrates the contribution that linguistics can make to the use of police interview data as evidence in the UK criminal justice system.