Using appreciative inquiry to frame the appraisal of an Australian initial teacher education program

This paper reports on a study that investigated the process and outcomes of using Appreciative Inquiry (AI) in an Australian initial teacher education (ITE) program review. The aim of the study, which drew on a sample of teaching staff involved in this Master of Teaching program, was to gain an understanding of the extent to which the application of the AI framework can be used effectively in the review of ITE programs. AI promotes collegial reflective practice and the generation of positive resolutions and thus aligned with the purposes of the review that were to foster collaboration, strengthen staff morale and, subsequently, build a stronger program for students. This paper provides a perceptual account of the AI review process as reported by the facilitators and a sample of review participants, and contributes to international literature in the areas of ITE program appraisal, organisational reform and Appreciative Inquiry.

A profile of Australian adults who have discussed their posthumous organ donation wishes with family members

Next of kin who are aware of the deceased's organ donation wishes usually will honor those wishes, while next of kin who are unaware of these wishes typically withhold consent for posthumous donation. Encouraging individuals to communicate or register their organ donation wishes is therefore important. Using a sample of 409 participants, the current study sought to develop a profile of Australian adults who had communicated their organ donation wishes to family members. Christian participants and those who had a higher income were more likely to have communicated their donation wishes. Conversely, participants were less likely to have communicated their donation wishes if they were unregistered and undecided/opposed to organ donation, unregistered but willing to donate, or fearful of death. Finally, whether participants had communicated, registered, or communicated and registered their donation wishes was associated with their age, religion, attitude toward organ donation, and recall of media content about organ donation. Messages encouraging the communication of organ donation wishes to family members should therefore be targeted toward those individuals who are most likely to be receptive toward enacting this behavior.

Culture and sex education : the acquisition of sexual knowledge for a group of Vietnamese Australian young women

This paper explores how a group of Vietnamese Australian young women acquire knowledge of sexual issues, and the impact the traditional Vietnamese culture has on the acquisition of this knowledge. It is based on a qualitative study that examined the factors which shape the sexual behaviour of Vietnamese Australian young women living in Australia. A Grounded Theory methodology was employed in this investigation, and involved in-depth interviews with 15 Vietnamese Australian young women aged 18-25 years, who reside in Victoria, Australia. The findings illustrated three key elements involved in the acquisition of knowledge of sexual issues: 'Accepting parental silence', 'Exploring sources of knowledge' and 'Needing culturally targeted information'. The young women desired discussion about sexual issues but accepted that cultural 'barriers' were formidable. Their desire conflicted with the traditional familial norm of 'silence' regarding sexual matters. Consequently, knowledge was sought outside the home, specifically from peers and the media. The importance of culturally appropriate and adequate sexual discussions for Vietnamese Australian young people was stressed, so that informed decisions could be made about their sexual lives. It is imperative for young people to have adequate and appropriate sexual education so that informed and safe sexual choices can be made. For young people from diverse cultural backgrounds, this education must be culturally appropriate and accessible, taking into consideration cultural mores regarding gender and sexual matters, as well as current beliefs in the 'mainstream' youth culture.

The gender 'problem' in Australian journalism education

This paper investigates if and how issues of gender are taught in undergraduate journalism courses in Australia. It examines published descriptions of undergraduate journalism degrees and majors in 30 Australian universities, providing a collective case study about the teaching of gender in journalism education. The research finds that no journalism program offers a unit that specifically addresses the portrayal of women in the media or, importantly, the gendered production of news and gendered newsroom culture. This paper posits the importance of gender education in journalism courses, hypothesises why it is ignored as a valuable part of journalism education, and suggests how tertiary journalism education could address systemic inequity for women in media organisations by adapting its curriculum.

Blokey' newsroom culture

This paper seeks to address the gap in Australian media studies and feminist media scholarship relating to the way newsroom culture is embodied. How does the numerical dominance of men in journalism, particularly in decision-making roles, affect newsroom culture? How do male and female journalists understand this inequality? The paper first briefly attends to research into occupational culture and feminist theories of the body to address the central question ‘How is newsroom culture embodied?’ It then engages with this question more thoroughly via an analysis of my own interviews with 17 Australian male and female print news media journalists. It finds that, even though women have entered the industry in unprecedented numbers, a ‘blokey’ or hegemonic masculinity continues to shape news newsroom culture.

The ABC, the Australian Children’s Television Foundation, and the emergence of digital children’s television in Australia

 This paper analyses the campaign to establish terrestrial digital children’s public service broadcasting in Australia. It finds that the development of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s digital children’s channel (ABC3), an initiative initially embraced somewhat opportunistically, enabled an expansion strategy for the public service broadcaster that ultimately helped determine the shape of its current digital channel portfolio. Contrasting the collective and divergent interpretations of future audience behaviours and needs developed by the Australian Children’s Television Foundation (ACTF) and the ABC, it argues that both organisations developed strategies and made policy decisions that were influential in conditioning the current digital television ecology.

Race, genetic determinism and the media: an exploratory study of media coverage of genetics and Indigenous Australians

Social scientists and Indigenous people have voiced concerns that media messages about genetics and race may increase the public's belief in genetic determinism and even increase levels of racism. The degree of genetic determinism in media messages has been examined as a determining factor. This study is the first to consider the implications of this area of scholarship for the indigenous minority in Australia. A search of the last two decades of major Australian newspapers was undertaken for articles that discussed Indigenous Australians and genetics. The review found 212 articles, of which 58 concerned traits or conditions that were presented in a genetically deterministic or antideterministic fashion. These 58 articles were analysed by topic, slant, and time period. Overall, 23 articles were anti-deterministic, 18 were deterministic, 14 presented both sides and three were ambiguous. There was a spike in anti-deterministic articles in the years after the Human Genome Diversity Project, and a parallel increase in deterministic articles since the completion of the Human Genome Project in 2000. Potential implications of the nature of media coverage of genetics for Indigenous Australians is discussed. Further research is required to test directly the impact of these messages on Australians.

Response rates in Australian market research

RICA commissioned Deakin University to “establish whether response rates are in decline in the Australian market research industry and to identify, as far as possible, the reasons for these declines if they exist. This is likely to involve a review of previous research, a literature review and collection of data on response rates provided on a confidential basis and with the assistance of AMSRO to facilitate data provision.”

Attempts were made to contact all listed market research companies in Australia, including all major internet panel companies. While industry co-operation was not high with the study, sufficient data was provided to depict current response rates and to show how they had declined over time. Because of the low contactability issues, this Report proposes the use of better methods to compute the reliability of survey estimates by taking account of past survey results.

The literature review revealed a wealth of recent studies, with the main emphasis being on studies of telephone and internet surveys. This review of the research produced 34 evidence-based guidelines for social researchers. While some of these reflect current practice, the emergence of the internet as the main survey method raises a number of disclosure and sampling issues. Esomar (2012) has produced 28 issues to be raised with providers, which sets the basis for good industry practice. This suggests an opportunity for the industry to adopt these standards as its own and to conduct training courses for major clients and suppliers. There are many panel providers, some of whom are not AMSRO members. AMSRO may need to examine what role it can play in mandating or encouraging adherence to these standards as a way of promoting the industry.

Talks with key industry people, as well as the literature, have revealed the importance of blended surveys, where multiple contact and response mechanisms are used. Particularly where an internet panel is used as one source, this poses representativeness and weighting issues which are difficult to resolve. The Report recommends that where blended survey methods are used, measures be taken to measure contactability in the other contact media, along with more sophisticated weighting schemes. The industry should examine its training courses to ensure that industry expertise keeps pace with these developments.
Summary of Results

The results focus on two main collection methods – the telephone and the internet. As far as the telephone is concerned response rates have been in a gradual decline the last decade. This outcome is hard to detect because the data show considerable fluctuations from one survey wave to the next. Among cold-calling surveys, telephone response rates are typically below 10%, for a range of topics and survey types. Co-operation rates, (the ratio of obtained interviews to refusals) are typically below 0.2 (that is below one interview to five refusals). Telephone interviews with clients have a higher response rate – typically above 20% with co-operation rates above 1.0. It would appear that some topics, such as financial services, may induce a lower level of co-operation. Government sponsored surveys have higher response rates, at times over 50%, but even here a sharp decline in response rates over time for one long running monitor was observed. Co-operation rates were also higher in government sponsored surveys.

One long data series from a telephone omnibus suggested that the “Do Not Call Register” which began in May, 2007 had some positive effects for the industry. Initially there was a spike in both response rates and co-operation. Although this was relatively short-lived, response rates thereafter declined more slowly and co-operation rates were somewhat higher and remained stable. These conclusions should be regarded as tentative as more data series would really be necessary to see if similar trends occurred elsewhere.

As far as the internet is concerned, panel response rates are around the 20% mark and appear to be relatively stable over the last few years. In this case, the gross response rate is the number of interviews divided by the number of invitations sent. As the number of invitations may be a function of the need to fill a survey quickly, it should be considered a gross indicator of response. In order to capture this phenomenon, a further measure has been devised, termed the “attempt rate” which measures the percentage of people who attempt to participate once sent the invitation. The available data suggests that it is relatively stable. However, it is also somewhat susceptible to the time the survey was left open. Finally, a co-operation rate was also calculated. It measures the ratio of completed to terminated interviews, typically at least five interviews to each termination, but often much higher. This measure is not directly comparable with the co-operation rate in telephone surveys because it cannot take account of the number of eligible people on the panel who open the invitation, see the company doing the survey or its length and decide not to take the survey. For internet client studies, response rates were typically somewhat higher than shown for the panels, but there was marked variability.

There was only one study provided of intercept interviews. It showed response rates of over 60% and co-operation rates of nearly 2 interviews per refusal. A strength and a weakness of intercept interviewing is the ability to be selective in who is asked to participate. As for mail, one government sponsored mail survey from 2010 is reported, with a response rate over 50%. The previous review contains more data, as mail appears to be infrequently used within the industry for commercial surveys.

While surveys remain a major and highly effective tool for the industry and its clients, issues with contactability and co-operation mean that even closer attention is needed to survey design, sampling, weighting and analysis than was previously the case.

PhD crisis discourse : a critical approach to the framing of the problem and some Australian ‘solutions’

 A feature of HE reform discourse is the tendency to construct the rationale for reform in terms of averting calamity and risk. We refer to this risk talk as 'crisis discourse'. This study examines the formulation of PhD crisis discourse internationally and in Australia. We find that a key feature of PhD crisis discourse is that universities are producing too many graduates for too few academic jobs; and graduates lack skills that enable them to be productive in jobs outside academia. In Australia, the discourse has shifted from one dominated by efficiency concerns from the late 1990s to the present focus on graduate skills and employability. The policy solution to the efficiency crisis in the Australian PhD resulted in system-wide changes in research training funding focused on increased efficiency. The current unemployability discourse has as yet prompted isolated institutional responses, the introduction of new PhD programs or re-badging existing offerings as pro-skills development offerings. Following an examination of three Australian institutional responses, we conclude that the crisis discourse signals tensions surrounding the PhD: should achievement in doctoral education be measured by outcomes in intellectual excellence or the responsiveness of qualification to the current needs and priorities of society? © 2014 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht.

Nurse whistleblowers in Australian hospitals : a critical case study

Between 2002 and 2005, two high-profile Australian cases of nurse whistleblowing received widespread media attention. Little is known about the processes that influence nurse whistleblowing. This study investigated the nurse actions and highlighted the need to take seriously matters reported that pose a threat to patient safety and quality care.

Ethics of teaching with social media

This paper goes beyond the commonly held concerns of Internet safety, such as cyberbullying. Instead, it explores the ethical dilemmas we face as teachers when using social media, in particular social networks, in the classroom. We believe old ideas of respect and culture of care for children and young people need to be reconstructed around new media. This paper draws on the authors’ experience in teaching with, and researching students’ use of, social media in the classroom. In this paper we explore the ethical issues of consent, traceability, and public/private boundaries. We tackle the complex issue of the rights around virtual identities of the students followed by a discussion on the ethics of engaging students in public performance of curriculum and their lives. Finally we discuss the ethical dilemma involved in recognising and responding to illicit activity. While we reflect on our own response to these dilemmas and propose a dialogic process as the way forward, we also return to the argument that the e ethical choices are dilemmas in which most, if not all, options are unpalatable or impracticable.

The Australian screen producer in transition

The role of the screen producer is ramifying. Not only are there numerous producer categories, but the screen producer function is also found on a continuum across film, television, advertising, corporate video and the burgeoning digital media sector. In recent years, fundamental changes to distribution and consumption practices and technologies should have had a correlate impact on screen production practices and on the role of existing screen producers. At the same time, new and recent producers are learning and practising their craft in af ield that has already been transformed by digitization and media convergence. Our analysis of the work, experience and outlook of screen producers in this chapter is based on data collected in the Australian Screen Producer Survey (ASPS), a nationwide survey conducted by the ARC Centre of Excellence for Creative Industries and Innovation, the media marketing firm Bergent Research and the Centre for Screen Business at the Australian Film, Television and Radio School (AFTRS) in 2008/2009 and 2011.2 We analyse the results to better understand the practice of screen production in a period of industry transition, and to recognize the persistence of established production cultures that serve to distinguish different industry sectors.

Screen media, parenting practices, and the family environment in Australia: a longitudinal study of young children’s media use, lifestyles, and outcomes for healthy weight

Few studies of media use and adiposity explore the influence of parenting on children’s lifestyle behaviors. Screen media access, bedroom television, lack of physical activity, and snacking on energy-dense foods have long been implicated in child overweight. This research used data from the first three waves of the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children to investigate, prospectively, the associations between parental practices in early to middle childhood and children’s behaviors and weight in late childhood. A path model was used to investigate whether consistent parentingpredicted setting of boundaries for access to and use of media, and was indirectly associated with children’s lifestyle behaviors that increase the likelihood of healthy weight maintenance. The findings demonstrated that children’s lifestyles pertinent to weight maintenance and media use cluster together and involve both old and newer screen media, but are also predicted by parenting practices and the family environment.

The subjective wellbeing of 'at-risk' indigenous and non-indigenous Australian adolescents

Quantitative comparisons of subjective wellbeing (SWB) between samples of Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australian adolescents are scarce. This paper contributes to this literature by studying adolescents 'at-risk' of disengaging, or who have already disengaged, from school, their families or society. A three-group cross-sectional comparative design was employed, comparing Indigenous (N = 3,187) and non-Indigenous (N = 14,522) 'at-risk' adolescents with a mainstream sample of Victorian high-school students (N = 1,105). Age and gender differences in SWB within the three groups were also explored. All participants completed the Personal Wellbeing Index-School Children (PWI-SC), which measures SWB. Mean SWB was significantly higher in the mainstream sample than in both the Indigenous and non-Indigenous 'at-risk' groups. However, within the at-risk adolescents, the Indigenous sample scored higher than the non-Indigenous. In the mainstream sample, male and female SWB did not significantly differ, whereas males scored higher than females in both at-risk groups-with males scoring higher on all seven PWI-SC domains. Finally, in all three samples, a decline in SWB from early to mid-adolescence was observed. This suggests that mid-adolescence is a challenging time for all young people as they approach adulthood. The implications of this research for educational and government policy concerning youths in Australia is discussed. For example, the importance of obtaining normative data that will assist in the identification of young people who are most at-risk for experiencing low personal wellbeing and who are in the greatest need of support. © 2014 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht.