Children as change agents for sustainability : an action research case study in a kindergarten

At a time when global consumption and production levels are 25 percent higher than the Earth’s sustainable carrying capacity, there are worldwide calls to find ways to sustain the Earth for this and future generations. A central premise of this study is that education systems have an obligation to participate in this move towards sustainability and can respond by embedding education for sustainability into curricula. This study took early childhood education as its focus due to the teacherresearcher’s own concerns about the state of the planet, coupled with early childhood education’s established traditions of nature-based and child-centred pedagogy. The study explored the experiences of a class of kindergarten children as they undertook a Project Approach to learning about environmental sustainability. The Project Approach is an adaptation of Chard’s work which is situated within a constructivist theoretical framework (Chard, 2011). The Project Approach involves in-depth investigations around an identified topic of interest. It has three phases: introductory, synthesising and culminating phase. The study also investigated the learning journey of the classroom teacher/researcher who broadened her long-held co-constructivist teaching approaches to include transformative practices in order to facilitate curriculum which embedded education for sustainability. While coconstructivist approaches focus on the co-construction of knowledge, transformative practices are concerned with creating change. An action research case study was conducted. This involved twenty-two children who attended an Australian kindergarten. Data were collected and analysed over a seven week period. The study found that young children can be change agents for sustainability when a Project Approach is broadened to include transformative practices. The study also found that the child participants were able to think critically about environmental and sustainability issues, were able to create change in their local contexts, and took on the role of educators to influence others’ environmental behaviours. Another finding was that the teacher-researcher’s participation in the study caused a transformation of both her teaching philosophy and the culture at the kindergarten. An important outcome of the study was the development of a new curriculum model that integrates and has applicability for curriculum development and teacher practice.

The role for police in addressing alcohol-related harm inside and outside licensed premises

Alcohol consumption is enmeshed with Australian culture (Palk, 2008) and the use and misuse of alcohol contributes to considerable health and social harms (Barbor et al., 2010; English et al., 1995; Gutjahr, Gmel, & Rehm, 2001; Palk, 2008; Steenkamp, Harrison, & Allsop, 2002). Despite shifts in the way that alcohol is consumed and how it is used, it has been reported that one-third of all alcohol consumed is done so within licensed premises (Lang, Stockwell, Rydon, & Gamble, 1992). Consequently, licensed premises are over-represented as settings in which alcohol-related harms occur. These harms, particularly those related to violence, are associated with particular licensed premises operating in the night-time economy (Briscoe & Donnelly, 2001b; Chikritzhs, Stockwell, & Masters, 1997; Homel, Tomsen, & Thommeny, 1991; Stockwell, 1997). Police have a role in not only responding to the manifestation of harms, such as crime, injuries, assaults, domestic violence, stealing and sexual offences, but they also have a role in preventing problems, and thereby reducing alcohol and other drug-related harms (Doherty & Roche, 2003). Given the extent of alcohol consumption within licensed premises and the nature and extent of the harms, as well as the lack of opportunity to influence outcomes in other settings (e.g. the home), licensed premises offer police and other stakeholders a significant opportunity to influence positively the reduction of alcoholrelated harm. This research focuses specifically on the police role in policing licensed premises. Primarily, this research aims to investigate the factors which are relevant to why and how police officers respond to alcohol-related incidents inside and outside licensed premises. It examines the attitudes and beliefs of police and assesses their knowledge, capacity and ability to effectively police licensed premises. The research methodology uses three distinct surveys. Each contributes to understanding the motivations and practice of police officers in this important area of harm reduction. Study One involved a survey of police officers within a police district (Brisbane Central District) in Queensland, Australia and used a comprehensive questionnaire involving both quantitative and qualitative techniques. A key research outcome of Study One was the finding that officers had low levels of knowledge of the strategies that are effective in addressing alcohol-related harm both inside and outside licensed premises. Paradoxically, these officers also reported extensive recent experience in dealing with alcohol issues in these locations. In addition, these officers reported that alcohol was a significant contextual factor in the majority of matters to which they responded. Officers surveyed reported that alcohol increased the difficulty of responding to situations and that licensed premises (e.g. nightclubs, licensed clubs and hotels) were the most difficult contexts to police. Those surveyed were asked to self-assess their knowledge of the Liquor Act (Qld), which is the primary legislative authority in Queensland for regulating licensed premises. Surprisingly, well over half of the officers (65%) reported ‘no’ to ‘fair’ knowledge of the Act, despite officers believing that their skill level to police such premises was in the ‘good to very good range’. In an important finding, officers reported greater skill level to police outside licensed premises than inside such premises, indicating that officers felt less capable, from a skill perspective, to operate within the confines of a licensed premise than in the environment immediately outside such premises. Another key finding was that officers reported greater levels of training in responding to situations outside and around licensed premises than to situations inside licensed premises. Officers were also asked to identify the frequency with which they employed specified regulatory enforcement and community-based strategies. Irrespective of the type of response, ‘taking no action’ or passive policing interventions were not favoured by officers. The findings identified that officers favoured taking a range of strategies (sending home, releasing into the custody of friends, etc.) in preference to arrest. In another key finding, officers generally reported their support for operational stakeholder partnership approaches to policing licensed premises. This was evidenced by the high number of officers (over 90%) reporting that there should be shared responsibility for enforcing the provisions of the Liquor Act. Importantly, those surveyed also identified the factors which constrain or prevent them from policing licensed premises. Study Two involved interviewing a small but comprehensive group (n=11) of senior managers from within the Queensland Police Service (QPS) who have responsibility for setting operational and strategic policy. The aim of this study was to examine the attitudes, perceptions and influence that senior officers (at the strategy and policy-setting level) had on the officers at the operational level. This qualitative study was carried out using a purposive sampling (Denzin & Lincoln, 2005; Guba & Lincoln, 1989), focused interview and thematic analytic approach. The interview participants were drawn from three tiers of management at district, regional as well as the whole-of-organisational level. The first key theme emerging from the study related to role, in terms of both the QPS broader organisational role, and the individual officer role with respect to the policing of licensed premises. For the QPS organisational role, participants at all three strategic levels had a high degree of congruity as to the organisations service role; that is, to enhance public safety. With respect to participants’ beliefs as to whether police officers have knowledge and understanding of their individual roles concerning licensed premises (as opposed to the QPS role), participants reported most commonly that officers had a reasonable to clear understanding of their role. Participant comments also were supportive of the view that officers operating in the research area, Brisbane Central District (BCD), had a clearer understanding of their role than police operating in other locations. The second key theme to emerge identified a disparity between the knowledge and capability of specialist police, compared with general duties police, to police licensed premises. In fact, a number of the responses to a variety of questions differentiated specialist and general police in a range of domains. One such example related to the clarity of understanding of officer role. Participants agreed that specialist police (Liquor Enforcement & Proactive Strategies [LEAPS] officers) had more clarity of understanding in terms of their role than generalist police. Participants also were strongly of the opinion that specialist police had higher skill levels to deal with issues both inside and outside licensed premises. Some participants expressed the view that general duty police undertook purely response-related activities, or alternatively, dealt with lower order matters. Conversely, it was viewed that specialist police undertook more complex tasks because of their higher levels of knowledge and skill. The third key theme to emerge concerned the identification of barriers that serve to restrict or prevent police officers from policing licensed premises. Participant responses strongly indicated that there was a diversity of resourcing barriers that restrict police from undertaking their roles in licensed premises. Examples of such barriers were the lack of police and the low ratio of police to patrons, available officer time, and lack of organisational investment in skills and knowledge acquisition. However, some participants indicated that police resourcing in the BCD was appropriate and officers were equipped with sufficient powers (policy and legislation). Again, the issue of specialist police was raised by one participant who argued that increasing the numbers of specialist police would ameliorate the difficulties for police officers policing licensed premises. The fourth and last key theme to emerge from Study Two related to the perception of senior officers regarding the opportunity and capability of officers to leverage off external partnerships to reduce harms inside and outside licensed premises. Police working in partnership in BCD was seen as an effective harm reduction strategy and strongly supported by the participants. All participants demonstrated a high degree of knowledge as to who these partners were and could identify those government, non-government and community groups precisely. Furthermore, the majority of participants also held strong views that the partnerships were reasonably effective and worked to varying degrees depending on the nature of the partnership and issues such as resourcing. These senior officers identified better communication and coordination as factors that could potentially strengthen these partnerships. This research finding is particularly important for senior officers who have the capacity to shape the policy and strategic direction of the police service, not only in Queensland but throughout Australasia. Study Three examined the perceptions of those with links to the broader liquor industry (government, non-government and community but exclusive of police) concerning their understanding of the police role and the capacity of police to reduce alcohol-related harm inside and outside licensed premises, and their attitudes towards police. Participants (n=26) surveyed represented a range of areas including the liquor industry, business represenatives and government representatives from Queensland Fire and Rescue Service, Queensland Ambulance Service, Brisbane City Council and Queensland Health. The first key theme to emerge from Study Three related to participant understanding of the QPS organisational role, and importantly, individual officer role in policing licensed premises. In terms of participant understanding of the QPS role there was a clear understanding by the majority of participants that the police role was to act in ways consistent with the law and to otherwise engage in a range of enforcement-related activities. Participants saw such activities falling into two categories. The first category related to reactive policing, which included actions around responding to trouble in licensed premises, monitoring crowd controllers and removing trouble-makers. In the second category, proactive approaches, participants identified the following activities as consistent with that approach: early intervention with offenders, support of licensed premises operators and high visibility policing. When participants were asked about their understanding of individual officer roles in the policing of licensed premises, a range of responses were received but the consistent message that emerged was that there is a different role to be played by general duty (uniformed) police compared to specialist (LEAPS Unit) police, which reflects differences in knowledge, skill and capability. The second key theme that emerged from the data related to the external participants’ views of the knowledge and capability of specialist police, compared with general duty police, to police licensed premises. As noted in the first key theme, participants were universally of the view that the knowledge, skill and capability of police in specialist units (LEAPS Unit) was at a higher level than that of general duty police. Participants observed that these specialist officers were better trained than their colleagues in generalist areas and were therefore better able to intervene knowledgeably and authoritatively to deal with problems and issues as they emerged. Participants also reported that officers working within BCD generally had a positive attitude to their duties and had important local knowledge that they could use in the resolution of alcohol-related issues. Participants also commented on the importance of sound and effective QPS leadership, as well as the quality of the leadership in BCD. On both these measures, there was general consensus from participants, who reported positively on the importance and effectiveness of such leadership in BCD. The third key theme to emerge from Study Three concerned the identification of barriers that serve to restrict or prevent police officers from policing licensed premises. Overwhelmingly, external participants reported the lack of human resources (i.e. police officers) as the key barrier. Other resourcing limitations, such as available officer time, police computer systems, and the time taken to charge offenders, were identified as barriers. Some participants identified barriers in the liquor industry such as ‘dodgy operators’ and negative media attention as limitations. Other constraints to emerge related to government and policy barriers. These were reflected in comments about the collection by government of fees from licensees and better ‘powers’ for police to deal with offenders. The fourth and final key theme that emerged from Study Three related to the opportunities for and capability of police to leverage off external partnerships to reduce harms inside and outside licensed premises. Not surprisingly, participants had a comprehensive knowledge of a broad range of stakeholders, from a diversity of contexts, influential in addressing issues in licensed premises. Many participants reported their relationships with the police and other stakeholders as effective, productive and consistent with the objectives of partnering to reduce alcohol-related harm. On the other hand, there were those who were concerned with their relationship with other stakeholders, particularly those with a compliance function (e.g. Office of Liquor & Gaming Regulation [OLGR]). The resourcing limitations of partners and stakeholders were also raised as an important constraining factor in fulfilling the optimum relationship. Again, political issues were mentioned in terms of the impact on partnerships, with participants stating that there is at times political interference and that politicians complicate the relationships of stakeholders. There are some significant strengths with respect to the methodology of this research. The research is distinguished from previous work in that it examines these critical issues from three distinct perspectives (i.e. police officer, senior manager and external stakeholder). Other strengths relate to the strong theoretical framework that guides and informs the research. There are also some identified limitations, including the subjective nature of self-report data as well as the potential for bias by the author, which was controlled for using a range of initiatives. A further limitation concerns the potential for transferability and generalisability of the findings to other locations given the distinctive nature of the BCD. These limitations and issues of transferability are dealt with at length in the thesis. Despite a growing body of literature about contextual harms associated with alcohol, and specific research concerning police intervention in such contextual harms, there is still much to learn. While research on the subject of police engaging in alcohol-related incidents has focused on police behaviours and strategies in response to such issues, there is a paucity of research that focuses on the knowledge and understanding of officers engaged in such behaviours and practices. Given the scarcity of research dealing with the knowledge, skills and attitudes of police officers responding to harms inside and outside licensed premises, this research contributes significantly to what is a recent and growing body of research and literature in the field. The research makes a practical contribution to police agencies’ understanding of officer knowledge and police practice in ways that have the potential to shape education and training agendas, policy approaches around generalist versus specialist policing, strategic and operational strategy, as well as partnership engagements. The research also makes a theoretical contribution given that the research design is informed by the Three Circle

Use of thermal imaging in sports medicine research : a short report

The assessment of skin temperature (Tsk) in athletic therapy and sports medicine research is an extremely important physiological outcome measure.Various methodsof recording Tsk, including thermistors, thermocouples and thermocrons are currently being used for research purposes. These techniques are constrained by their wires limiting the freedom of the subject, slow response times, and/or sensors falling off. Furthermore, as these products typically are directly attached to the skin and cover the measurement site, their validity may be questionable.This manuscript addresses the use and potential benefits of using thermal imaging (TI) in sport medicine research.Non-contact infrared TI offers a quick, non-invasive, portable and athlete-friendly method of assessing Tsk. TI is a useful Tsk diagnostic tool that has potential to be an integral part of sport medicine research in the future. Furthermore, as the technique is non-contact it has several advantages over existing methods of recording skin temperature

Nuclear instruments and methods in physics research section B : beam interactions with materials and atoms

The impact-induced deposition of Al13 clusters with icosahedral structure on Ni(0 0 1) surface was studied by molecular dynamics (MD) simulation using Finnis–Sinclair potentials. The incident kinetic energy (Ein) ranged from 0.01 to 30 eV per atom. The structural and dynamical properties of Al clusters on Ni surfaces were found to be strongly dependent on the impact energy. At much lower energy, the Al cluster deposited on the surface as a bulk molecule. However, the original icosahedral structure was transformed to the fcc-like one due to the interaction and the structure mismatch between the Al cluster and Ni surface. With increasing the impinging energy, the cluster was deformed severely when it contacted the substrate, and then broken up due to dense collision cascade. The cluster atoms spread on the surface at last. When the impact energy was higher than 11 eV, the defects, such as Al substitutions and Ni ejections, were observed. The simulation indicated that there exists an optimum energy range, which is suitable for Al epitaxial growth in layer by layer. In addition, at higher impinging energy, the atomic exchange between Al and Ni atoms will be favourable to surface alloying.

Urban Indigenous AOD treatment programs : addressing the lack of evaluative research of culturally appropriate youth services

This presentation discusses the limited research of urban rehabilitation service evaluations and assesses the progress of Goori House Rehabilitation Service, identifying issues preventing a sustainable organisational future.

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.

Comparing and complementing methods : traditional market research vs. deep customer insights

Quantitative market data has traditionally been used throughout marketing and business as a tool to inform and direct design decisions. However, in our changing economic climate, businesses need to innovate and create products their customers will love. Deep customer insight methods move beyond just questioning customers and aims to provoke true emotional responses in order to reveal new opportunities that go beyond functional product requirements. This paper explores traditional market research methods and compares them to methods used to gain deep customer insights. This study reports on a collaborative research project with seven small to medium enterprises and four multi-national organisations. Firms were introduced to a design led innovation approach, and were taught the different methods to gain deep customer insights. Interviews were conducted to understand the experience and outcomes of pre-existing research methods and deep customer insight approaches. Findings concluded that deep customer insights were unlikely to be revealed through traditional market research techniques. The theoretical outcome of this study is a complementary methods matrix, providing guidance on appropriate research methods in accordance to a project’s timeline.

Emotionate : an emerging research agenda

The creation of value through emotion has been previously explored through product design, marketing and consumer hedonics. While the notion of value creation is an important driver in business model generation, understanding what the customer honestly values and why, also needs to be considered. However, the role of emotion as a source of innovation, spanning business model creation to customer experience is not yet well understood. This research investigates how the inclusion of emotion will impact the design of a business model and business operations. A brief overview of relevant literature, the research gap and question, along with the future direction of this research is discussed in this paper.

Doctrinal research : researching the jury

This chapter examines the doctrinal methodology which many lawyers consider best typifies a distinctly legal approach to research. Legal research skills have been identified as a core skill for lawyers, and within the profession, such skills are regarded as synonymous with the doctrinal research method. Good legal research skills are a necessary step in attaining the ability to ‘think like a lawyer’ and achieving valid legal reasoning outcomes. For lawyers, therefore, the doctrinal method is an intuitive aspect of legal work. Yet as this chapter demonstrates, the doctrinal methodology is not without its detractors. There have been serious criticisms of the method put forward by exponents of the various critical legal theories, as well as a perception in some academic circles that the doctrinal research method is nothing more than mere ‘scholarship’ and as a result less compelling or respected than the research methods used by those in the sciences and social sciences. Despite these attacks, and the incursions on the method posed by the growth in the use of non-doctrinal and interdisciplinary research work by lawyers, the argument put forward in this chapter is that the doctrinal method still necessarily forms the basis for most, if not all, legal research projects.

Introducing Masculinity Studies to Information Systems research : the case of Gaydar

I believe that studies of men's gendered experiences of information systems are needed. In order to support this claim, I introduce the area of Masculinity Studies to Information Systems research and, using this, present an exploratory analysis of an internet dating website for gay men – Gaydar. The information system, which forms part of the Gaydar community, is shown to shape, and be shaped by the members as they accept and challenge aspects of it as related to their identities. In doing this, I show how the intertwined processes of information systems development and use contribute to the creation of diverse interpretations of masculinity within a group of men. In sum, my analysis highlights different kinds of men and different versions of masculinity that can sometimes be associated with different experiences of information systems. The implications of this work centre on the need to expand our knowledge of men's gendered experiences with information systems, to reflect upon processes of technology facilitated categorisation and to consider the influences that contribute to the roll out of particular software features along with the underlying rationales for market segmentation in the software and software-based services industries.

Locating packaged software in information systems research

The papers in this issue focus our attention to packaged software as an increasingly important, but still relatively poorly understood phenomena in the information systems research community. The topic is not new: Lucas et al. (1988) wrote a provocative piece focused on the issues with implementing packaged software. A decade later, Carmel (1997) argued that packaged software was both ideally suited for American entrepreneurial activity and rapidly growing. The information systems research community, however, has moved more slowly to engage this change (e.g., Sawyer, 2001). The papers in this special issue represent a significant step in better engaging the issues of packaged software relative to information systems research, and highlighting opportunities for additional relevant research.

A Worthwhile Exchange - a Guide to Indigenous Philanthropy: research findings and success stories from philanthropy supporting Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander People.

The Guide includes research findings from the Australian Centre for Philanthropy and Non Profit Studies at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT). This research probed the experiences of fourteen Indigenous people who have had different degrees of success in seeking funding from philanthropic organisations. This research shows how grantmakers can make a significant difference in the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Diversifying Information Literacy Research : An Informed Learning Perspective

This article uses the idea of informed learning, an interpretation of information literacy that focuses on people’s information experiences rather than their skills or attributes, to analyse the character of using information to learn in diverse communities and settings, including digital, faith, indigenous and ethnic communities. While researchers of information behaviour or information seeking and use have investi- AU :2 gated people’s information worlds in diverse contexts, this work is still at its earliest stages in the information literacy domain. To date, information literacy research has largely occurred in what might be considered mainstream educational and workplace contexts, with some emerging work in community settings. These have been mostly in academic libraries, schools and government workplaces. What does information literacy look like beyond these environments? How might we understand the experience of effective information use in a range of community settings, from the perspective of empirical research and other sources? The article concludes by commenting on the significance of diversifying the range of information experience contexts,for information literacy research and professional practice.

BWW ontology as a lens on IS design theory: Extending the design science research roadmap

The Design Science Research Roadmap (DSR-Roadmap) [1] aims to give detailed methodological guidance to novice researchers in Information Systems (IS) DSR. Focus group evaluation, one phase of the overall study, of the evolving DSR-Roadmap revealed that a key difficulty faced by both novice and expert researchers in DSR, is abstracting design theory from design. This paper explores the extension of the DSR-Roadmap by employing IS deep structure ontology (BWW [2-4]) as a lens on IS design to firstly yield generalisable design theory, specifically 'IS Design Theory' (ISDT) elements [5]. Consideration is next given to the value of BWW in the application of the design theory by practitioners. Results of mapping BWW constructs to ISDT elements suggest that the BWW is promising as a common language between design researchers and practitioners, facilitating both design theory and design implementation