A verbatim drama based on the lived experience of women casual academics

An original theatre piece based on the interviews of six women casual academics from across three different universities that incorporates original music, photography and the performance. This presentation seeks to address a lack of voice of women casual academics in Australian universities. At present 67,000 of the 110, 000 Australian academics are employed on sessional contracts, the majority of whom are women. Yet very little is known about these women’s experience. Indeed, most discourses around sessional staffing have relied upon large-scale surveys, designed by people outside of the casual academic experience, to present quantitative data about sessional staff. They also maintain traditional researcher/participant power relationships that fail to individualise the research participant or offer an opportunity of ‘voice’ to casual academics. Finally, current research ostensibly ignores issues of sex and gender in casualised academia, whilst covertly propagating a masculine discourse. The lack of voice of women casual academics in research around sessional staffing is a problem because when women are denied a voice in public discourse they suffer the oppression of voicelessness. In addition, a lack of contribution by women to academic discourse is a barrier to gaining ongoing academic tenure. Furthermore, the lack of stories by women academics in public spaces conceal ongoing disadvantage experienced by women. Consequently, I have unearthed, through a narrative inquiry, the lived experience of six women casual academics from across three Australian universities. I have subsequently restoryed these experiences into a verbatim drama. Verbatim drama uses participants’ words as the basis of drama texts and aims to give listening ears to voices that often go unheard. Within this research presentation I present a verbatim drama to illuminate women casual academics’ experience within a form of communication that is congruent with the ‘messiness’ and fully embodied nature of lived experience. Finally, I aim to investigate how you engage with drama as a form of research communication. Therefore, your response to the presentation will be sought as part of my PhD research project.Duration: 40 minute drama comprising 6 self-contained dramatic episodes incorporating song, music and original photographyWinner of the HDR Special Presentation awarded by FAB and FoSHEEThe recordings of the performance can be found hereFirst performed: 16 July 2014Venue: University of the Sunshine Coast Research Conference - Sunshine Coast, Australi

Measurement uncertainties in quantifying aeolian mass flux: evidence from wind tunnel and field site data

Aeolian sediment traps are widely used to estimate the total volume of wind-driven sediment transport, but also to study the vertical mass distribution of a saltating sand cloud. The reliability of sediment flux estimations from this data are dependent upon the specific configuration of the measurement compartments and the analysis approach used. In this study, we analyse the uncertainty of these measurements by investigating the vertical cumulative probability distribution and relative sediment flux derived from both wind-tunnel and field studies. Three existing datasets were used in combination with a newly acquired meteorological dataset, which was collected in combination with sediment fluxes from six different events, using three customized catchers at one of the beaches of Ameland in the north of The Netherlands. Fast-temporal data collected in a wind-tunnel shows that eq has a scattered pattern between impact and fluid threshold, but increases linearly with shear velocities above the fluid threshold. For finer sediment fractions, a larger portion of the sediment was transported closer to the surface compared to coarser sediment fractions. It was also shown that errors originating from the the distribution of the sampling compartments, specifically the location of the lowest sediment trap relative to the surface, can be identified using the relative sediment flux. In the field, surface conditions such as surface moisture, surface crusts or frozen surfaces have a more pronounced, but localized effect, than shear velocity. Uncertainty in aeolian mass flux estimates can be reduced by placing multiple compartments in closer proximity to the surface.A peer-reviewed version of this preprint was published in PeerJ on 1 July 2014. View the peer-reviewed version here, which is the preferred citable publication unless you specifically need to cite this preprint

A biomechanical analysis of the roundhouse kicking technique of expert practitioners: a comparison between the Martial Arts disciplines of Muay Thai, Karate, and Taekwondo

These data are the excel outputs of processed C motion data files. These data provided numerical values for a range of variables dealing with roundhouse kicks performed at individuals relative head heights. Data collected at the Motion Lab at the University of the Sunshine Coast.Format of the data: 2 MS Excel (.xlsx) files, 1 MS Word (.docx) files, 1 TEXT (.txt) file (total 161KB)Please cite this record using the following DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4227/39/58dc40a141223Related publication: Gavagan CJ, Sayers MGL (2017) A biomechanical analysis of the roundhouse kicking technique of expert practitioners: A comparison between the martial arts disciplines of Muay Thai, Karate, and Taekwondo. PLoS ONE 12(8): e0182645. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0182645Timeframe of data collection: 200

Pacing during an ultramarathon running event in hilly terrain

Purpose. The dynamics of speed selection as a function of distance, or pacing, are used in recreational, competitive, and scientific research situations as an indirect measure of the psycho-physiological status of an individual. The purpose of this study was to determine pacing on level, uphill and downhill sections of participants in a long (~173 km) ultramarathon performed on trails in hilly terrain. Methods. Fifteen ultramarathon runners competed in a ~173 km event (five finished at ~103 km) carrying a Global-Positioning System (GPS) device. Using the GPS data, we determined the speed, relative to average total speed, in level (LEV), uphill (UH) and downhill (DH) gradient categories as a function of total distance, as well as the correlation between overall performance and speed variability, speed loss, and total time stopped. Results. There were no significant differences in normality, variances or means in the relative speed in 173-km and 103-km participants. Relative speed decreased in LEV, UH and DH. The main component of speed loss occurred between 5% and 50% of the event distance in LEV, and between 5% and 95% in UH and DH. There were no significant correlations between overall performance and speed loss, the variability of speed, or total time stopped. Conclusions. Positive pacing was observed at all gradients, with the main component of speed loss occurring earlier (mixed pacing) in LEV compared to UH and DH. A speed reserve (increased speed in the last section) was observed in LEV and UH. The decrease in speed and variability of speed were more important in LEV and DH than in UH. The absence of a significant correlation between overall performance and descriptors of pacing is novel and indicates that pacing in ultramarathons in trails and hilly terrain differs to other types of running events.A peer-reviewed version of this preprint was published in PeerJ on 27 October 2016. View the peer-reviewed version here, which is the preferred citable publication unless you specifically need to cite this preprint

How do we save ageing Australians from the heat? Greening our cities is a good start

No abstract available.Originally published in The Conversation</a

Universities and Their Regional Communities: A Theory of Engagement Based On Human Capital, Ethics and the Public Good

The popularisation of the engagement relations between universities and their local and regional communities over the past decade runs the risk of being a ‘top-down’ funding-conditional formulaic model of rules rather than a means for more acutely addressing the big issues of the world through principles framed around a relational ethic where context and the dynamic of entity-free ‘enterprising’ human capital are central. In this paper we agree with arguments about the importance of ‘place’ in providing a context for building a relational ethic (Smith 2001). Elsewhere, we have termed this ‘sp-ethics’. We also agree with arguments that a relational ethic is important in sustaining values for community cohesion in a globalising world where fragmentation appears to be the chief outcome (Bauman 1995, 2001, 2007). In this paper, we suggest a relational ethic of ‘place’ offers a theoretical framework for university-based human capital, free of structural constraints, to address community concerns of global importance. In so doing this would provide two benefits. First, it offers a way beyond the transcendental for hose seeking the practical implementation of moral principles in their communities in a world dominated by neo-liberal rules of institutionalism and individualism that do not offer solutions to global concerns. Second, it offers university-community engagement process and practice a theoretical underpinning to its current unguided and consequential ethical focus and a tighter connection between knowledge and the public good. In this regard we are keen to see a progression of the discipline beyond the interesting ‘good practice’ case study and a ‘good faith’ approach to addressing the public good by universities. In implementing such an approach we suggest the vehicle is a stronger connection in the role of ‘enterprising’ human capital in university-community engagement with a focus on unambiguous pathways across education sectors and stronger connections to community priorities of global concern in the design and delivery of university programs. We suggest this role for universities and their communities because the ethics of ‘enterprising’ human capital is not yet constrained by the structural arrangements of corporate and institutional entities. An embedded relational ethic of this kind also calls for changes in university practice (management support, programs) and a re-balancing of funding arrangements at a policy level that support such practice.The full paper is available in the AUCEA e-Journal (see http://research.usc.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/usc:4430

Serious playground: using Second Life to engage high school students in urban planning

Virtual world platforms such as Second Life have been successfully used in educational contexts to motivate and engage learners. This article reports on an exploratory workshop involving a group of high school students using Second Life for an urban planning project. Young people are traditionally an under-represented demographic when it comes to participating in urban planning and decision making processes. The research team developed activities that combined technology with a constructivist approach to learning. Real world experiences and purposes ensured that the workshop enabled students to see the relevance of their learning. Our design also ensured that play remained an important part of the learning. By conceiving of the workshop as a ‘serious playground’ we investigated the ludic potential of learning in a virtual world.This book was originally published as a special issue of Learning, Media & Technology. This article was originally published in Learning, Media & Technology, 35 (2) 203-225. 2010. See: http://research.usc.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/usc:1152

Teachers' Beliefs about the Possibilities and Limitations of Digital Games in Classrooms

Teachers' beliefs about what it is (or is not) possible to achieve with digital games in educational contexts will inevitably influence the decisions that they make about how, when, and for what specific purposes they will bring these games into their classrooms. They play a crucial role in both shaping and responding to the complex contextual factors which influence how games are understood and experienced in educational settings. Throughout this article the authors draw upon data collected for a large-scale, mixed-methods research project focusing on literacy, learning and teaching with digital games in Australian classrooms, to focus explicitly on the attitudes, understandings and expectations held about digital games by diverse teachers at the beginning of the project. They seek to identify the beliefs about games that motivated teachers' participation in a digital games research project while focusing, as well, on concerns that teachers express about risks or limitations of such a project. The authors' aim is to develop a detailed picture of the mindsets that teachers bring to games-based learning environments, and the relevance of these mindsets to broader debates about the relationship between games, learning and school

Partnerships for success: A collaborative support model to enhance the first year student experience

No abstract available

The Use of Body Mass Index as an Indicator of Fitness and Health Status in Australian Adolescents

No abstract available