Policy contexts and student identity/ies: a post ’92 university case study

Jacqueline Anne Boddington- Success in a knowledge economy? Drivers of student identity in a post-92 university environment: a case study. This work concerned itself with the becoming and being of studenthood against a policy environment that appears to position the student as both watchman and inmate within the panopticon of the higher education system, prompted by a suspicion that the need to occupy both these roles problematise a sense of belonging and the benefits this offers for student success within the academy. The work positions its enquiry through phenomenological frames, and allows that the essence of modern studenthood in the context of one post-’92 university may thereby be extracted from common themes emerging from seemingly disparate existences. Drawing on nomadic constructs of identity that acknowledge the student’s academic citizenship as bounded in both space and time, the work explores the oscillatory themes emerging between policy texts, in-group identity performance and individual reflection. In this way it identifies the moments of pain and seeing that impact the lines of flight to the students’ desired selfs and begins to surface how these are represented in the being and becoming of student in both group and individual settings. This work identifies that the essence of studenthood as demonstrated by the individual within the academy is a commitment to an openness to change and flux that allows self-development. However, it adds a nuance to this and so extends our existing knowledge in suggesting that this individual ambition for change is disguised in-group by a social identity of studenthood firmly situated in consumer mode, thus allowing groups of students to belong to cohorts through the co-option of identities that place them in opposition to their places of study. In this it would seem that the policy rhetorics of employability and value for money offer readily assumed consumer and professional identity labels that provide useful handholds for cohorts to latch on to while navigating complex transformational landscapes

Framework for the implementation of urban big screens in the public space

In the last decade, big urban screens have appeared in town squares and on building facades across the UK. The use of these screens brings new potentials and challenges for city regulators, artists, architects, urban designers, producers, broadcasters and advertisers. Dynamic moving images form new architectural material, affecting our perception and the experience of the space around us. A new form of urban space is emerging that is fundamentally different from what we have known, and it seems that we are ill-equipped to deal with and analyse it. We are just beginning to understand the opportunities for public information, art and community engagement. Most of screens at present serve mainly commercial purposes, they do not broadcast information aimed at sharing community content nor do they support public social interactions. We need to see more negotiation between commercial, public and cultural interests. The SCREAM project addresses these new challenges by looking at the physical urban spaces and the potential spaces created by the new technologies

The Atlee School Question: The Effects Of School Consolidation In Rural Alberta

In the mid-1960s, a bitter dispute broke out between parents in the Atlee-Jenner School District in Southern Alberta  Canada, and the Medicine Hat School Board over the bussing of children for the first time to a new school a long distance away.  The move was precipitated by the consolidation of several smaller school districts and the subsequent closing of the local school.  The parents’ argument was that the road by which the bus was to travel was in an unfinished state and was dangerous.  However, the conflict is illustrative of a much deeper issue.  An argument might be made that this dispute illuminated a much larger crisis in rural life on the prairies.  It may represent, as a case study, the problems and difficulties involved in a shift from rural life, with its unique sorts of interpersonal relationships built on the strength of local community and co-operative spirit, to a much more urbanized and structured existence.  As the Great Depression had shown, the myth that you could always go back to the farm for some measure of economic security had been dispelled.  However, one’s control over the education of one’s children, and thus the inculcation of appropriate values and beliefs, after having been first  of all, institutionalized with universal public schooling (both Protestant and Roman Catholic), had been, at least up to this point, largely a local concern, under a central authority (Ministry of Education). School divisions on the prairies had been relatively small and numerous, for practical reasons, such as transport and regular attendance.  Gradually, these small divisions came to be replaced by larger administrative units, thus threatening the perceived control and familiarity of local communities.  The other half of the equation in this dispute was the reaction of the Deputy Minister at the time, W.H. Swift.  Swift could empathize with the basic issues in play, having strong rural roots himself.  Deputy Minister of Education, W.H. Swift was also one of the last to hold that position rising up through the ranks of the education system, from teacher to school inspector to academic.  Swift had earned a Ph.D. at an early age, and rose quickly through the ranks of the civil service, learning his job under the tutelage of G. F. McNally.  Swift and McNally represented a tradition in the Department, having earned their positions through experience and hard work. As such, they might be viewed as self-made moral exemplars, leaders who could be viewed as role models by the rank and file.  This article seeks not only to illustrate how Swift actually functioned in his role as Deputy Minister in times of crisis and high public visibility, but also to show how he reacted when confronted with moral decisions.   The Atlee case, taking place between the years 1955 and 1965, serves as an example of the controversy which had developed in many areas as small rural schools were closed as a result of the divisional amalgamations begun by the Social Credit Government before the Second World War.  On a wider scale the issues embodied in the dispute also reflect a changing rural landscape.  Just as the small family farm was under corporate pressure, so it was with the local school.  These economic and administrative transformations brought with them social and cultural changes as well.   Although the case was one of the last examples of this kind, it was certainly one of the most bitterly contested.&nbsp

Domestic service : changing relations of class domination 1841-1948 : a focus on Cape Town

Bibliography: leaves 257-269.This study investigated the historical and sociological significance of domestic service in Cape and Cape Town class relations. The forces which led to the present class structure with its particular colour and sexual division of labour, where the majority of domestic workers were and are Black women were examined. It was felt that an emphasis on women's oppression only would obscure a broader understanding of domestic service in a class society where domestic service has been a major component of class, colour and sex oppression. A class analysis was used which allowed questions of gender to be posed. An historical investigation was necessary to analyse changing class relations and changes in the groups predominating in domestic service. Census reports for the Cape and Cape Town were studied in order to construct a sociological "index" to the class structure. Although many people were incorporated into wage labour via domestic service, class position and the earliness of their incorporation into wage labour allowed many groups to move on to other types of employment. Those who predominated in domestic service were the most disadvantaged by their class, colour and gender. It was because of a demand for cheap Black, mostly male, labour that Black women became trapped in domestic service in the absence of other options for employment. Ruling class demands for a supply of cheap labour as well as measures to control this labour were investigated. The Masters and Servants Acts were major sources of control and were both class and colour biased. Since so many people were incorporated into wage labour via domestic service, domestic service has been a major component in establishing class domination and control. Furthermore, domestic workers were also subject to informal control from their employers. It was only towards the 1900s that explicit demands were made for female domestic workers in order to release male labour for other sectors of employment. By 1948, pressures were building up from the ruling class to introduce more stringent control over movement and this eventually led to extensions of pass laws after 1948. An attempt was made to elaborate on how domestic workers experienced their oppression (racist and sexist attitudes of employers were a part) and to draw a link between class and sex oppression. By the nature of the close contact between employer and employee, employers could exert a great deal of control over domestic workers' private lives and this control was often sexist. Limited material on resistance was found and this, together with the lack of options for other sources of survival, illustrated domestic workers' unique oppression

The validity and reliability of the Basketball Jump Shooting Accuracy Test

Valid and reliable jump shooting assessments that replicate in-game shooting performance are currently lacking in basketball. The aims of this thesis were to (1) describe the development of the newly-established Basketball Jump Shooting Accuracy Test (BJSAT), (2) determine the intra- and inter-rater reliability of the BJSAT, and (3) determine the content validity, construct validity, and test-retest reliability of the BJSAT. Basketball athletes from different playing levels (State Basketball League [SBL], n = 30, age: 22.7 ± 6.1 yr; SBL Division I, n = 11, age: 20.6 ± 2.1 yr) completed four trials of the BJSAT with each trial consisting of four two- and four three-point shots from predetermined court locations. Each shot attempt was scored utilising criteria where greater scores were given when superior accuracy was exhibited. The BJSAT detected a significant, large difference in accuracy between two- and three-point shots (d = 0.99, p \u3c 0.01), representing suitable content validity. However, a non-significant, trivial difference was revealed in BJSAT score between gender (d = 0.17, p = 0.57) and playing level (d = 0.15, p = 0.70). For intra-rater reliability, there was an almost perfect (k = 0.85, p \u3c 0.01) agreement between scores. The agreement for inter-rater reliability was rated as substantial (k = 0.70, p \u3c 0.01). Relative reliability was rated as moderate for all athletes (intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC] = 0.71, p \u3c 0.01) and good for the SBL athletes (ICC = 0.78, p \u3c 0.01) highlighting sufficient reliability of the BJSAT when using the average of repeated scores. Absolute reliability for all athletes was above the acceptable benchmark (coefficient of variation = 16.2%); however this outcome is superior to comparative skill tests available in the literature. Floor and ceiling effects were absent in the BJSAT when one or multiple assessors scored the test. In conclusion, the BJSAT is a skill assessment where one or multiple assessors can reliably score jump shooting performance and is sensitive to two- and three-point shooting accuracy from variable distances and locations, representative of basketball game-play

The taxonomy, ecology and bioactive properties of South-East Queensland russulaceae

The Russulaceae are a cosmopolitan family of basidiomycetous fungi. They have great ecological importance as ectomycorrhizas, forming mutualistic associations with a large number of plant species. The family also includes edible species, and species possessing bioactive secondary metabolites. Southeast Queensland (SEQ), Australia has a diverse geography, supporting a significant biodiversity, which includes Russulaceae fungi. However, few formal studies have been conducted on this group in the region, leaving many taxa undescribed or poorly documented, a situation that needs to be addressed. Morphologically, members of the two main genera, Russula and Lactarius, are readily identifiable in the field, however the determination of species is difficult. Microscopic examination may improve species diagnosis, but the results are often inconclusive or incorrect. Therefore molecular taxonomy was utilised to collect additional information from specimens collected from 23 sites within SEQ so as to identify known and unknown species. From the 149 specimens genetically studied, 94 sequences of the basidiomycete-ITS region were obtained. 15 of these sequences were considered to be identical to sequences held in GenBank, the majority of these being Australian. Another two were from an order unrelated to this study. However, it was revealed the remaining 83 sequences were potentially members of up to 33 new species. Four new taxa which contained the highest number of collected specimens, were subsequently described using both molecular and morphological taxonomic approaches. Russulaceae species are known to associate with Australian obligate mycoheterotrophic orchids. To further document the Russulaceae of SEQ, the fungi that associate with roots of the orchid, Dipodium roseum were investigated for the first time. Both Sanger and Next Generation sequencing of extracted and amplified DNA showed the presence of both Russula and Lactarius spp, in roots of plants. This is the first time Lactarius spp. have been identified as mycobionts in an Australian orchid and this may have conservation implications for threatened species within the Dipodium genus. As the development of antimicrobial resistance and rates of cancer continue to be of societal concern, there is a need to continue the search for new or more effective drugs. Bioactive metabolites produced in nature are one of the most extensive sources of these compounds, and it has been shown species of the Russulaceae produce antioxidant, anticancer and antimicrobial compounds. This study provided the opportunity for investigation of the bioactive properties of some of the new Russulaceae specimens obtained. Although extracts of the Russula fungi obtained here had little antimicrobial activity there was some impact on the growth of the two cancer cell lines studied which warrants further study. This study has thus shown that the SEQ region in Australia contains a substantial number of undescribed Russulaceae fungi. Further investigation of these taxa may reveal additional novel aspects of Australian ecosystem functioning as well as potentially provide useful bioactive compounds for humankind

Evaluation of an Esperanto-Based Interlingua Multilingual Survey Form Machine Translation Mechanism Incorporating a Sublanguage Translation Methodolgy

Translation costs restrict the preparation of medical survey and other questionnaires for migrant communities in Western Australia. This restriction is compounded by a lack of affordable and accurate machine translation mechanisms. This research investigated and evaluated combined strategies intended to provide an efficacious and affordable machine translator by: • using an interlingua or pivot-language that requires less resources for its construction than contemporary systems and has the additional benefit of significant error reduction; and • defining smaller lexical environments to restrict data, thereby reducing the complexity of translation rules and enhancing correct semantic transfer between natural languages. This research focussed on producing a prototype machine translation mechanism that would accept questionnaire texts as discrete questions and suggested answers from which a respondent may select. The prototype was designed to accept non-ambiguous English as the source language, translate it to a pivot-language or interlingua, Esperanto, and thence to a selected target language, French. Subsequently, a reverse path of translation from the target language back to the source language enabled validation of minimal or zero change in both syntax and semantics of the original input. Jade, an object-oriented (00) database application, hosting the relationship between the natural languages and the interlingua, was used to facilitate the accurate transfer of meaning between the natural languages. Translation, interpretation and validation of sample texts was undertaken by linguists qualified in English, French and Esperanto. Translation output from the prototype model was compared, again with assistance from linguists, with a \u27control\u27 model, the SYSTRAN On-Line Translator, a more traditional transfer translation product. Successful completion of this research constitutes a step towards an increased availability of low cost machine translation to assist in the development of reliable and efficient survey translation systems for use in specific user environments. These environments include, but arc not exclusive to, medical, hospital and Australian indigenous-contact environments

The ethics and regulation of direct-to-consumer genetic testing

A report of the workshop 'Direct-to-consumer genetic testing: ethical and regulatory issues', Oxford, UK, 21 May 2009

A case study of the challenges of cyber forensics analysis of digital evidence in a child pornography trial

Perfunctory case analysis, lack of evidence validation, and an inability or unwillingness to present understandable analysis reports adversely affect the outcome course of legal trials reliant on digital evidence. These issues have serious consequences for defendants facing heavy penalties or imprisonment yet expect their defence counsel to have clear understanding of the evidence. Poorly reasoned, validated and presented digital evidence can result in conviction of the innocent as well as acquittal of the guilty. A possession of child pornography Case Study highlights the issues that appear to plague case analysis and presentation of digital evidence relied on in these odious crimes; crimes increasingly consuming the time, resources and expertise of law enforcement and the legal fraternity. The necessity to raise the standard and formalise examinations of digital evidence used in child pornography seems timely. The case study shows how structured analysis and presentation processes can enhance examinations. The case study emphasises the urgency to integrate vigorous validation processes into cyber forensics examinations to meet acceptable standard of cyber forensics examinations. The processes proposed in this Case Study enhance clarity in case management and ensure digital evidence is correctly analysed, contextualised and validated. This will benefit the examiner preparing the case evidence and help legal teams better understand the technical complexities involved