SPARKPLUS for Self- and Peer Assessment on Group-Based Honours’ Research Projects

This paper explores an application of an online tool SPARKPLUS (Self and Peer Assessment Resource Kit) for the self and peer assessment on the group-based Honours’ research projects. The Honours’ research projects in School of Civil, Environmental Engineering at University of Adelaide are running in a small group of students (typically four students or less) working with an academic supervisor in a selected area for one year. Since the research project is self-directed study, it is very difficult to fairly assess the contribution of individual students to the group-based research project. The paper-based method of self and peer assessment for the Honour’s research projects was used in the previous years. The same mark was often distributed and no feedback was given. Both the students and academic staff were not satisfied with the paper-based method of self and peer assessment. Thus an online tool SPARK PLUS together with a set of assessment criteria was used for the self and peer assessment of the Honours’ research projects in 2010. Thirty-seven groups participated in the self and peer assessment of using SPARK PLUS in semester one 2010 and a series of results from the online self and peer assessment were obtained and analysed. Feedback sessions were held and substantial feedback was received from students. Based on the feedback, suggestions were made on improving use of the online tool for self and peer assessment on the Honours’ research project.Chengqing Wu, Emmanuel Chanda and John Willisonhttp://www.adelaide.edu.au/erg

Vision & Choice: ethical characteristics of academic development programs

The perceived importance and the prevalence of academic development programs worldwide mean that it is critical that characteristics essential for the success of such programs be identified and incorporated. This article recognises the manifold perspectives on identifying such characteristics, but argues that if it is desirable that an academic development program has ethical outcomes, then an ethical perspective is an appropriate starting point. From the basis of ethical principles, two vital characteristics of academic development programs are identified - vision and choice. In this paper, contemporary conceptualisations of academic development programs are considered first, then characteristics consistent with ethical principles are identified and amplified. The paper concludes with a description of an existing graduate certificate in higher education, and its graduates\u27 outcomes as an example

Some studies of the interactions of aromatic nitro-compounds with nucleophiles

The interactions of some aromatic nitro-compounds with nucleophiles in protic solvents and in protic-dipolar aprotic solvent mixtures have been investigated using the techniques of proton magnetic resonance and visible spectroscopy and stopped-flow spectrophotometry. The rates of reaction (nucleophilic reactivities) of a series of substituted thiophenoxide ions with l-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene in 95/5 (v/v) ethanol-water, determined by a stopped-flow spectrophotometric method, correlate better with their carbon basicities than with their proton basicities. In methanol 4-methoxy-3,5-dinitrobenzaldehyde is in equilibrium with its hemiacetal formed by solvent addition to the carbonyl function of the aldehyde group, the equilibrium constant for hemiacetal formation (= 8) being obtained from p.m.r. measurements. In the presence of methoxide ions Meisenheimer complex formation occurs by base addition to the parent aldehyde. Kinetic and equilibrium data are reported for complex formation in methanol. In dimethyl sulphoxide there is straightforward formation of Meisenheimer complex. The formation of 1:2 adducts from l-X-2,4,6-trinitroberizenes (X = OMe, OH, NH(_2), NHMe, NMe(_2)) and sodium sulphite in water is characterised by only one relaxation time. P.m.r. measurements also indicate the existence of one isomer of the 1:2 adduct at equilibrium. However when X = H such measurements reveal the presence of both cis- and trans-isomers. Ring-activated glycol ethers cyclise in the presence of aqueous base to give spiro-complexes. Equilibrium and kinetic parameters for complex formation and decomposition are much higher than the corresponding values for their non-cyclic analogues. The spiro-complexes derived from 1-(2-hydroxyethoxy)-2,4,6- trinitrobenzene and -2,4-dinitronaphthalene undergo general acid catalysed decomposition. On going from spiro-complexes which contain 5- to those which contain 6- and 7-membered dioxolan rings there is a dramatic decrease in complex stability

Nodes, paranodes and neuropathies

This review summarises recent evidence supporting the involvement of the specialised nodal and perinodal domains (the paranode and juxtaparanode) of myelinated axons in the pathology of acquired, inflammatory, peripheral neuropathies.The identification of new target antigens in the inflammatory neuropathies heralds a revolution in diagnosis, and has already begun to inform increasingly targeted and individualised therapies. Rapid progress in our basic understanding of the highly specialised nodal regions of peripheral nerves serves to strengthen the links between their unique microstructural identities, functions and pathologies. In this context, the detection of autoantibodies directed against nodal and perinodal targets is likely to be of increasing clinical importance. Antiganglioside antibodies have long been used in clinical practice as diagnostic serum biomarkers, and associate with specific clinical variants but not to the common forms of either acute or chronic demyelinating autoimmune neuropathy. It is now apparent that antibodies directed against several region-specific cell adhesion molecules, including neurofascin, contactin and contactin-associated protein, can be linked to phenotypically distinct peripheral neuropathies. Importantly, the immunological characteristics of these antibodies facilitate the prediction of treatment responsiveness

The effects of age and ganglioside composition on the rate of motor nerve terminal regeneration following antibody-mediated injury in mice

Gangliosides are glycosphingolipids highly enriched in neural plasma membranes, where they mediate a diverse range of functions and can act as targets for auto-antibodies present in human immune-mediated neuropathy sera. The ensuing autoimmune injury results in axonal and motor nerve terminal (mNT) degeneration. Both aging and ganglioside-deficiency have been linked to impaired axonal regeneration. To assess the effects of age and ganglioside expression on mNT regeneration in an autoimmune injury paradigm, anti-ganglioside antibodies and complement were applied to young adult and aged mice wildtype (WT) mice, mice deficient in either b- and c-series (GD3sKO) or mice deficient in all complex gangliosides (GM2sKO). The extent of mNT injury and regeneration was assessed immediately or after 5 days, respectively. Depending on ganglioside expression and antibody-specificity, either a selective mNT injury or a combined injury of mNTs and neuromuscular glial cells was elicited. Immediately after induction of the injury, between 1.5% and 11.8% of neuromuscular junctions (NMJs) in the young adult groups exhibited healthy mNTs. Five days later, most NMJs, regardless of age and strain, had recovered their mNTs. No significant differences could be observed between young and aged WT and GM2sKO mice; aged GD3sKO showed a mildly impaired rate of mNT regeneration when compared with their younger counterparts. Comparable rates were observed between all strains in the young and the aged mice. In summary, the rate of mNT regeneration following anti-ganglioside antibody and complement-mediated injury does not differ majorly between young adult and aged mice irrespective of the expression of particular gangliosides

Shifting dimensions of autonomy in students' research and employment

This study considers the conceptual space, or extent of autonomy, given to coursework Masters students before, during and after a Business Ethics course that explicitly developed and assessed their research skills. This vocationally oriented and academically challenging course used the Research Skill Development framework as its conceptual model to reshape the learning and assessment environment, articulating to students not only the research skills required, but also clarifying the resulting autonomy in their research-orientated learning. In the study, seven students attended semi-structured interviews and transcript analysis of interviews revealed the level of student-declared autonomy before commencing coursework Masters, while completing the Business Ethics course, and near the end of their Masters degree. All of the students interviewed were studying part-time and working part-time, and so the applicability of the research skills to students’ work environment emerged as a major issue of interest. This paper richly represents the students’ perceptions, and is the first paper to directly address coursework Masters student autonomy in research in a longitudinal manner; as such it provides a deep and nuanced understanding of the conceptual space that students need for success in study and as preparation for employment.John Willison, Fizza Sabir and Judith Thoma

Ph.D. prepared: research skill development across the undergraduate years

Purpose: Many countries are looking for ways to enable students to engage more effectively with PhD study. This paper aims to consider the effects of explicit discipline-specific research skill development embedded in multiple semesters of an undergraduate degree on PhD preparedness. Design/methodology/approach: This case study of one Bachelor of Health Science programme determined the effectiveness of the implementation of a conceptual model, the Researcher Skill Development framework, across the undergraduate degree programme. Data were gathered through interviews of 9 academic staff and 14 students in their fourth year of undergraduate study, which is a research-focused year. Findings: All students and academics stated the benefits of the use of the Researcher Skill Development framework in undergraduate study including: deepening metacognition of research processes; assisting students toward acting and thinking like researchers; and the research-capacity building of the school. While all academics and all but one student recommended that the framework be used early in the degree programme, a number of interviewees specified problems with the existing implementation of the framework. Research limitations/implications: While the results are not generalisable, the approach is worth studying in other degree programme-wide contexts to determine its broader capacity to enable students to be more research ready for PhD study when compared to current practice. Practical implications: When adapted to the context, whole-of-degree research skill development may enable developing countries to have more students and developed countries to better prepared students commencing PhD studies. Originality/value: No studies currently provide results for explicit research skill development across a degree programme, or of the benefits of this approach for PhD preparation.John Willison, Femke Buisman-Pijlma

Evaluating Unpaid Time Contributions by Seniors: A Conceptual Framework

In the past, considerable research in gerontology has focused on services provided to seniors. Recently, however, there has a been a growing recognition of the contributions made by seniors to their families, communities and to society. Empirical estimates have been provided by researchers to show how much these contributions are worth in terms of savings in dollar amounts. A critical review of the literature identifies unresolved issues concerning which contributions to count and how to measure and value these contributions. As yet, no clear criteria exist that readily identify the distinction between volunteer activities and unpaid work, what specifically should be counted as an unpaid time contribution, how it should be quantified, and how this unit of contribution should be monetarily valued. The market replacement approach and the opportunity cost approach that are used to assign value to unpaid work often use very different wage rates or levels of income loss. This paper reviews the relevant literature and identifies important issues in evaluating unpaid time contribution of seniors. The authors propose a framework which addresses some of the methodological shortcomings identified in previous research and which provides a guide for future research in this area.seniors; valuing unpaid work

The Models of Engaged Learning and Teaching: Connecting sophisticated thinking from early childhood to PhD

This book provides a practical philosophy for promoting students' sophisticated thinking from Early Childhood to PhD in ways that explicitly interconnect across the years of education. It will help teachers, academics and the broader learning and teaching community to understand and implement these connections by introducing a conceptual framework, the Models of Engaged Learning and Teaching (MELT). By covering the nature, philosophy, practice and implications of MELT for teachers and students alike, the book will help teachers to facilitate students’ awareness of, and increasing responsibility for, the thinking demanded by subject and discipline-specific learning as well as interdisciplinary learning, whether face to face, online or in blended modes. The book will also provide educators with ways to effectively engage with complex, and sometimes conflicting, contemporary educational concepts, and with a diverse variety of colleagues involved in the learning and teaching enterprise. The book provides guidance that allows curriculum improvement, teacher action research and larger-scale research to be reported on from a common perspective, bridging the gap between those readers focused on research and those focused on teaching. The book shares valuable insights and ways of addressing the contemporary issue of discipline-based learning versus transdisciplinary learning, reducing the dichotomy and enabling the two approaches to complement each other.John Williso