'Any Portal in a Storm?' Online Engagement Patterns of First Year QUT Students

Engaging new students in tertiary study, amidst the storm of their adjustment to university life, should harness conventional physical as well as new virtual spaces to ensure (as urged by McInnis 2003, p.9) learning opportunities are maximised inside and outside of the classroom. When ubiquitous information, merged technologies, blurred social-study-work boundaries, multitasking and hyperlinked online interactions epitomise generational routines (Oblinger & Oblinger, 2005); positive, rewarding interactions through virtual space "portals" may establish the mode and intensity of on- and off-campus student experience. Conventional modes of curriculum delivery and learning support that hinge on presentation of material according to (for example) scheduled topic sessions, contact times and administrative office hours, do not necessarily fully accommodate these new social realities (James, 2002, p.81), contemporary learning practices or transition-informed curriculum design (Kift, 2005). In this paper, quantitative data and rich qualitative information from internal and external surveys are triangulated to examine the patterns of online engagement for students at QUT. These patterns inform our ongoing project that seeks to tailor the delivery of curriculum mediated resources within a virtual space

'First Portal in a Storm': A Virtual Space for Transition Students

The lives of millennial students are epitomised by ubiquitous information, merged technologies, blurred social-study-work boundaries, multitasking and hyperlinked online interactions (Oblinger & Oblinger, 2005). These characteristics have implications for the design of online spaces that aim to provide virtual access to course materials, administrative processes and support information, all of which is required by students to steer a course through the storm of their transition university experience. Previously we summarised the challenges facing first year students (Kift & Nelson, 2005) and investigated their current online engagement patterns, which revealed three issues for consideration when designing virtual spaces (Nelson, Kift & Harper, 2005). In this paper we continue our examination of students’ interactions with online spaces by considering the perceptions and use of technology by millennial students as well as projections for managing the virtual learning environments of the future. The findings from this analysis are informed by our previous work to conceptualise and describe the architecture of a transition portal

The Impact of the Integrated Practitioner in Higher Education: Studies in Third Space Professionalism

There is so much to recommend this book. The individual contributions, augmented by the editors’ careful synthesis throughout, are a revelation. And its timing is prescient: it makes a critical and welcome contribution to the sector’s thinking and theorising as higher education (HE) globally dares to look hopefully towards a post-pandemic ‘better normal’. What COVID-19 has laid bare, if the interminable forces of relentless change prior to 2020 had not already done so, is that the organising principles of the modern university and the identities, roles and contributions of those who work within it, must be reimagined. Pre-pandemic, the massification of HE and endemic funding precarity had already sorely tested the efficacy of traditional structures, functions and workforce profiles and found them to be wanting. Strides in digitisation and digitalisation were not converting easily for a seamless digital transformation of the student experience. The student success remit for increasingly diverse cohorts was underscoring the need for greater institutional nuancing to account for students’ individual lived and fluid realities. And the widescale uptake of universal design for learning to assure substantive flexibility and inclusion for all learners continued to remain a work in progress. The total ask was already too much for any one part of the amorphous university whole to deliver coherently from siloed isolation. Then COVID-19 swept around the world and into our institutions

Foreword : Future work and learning in a disrupted world: ‘The Best Chance for All’

This Special Issue, devoted to micro-credentials and qualifications for future work and learning in a disrupted world, is a welcome and critically timed contribution to educational theorising and practice internationally. COVID-19 has accelerated Industry 4.0’s pervasive labour market disruption. Digitisation’s efficiencies have been rapidly embraced and broadly up-scaled as a matter of necessity. Many industries and professions have fast tracked digitalisation to transform pre-pandemic business models for current and future sustainability. We have seen all education sectors – Kindergarten to Year 12 (K-12), vocational education and training/ further education (VET/FE) and higher education (HE) – digitise and digitalise to varying degrees in their rapid move to emergency remote teaching (Hodges et al., 2020). Robust evaluation will be needed to assess the efficacy of that pedagogical triaging – our well-intentioned ‘panic-gogy’ (Kamenetz, 2020) – to inform the quality and fitness-for-future-purpose of that online pivot. In the meantime, HE’s students and graduates emerge from 2020 wanting to support and apply their studies in a challenging job market that was already weakening pre-pandemic and has now worsened (for example in the Australian context, Social Research Centre, 2020), especially for young people. If that was not enough, significant and underlying issues of climate change, reconciliation with First Nations, demographic change and globalisation continue to have implications for equal and equitable participation in the full range of life opportunities, including in meaningful paid work. In brief, the context for this Special Issue is an international grand challenge writ very large

A New Pedagogy for Higher Education? Exploring Integrated Learning Environments in Legal Education

It is clear that there is an urgent need to reconceptualise the pedagogy of the tertiary learning environment and to reflect on how best to harness technology to improve student learning outcomes. It has been said that technology on its own is not sufficient for effective learning, but it is by no means clear to many time-poor academics how to redesign courses for an optimal blend of both on and off-campus resources and physical and virtual environments. This paper will examine, in a legal education context, how one Faculty has progressed its pedagogical journey towards delivering desirable integrated learning environments. In pursuing this objective, we have been forced both to re-evaluate the way we teach for learning in the face-to-face classroom and to consider critically the barriers that prevent online learning and teaching proceeding to a more facilitated model of learning that is active, situational, student-centred and independent (that is, beyond mere content delivery and communicative interaction: Paliwala, 2001; Laurillard, 1993). At a time when internationalisation of core curricula is also a priority, this paper will highlight the need to manage a significant culture change for staff and students alike. It will explore some of the constraints to bringing technology into the curriculum and offe

Intermetallic compounds by reductive annealing

The majority of the work described in this thesis focuses on the development of a new synthetic route to binary and ternary intermetallic compounds, which avoids the need for reaction at very high temperatures, multi-step reactions, reaction under vacuum and/or the synthesis of precursors. The route was adapted from a synthetic route reported for the synthesis of ternary and quaternary nitrides adopting the ε-carbide and filled β-manganese structures, where mixed metal oxides were reduced under an atmosphere of 10% hydrogen in nitrogen. In this work, binary intermetallic compounds including metal antimonides, germanides and bismuthides were prepared by reducing mixed metal oxides under 10% hydrogen in argon. A variety of high purity antimonides were synthesised, including NiSb, CoSb, CoSb3, Cu2Sb and SnSb. Tailoring of some of the properties of these antimonides was attempted by introducing other atoms into the crystal structures, thereby forming ternary compounds. The most notable ternary antimonides prepared include the solid solution of NiSb in CoSb, and the solid solution of RhSb3 in CoSb3. The Sb-Sb bond lengths in the solid solution of NiSb in CoSb display an unexpected trend, passing through a minimum. Reasons for this based on electronic grounds are suggested. Notably the Te-Te bond length within the solid solution of NiTe in CoTe does not display this variation. The solid solution of RhSb3 in CoSb3 is potentially very useful as the introduction of rhodium into the structure may alter the thermoelectric behaviour of the material. However, thermoelectric measurements on the compounds are yet to be carried out. Other work described in this thesis focuses on attempts to synthesise transition metal nitrides, firstly by extending a synthetic route reported for the synthesis of ε-carbide and filled β-manganese nitrides by introducing germanium into Fe3Mo3N, Co3Mo3N and the hypothetical compound "Ni3Mo3N", and secondly by the thermal treatment of potential precursors to binary transition metal nitrides. The synthesis and magnetic properties of Fe2GeMo3N, Co2GeMo3N and Ni2GeMo3N are discussed, and the synthesis of solid solutions of Fe2GeMo3N and Ni2GeMo3N in Co2GeMo3N are described. In addition, experiments to determine whether a small interstitial (in this case nitrogen) is needed to stabilise certain compounds adopting the ε-carbide and filled β-manganese structures are described. The preparation, crystal structures and thermal treatment of metal urea complexes as potential precursors to binary nitrides are also discussed. Two of the metal urea complexes synthesised, ([Cr(urea)4(H2O)2][NO3]3 and [Fe(urea)6][NO3]), are particularly interesting: [Cr(urea)4(H2O)2][NO3]3 crystallises in a primitive, but close to C-centred unit cell, and [Fe(urea)6][NO3]3 crystallises in a C-centred cell which is related by a five-fold expansion to a smaller pseudo C-centred cell previously reported for the same structure

Intermetallic compounds by reductive annealing

The majority of the work described in this thesis focuses on the development of a new synthetic route to binary and ternary intermetallic compounds, which avoids the need for reaction at very high temperatures, multi-step reactions, reaction under vacuum and/or the synthesis of precursors. The route was adapted from a synthetic route reported for the synthesis of ternary and quaternary nitrides adopting the ε-carbide and filled β-manganese structures, where mixed metal oxides were reduced under an atmosphere of 10% hydrogen in nitrogen. In this work, binary intermetallic compounds including metal antimonides, germanides and bismuthides were prepared by reducing mixed metal oxides under 10% hydrogen in argon. A variety of high purity antimonides were synthesised, including NiSb, CoSb, CoSb3, Cu2Sb and SnSb. Tailoring of some of the properties of these antimonides was attempted by introducing other atoms into the crystal structures, thereby forming ternary compounds. The most notable ternary antimonides prepared include the solid solution of NiSb in CoSb, and the solid solution of RhSb3 in CoSb3. The Sb-Sb bond lengths in the solid solution of NiSb in CoSb display an unexpected trend, passing through a minimum. Reasons for this based on electronic grounds are suggested. Notably the Te-Te bond length within the solid solution of NiTe in CoTe does not display this variation. The solid solution of RhSb3 in CoSb3 is potentially very useful as the introduction of rhodium into the structure may alter the thermoelectric behaviour of the material. However, thermoelectric measurements on the compounds are yet to be carried out. Other work described in this thesis focuses on attempts to synthesise transition metal nitrides, firstly by extending a synthetic route reported for the synthesis of ε-carbide and filled β-manganese nitrides by introducing germanium into Fe3Mo3N, Co3Mo3N and the hypothetical compound "Ni3Mo3N", and secondly by the thermal treatment of potential precursors to binary transition metal nitrides. The synthesis and magnetic properties of Fe2GeMo3N, Co2GeMo3N and Ni2GeMo3N are discussed, and the synthesis of solid solutions of Fe2GeMo3N and Ni2GeMo3N in Co2GeMo3N are described. In addition, experiments to determine whether a small interstitial (in this case nitrogen) is needed to stabilise certain compounds adopting the ε-carbide and filled β-manganese structures are described. The preparation, crystal structures and thermal treatment of metal urea complexes as potential precursors to binary nitrides are also discussed. Two of the metal urea complexes synthesised, ([Cr(urea)4(H2O)2][NO3]3 and [Fe(urea)6][NO3]), are particularly interesting: [Cr(urea)4(H2O)2][NO3]3 crystallises in a primitive, but close to C-centred unit cell, and [Fe(urea)6][NO3]3 crystallises in a C-centred cell which is related by a five-fold expansion to a smaller pseudo C-centred cell previously reported for the same structure

Retinopathy of prematurity screening criteria and work load implications at Tygerberg Children's Hospital, South Africa: A cross-sectional study

High-income country ROP Screening guidelines are not appropriate for middle-income countries and screening requirements may vary even between units within one city. This study aimed to determine optimal ROP screening criteria, and its workload implications, for Tygerberg Children's Hospital (TCH), South Africa. Methods This cross-sectional study included premature infants screened for ROP, at TCH (1 January 2009 to 31 December 2014). Logistic regression for prediction and classification were performed. Predictors were birth weight (BW) and gestational age (GA). Endpoints were clinically significant ROP (CSROP) and Type 1 ROP (T1ROP)

The Flowing BIon

In this paper we use the effective blackfold description of branes to extend the study of the thermal BIon, a D-brane and parallel anti-D-brane connected by a wormhole with F-string charge in hot flat space, by introducing a radial boost along the brane. The boosted system behaves qualitatively differently from both the extremal and the thermal BIon considered previously. Interestingly, we are able to formulate a first law of thermodynamics for the system as a whole, despite the fact that it is not a stationary blackfold. In particular, the global temperature is given by the rest frame temperature times the gamma factor of special relativity which is the inverse transformation compared to the case of stationary blackfolds. In addition we define two new kinds of thermodynamic conjugate variables, the energy flux $W$ and the integrated velocity on the brane. We find that a phase transition occurs by varying the energy flux $W$. Below a critical value of $W$ the brane separation $\Delta$ changes only slightly with $W$. Instead above the critical value $\Delta$ grows exponentially.Comment: 26 pages, 6 figures. v2: Introduction and conclusion improved, references adde

Teamwork protocol

This protocol represents an attempt to assist in the instruction of teamwork assessment for first-year students across QUT. We anticipate that teaching staff will view this protocol as a generic resource in teamwork instruction, processes and evaluation. Teamwork has been acknowledged as a problematic practice at QUT while existing predominantly in importance amongst graduate capabilities for all students at this institution. This protocol is not an extensive document on the complexities and dynamics of teamwork processes, but instead presents itself as a set of best practice guidelines and recommendations to assist in team design, development, management, support and assessment. It is recommended that this protocol be progressively implemented across QUT, not only to attain teamwork teaching consistency, but to address and deal with the misconceptions and conflict around the importance of the teamwork experience. The authors acknowledge the extensive input and contributions from a Teamwork Steering Committee selected from academic staff and administrative members across the institution. As well, we welcome feedback and suggestions to both fine tune and make inclusive those strategies that staff believe add to optimal teamwork outcomes