Who’s teaching science: meeting the demand for qualified science teachers in Australian secondary schools

Foreword Call to Action The data presented in this report highlight a number of serious problems that will inhibit the growth of Australia, both economically and culturally. It is imperative that all governments and education authorities implement rigorous workplace planning for teaching of science in schools as a matter of urgency, in order to remedy the current situation and prevent its reoccurrence. Such planning should be focused at the discipline level and not simply at the generic area of “science”. It must involve upgrading the discipline background of science teachers along with their pedagogical skills. It should be across sectors and states. Background: Previous commissioned surveys by the Australian Council of Deans of Science (ACDS) reported a continuing decline in enrolments in the enabling sciences and mathematics at the secondary and tertiary levels of education. Furthermore, it is recognised that very few science graduates are selecting a teaching career. The Council feared that the nation was entering a cycle with the only possible outcome being a dearth of graduates with qualifications in the enabling sciences and mathematics. Certainly there would be insufficient graduates skilled in science to support the development of a knowledgebased economy. Australia suffers from an absence of comprehensive data on the age profile of secondary school science teachers, their qualifications in the discipline areas they are required to teach and their views regarding the teaching profession. This lack of information hampered the review by Professor Kwong Lee Dow titled Australia’s Teachers: Australia’s Future which looked at, among other things, future workplace needs. The ACDS strongly believes that the future of science is too important for this paucity of data to continue. Hence it commissioned this report. Anecdotal evidence abounds concerning the number of teachers who are unqualified to teach science in particular discipline areas, but are required to do so for various reasons. The ACDS recognizes the enormous contribution of science and mathematics teachers in our schools – both at primary and secondary level. The ACDS sees this report as a basis for providing them with further support. The report should also further link science as taught at university with science as taught in the school sector

New Frontiers: collaboratively educating dentists to competently recognise domestic violence, respond and refer

The presentation will report on a ground-breaking educational program that prepares student dentists to capably recognise domestic violence, respond and refer. Domestic violence is a significant public health issue that impacts not only on individual women, but also on their families and communities. The prevalence of domestic violence means that student dentists encounter traumatised women in their clinical practice. In 2015, student dentists identified that they were feeling inadequately prepared for this challenging role. JCU Dentistry, in collaboration with JCU Social Work and the Cairns Regional Domestic Violence Service, have designed and delivered an innovative program to address this problem. Students are required to participate in the scaffolded program Dentists and Domestic Violence – Recognise, Respond and Refer (DDV: RRR), which is integrated into their clinical practice. The value of educating dentists to recognise, respond, refer and potentially reduce the incidence of domestic violence in regional and rural communities has not been explored previously. Involving dental students in the participatory action research projects that evaluate the DDV: RRR initiative has been integral to successful design and implementation. Preliminary findings show that both dental students' and graduates demonstrate the ability to capably apply the learning to their clinical practice. Evaluation is ongoing. This program is at the forefront of dental education in Australia and is helping to bring Australian dentistry in line with other Western countries and allied health professionals. Interest from health professionals suggests that other dental programs would benefit from a similar collaborative initiative that enables appropriate responses to domestic violence in clinical practice. There is potential to embed Domestic Violence – Recognise, Respond and Refer (DDV: RRR) training into dental policy and practice more widely

“Just ask what support we need”:Autistic adults’ feedback on social skills training

Background:Social skills training (SST) is an intervention intended to support the development of social communication and interaction for autistic people, often through role-play, modeling, peer mediation, or group activities. While often targeted at autistic children, adults may also be offered SST following diagnosis. Evaluations of SST generally focus on social and behavioral outcomes, with little consideration for participants' experience of the intervention. This study was the first to seek the perspectives of autistic adults regarding their previous experiences of SST in childhood or adulthood.Methods:We interviewed a total of 11 autistic adults (5 male, 5 female, and 1 agender) from the United Kingdom online. Interviews were semi-structured and focused on participants' previous experiences of SST and how they felt it could be improved. We analyzed data using reflexive thematic analysis.Results:Autistic adults wanted support around social communication and life skills, which they felt was not always provided through SST. Participants suggested that SST should be personalized and accessible as and when needed. Support through autistic peers and trained neurotypicals was particularly valued. Some emphasized the need for non-autistic people to receive training on how to socialize with autistic people. Some participants also reported negative experiences of SST or felt that it was not necessary.Conclusions:Current SST provision in the United Kingdom does not always meet the needs of autistic adults. Services providing SST should consider personalizing their support options and ensure that autistic adults are involved in the design and delivery of SST. Some autistic people may not want or need SST, and it should be integrated to a broader range of support options

Mathematical modelling of tissue-engineering angiogenesis

We present a mathematical model for the vascularisation of a porous scaffold following implantation in vivo. The model is given as a set of coupled non-linear ordinary differential equations (ODEs) which describe the evolution in time of the amounts of the different tissue constituents inside the scaffold. Bifurcation analyses reveal how the extent of scaffold vascularisation changes as a function of the parameter values. For example, it is shown how the loss of seeded cells arising from slow infiltration of vascular tissue can be overcome using a prevascularisation strategy consisting of seeding the scaffold with vascular cells. Using certain assumptions it is shown how the system can be simplified to one which is partially tractable and for which some analysis is given. Limited comparison is also given of the model solutions with experimental data from the chick chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) assay

Dentists’ role in recognising, responding and referring women who have experienced domestic violence

Background: Domestic violence is a significant public health issue that impacts not only on individual women, but also on their families and communities. The prevalence of domestic violence means that student dentists encounter traumatised women in their clinical practice, however, they report feeling inadequately prepared for this challenging role. The Dentists and Domestic Violence – Recognise, Respond and Refer (DV-RRR) training program is a groundbreaking intervention developed collaboratively with JCU Social Work and Cairns Regional Domestic Violence Service to address this problem. Embedding dental students into participatory action research projects that evaluate the DV-RRR initiative has been integral to successful design and implementation. While they have identified that dental students’ embed awareness of domestic violence into their clinical practice, graduates’ capacity to respond appropriately has not been explored. Methods: Current research aims to explore JCU dental graduate’s perceptions of the effectiveness and value of DV-RRR training in their practice using a mixed method approach. Online surveys will evaluate the sustained impact of this education to graduate dental practice. Focus groups will then enrich this evaluation data on the program. Results: Data collection is in progress. Findings will reveal the sustained impact of domestic violence training on graduates’ clinical practice. The presentation will provide results on the sustained value, effectiveness and clinical application of the DV-RRR intervention. Conclusion: DV-RRR is embedded in the JCU Dental Surgery curriculum. Interest from health professionals suggests that other dental programs would benefit from a similar collaborative initiative that enables appropriate responses to domestic violence

Children’s perceptions of their outdoor environment in relation to their physical activity behaviours: exploring differences by urbanicity and area level deprivation

Background – Physical activity (PA) has been shown to have numerous physical (e.g., reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, type-2 diabetes and obesity) and psychological (e.g., improved mental well-being, and reduction in levels of stress and depression) benefits for childhood health. Despite the known benefits, childhood PA levels are low in Scotland, where less than 20% of children achieve the recommended daily guidelines. Evidence suggests that time spent outside is positively associated with achieving higher PA levels. Understanding what might encourage children to spend time outside in their neighbourhood could inform the development of interventions aimed at encouraging children to be more active. Children from different socio-spatial neighbourhoods may perceive and utilise their neighbourhood differently, influencing how they spend their free time. This PhD thesis examines how children from diverse settings perceive their neighbourhood in relation to their outdoor activity behaviours. Methods – This thesis takes a qualitative, multi-methodological approach, towards understanding 10-11 year old children’s perceptions of their environment in relation to their time spent outside through the lens of Gibson’s theory of affordances. A pilot study (n=15, 5 boys, 10 girls) was conducted to test the feasibility of the methods. For the main study, the children (n=25, 12 boys, 13 girls) were from different levels of area deprivation and from varying levels of urbanicity. Data collection methods included photo voice, drawings, focus groups or interviews. The participants were asked to document features within their environment (via photographs and drawings) that they felt influenced their time outside. They were then asked to participate in either a focus group or a one-to-one interview. The data collection process took place between May and September 2015. Findings – Children’s perceptions of their neighbourhood environments are complex, and numerous differences were found to be dependent on area of residence. Children from rural areas appeared to be influenced more by physical affordances whereas children living in urban settings were influenced more by social affordances, specifically their friends. Children living in more deprived neighbourhoods spoke of needing more PA opportunities in their neighbourhood compared to children living in more affluent neighbourhoods, suggesting that inequalities may still exist between higher and lower area deprivation. Many of the children considered current play equipment too boring, and lacked challenge or risk. The children desired equipment that better suited their perceived capabilities. This thesis found that children were more likely to spend time outside for psychological reasons, such as relaxation. Conclusion – Through the use of novel methodology in this subject area, this thesis adds an original contribution to the literature by exploring children’s environmental perceptions in relation to PA, and by looking at how setting might influence these perceptions. This thesis found that children perceive their environment differently dependent on the context of their lives, suggesting that initiatives to increase childhood PA could differ depending on residential setting. Additionally, policy may emphasize the psychological benefits to children as opposed to the physical benefits. Highlighting benefits such as relaxation, happiness and excitement may be more conducive to increasing PA among this age group than focusing on benefits such as weight management and cardiovascular health

Building Peace through Sports Projects: A Scoping Review

The term peacebuilding has gained traction in academic works since introduction in the 1960s. In recent decades, sport for development and peace (SDP) has also captured the interest of the academic community, with a growing field of work. This scoping review identifies and considers the academic literature on SDP projects deployed as peacebuilding tools in post-conflict communities, to gain a greater understanding of those projects and draw inferences from them collectively. Using strict inclusion criteria, results of database searches were narrowed down to 30 publications, which the review explored through comparing the publications and their findings, to reveal the range of disciplines this research is emerging from, the countries projects are operating in, the demographics targeted, and other key data. The resulting conclusion is that there is scope for more targeted studies to clarify specific demographics to include, whether there is an ideal age to engage with youth, or an optimal timeframe for involvement. Many of the publications reference the importance of being part of broader initiatives, but the best context in which to utilise sport, and how much of an impact is being made on the wider communities, is yet to be determined

Structural basis for the high specificity of a Trypanosoma congolense immunoassay targeting glycosomal aldolase

Background : Animal African trypanosomosis (AAT) is a neglected tropical disease which imposes a heavy burden on the livestock industry in Sub-Saharan Africa. Its causative agents are Trypanosoma parasites, with T. congolense and T. vivax being responsible for the majority of the cases. Recently, we identified a Nanobody (Nb474) that was employed to develop a homologous sandwich ELISA targeting T. congolense fructose-1,6-bisphosphate aldolase (TcoALD). Despite the high sequence identity between trypanosomatid aldolases, the Nb474-based immunoassay is highly specific for T. congolense detection. The results presented in this paper yield insights into the molecular principles underlying the assay's high specificity. Methodology/Principal findings : The structure of the Nb474-TcoALD complex was determined via X-ray crystallography. Together with analytical gel filtration, the structure reveals that a single TcoALD tetramer contains four binding sites for Nb474. Through a comparison with the crystal structures of two other trypanosomatid aldolases, TcoALD residues Ala77 and Leu106 were identified as hot spots for specificity. Via ELISA and surface plasmon resonance (SPR), we demonstrate that mutation of these residues does not abolish TcoALD recognition by Nb474, but does lead to a lack of detection in the Nb474-based homologous sandwich immunoassay. Conclusions/Significance : The results show that the high specificity of the Nb474-based immunoassay is not determined by the initial recognition event between Nb474 and TcoALD, but rather by its homologous sandwich design. This (i) provides insights into the optimal set-up of the assay, (ii) may be of great significance for field applications as it could explain the potential detection escape of certain T. congolense strains, and (iii) may be of general interest to those developing similar assays

Identifying effective characteristics of behavioral weight management interventions for people with serious mental illness:A systematic review with a qualitative comparative analysis

People with serious mental illness (SMI) have identified barriers to engaging in behavioral weight management interventions (BWMIs). We assessed whether BWMIs that addressed these barriers were more effective. First, we systematically reviewed qualitative literature and used a thematic analysis to identify the characteristics of BWMIs that promote engagement for adults with SMI. Second, we systematically reviewed randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of BWMIs in adults with SMI. Data on the characteristics that promoted engagement and weight outcomes were extracted. We then used a crisp‐set qualitative comparative analysis (CsQCA) to identify which characteristics were associated with weight loss. For the qualitative review, 20 studies in 515 people with SMI were analyzed and nine characteristics were reported to promote engagement in BWMIs. For the systematic review, 34 RCTs testing 36 interventions in 4305 participants were included. The active interventions resulted in more weight loss (mean = −4.37 to +1 kg at 6 weeks to 18 months follow‐up) compared with controls (−1.64 to +3.08 kg). The CsQCA showed BWMIs that offered regular contact, tools to support enactment, and tailored materials were associated with effectiveness. As these are all supplementary strategies, it may be possible to augment BWMIs available for the general population to engage people with SMI

Interprofessional Collaboration to Develop and Deliver Domestic Violence Curriculum to Dental Students

Domestic violence (DV) is a serious social problem that impacts significantly on communities globally. While dentists are uniquely positioned to identify patients who experience DV, there is limited content specifically addressing the issue in their undergraduate training. James Cook University (JCU) dental students revealed this gap, and, in response, an interprofessional collaboration between JCU Social Work, JCU Dentistry and the Cairns Regional Domestic Violence Service was established to codesign and deliver the Dentists and Domestic Violence—Recognise, Respond and Refer program, evaluated through Participatory Action Research (PAR) cycles. The program is informed by critical and feminist social work theory with a gendered analysis of DV. The authors present the program’s evolution and examine the four elements identified as central to its success: interprofessional collaboration, critical and feminist theory and gendered analysis, scaffolded content, and skills-based activities. This article will provide a guide for others starting work in this space. IMPLICATIONS - Designing and implementing an interprofessional domestic violence curriculum informed by critical theory and tailored for dental students’ can help meet their learning needs. - Collaboratively educating dental students to recognise and respond to domestic violence cases will enable appropriate clinical interactions with patients who are victim-survivors of domestic violence and improve the quality of referrals and interactions with community support services. - Undertaking evaluation research that guides effective domestic violence training for students across disciplines contributes to addressing domestic violence