Factors Affecting Year 12 Retention Across Australian States and Territories in the 1990's

This paper contains a comparison of high school completion rates across Australian States and Territories from 1989 to 2002. These completion rates, known as 'retention rates', have a number of well-known deficiencies. When we adjust 'official' 2002 retention rates to take account of these measurement problems, the pattern of 'performance' across jurisdictions changes substantially. Moreover, the adjustments allow identification of the pattern of mismeasurement of national retention over the 1990s arising from the deficiencies of the retention rate calculation. We estimate that the retention rate was an especially poor measure of national school completion in the early 1990s, when it peaked. The peak in our adjusted retention measure during the early 1990s was less pronounced and the subsequent decline smaller than in the 'official' figures. Unlike those 'official' estimates, the adjusted measure of Year 12 retention was no lower in the late 1990s than it had been in the early 1990s.

A half-open door: pathways for VET award holders into Australian universities

Effective pathways from vocational education and training (VET) to higher education help to alleviate skill shortages as well as increase access to higher qualifications and lifetime earnings for people holding VET awards. Nationally, the proportion of students admitted to higher education on the basis of a VET award is now around 10%. However, there is considerable variation in the rates of admission between different higher education institutions. The authors investigate the extent to which these differences were the product of factors associated with specific fields of study or the result of factors related to the university, such as institutional policies and practices

From Silos to Seamlessness: Towards a Cross-sectoral Funding Model for Post-compulsory Education and Training

educational finance, postcompulsory education, vocational education, higher education, adult education, recurrent education

Why would anyone want this job? The challenge of attracting and sustaining effective leaders for Australian schools

Over the past decade, there has been considerable concern about an impending crisis in school leadership due to a shrinking pool of applicants for principals’ positions. This paper explores the dimensions of this issue in Australia and identifies possible reasons for a decline in interest in principalship. It concludes with ideas and directions for policy reform

A critical examination of the DSM as a multicultural diagnostic tool for depression among Asian Americans and Asian Indians

Depression has been examined from a Western, Asian American and Indian American- cultural, specific point of view. The purpose of this paper was to examine if the DSM can be used as a multicultural diagnostic tool for depression. Research suggests that ethnic and racial minority groups are often underserved by the mental health system (Snowden, 1996; Lewis-Fernàndez & Kleinman, 1994). Language, social construction, family, age, gender and religion have all been found to be barriers to treatment among different cultures (Blackmore, 1998; Ramisetty-Mikler, 1993). After reviewing the literature a strong argument can be made for the DSM being used as a multicultural diagnostic tool, as long as clinicians have the appropriate understanding of different cultures and their belief systems

The radiographers' role in information giving prior to consent for computed tomography scans: A cross-sectional survey

This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication in Radiography following peer review. The version of record [Radiography, Vol. 22 (4): e252 – e257] first published online June 25, 2016, is available online at: 10.1016/j.radi.2016.06.005. © Crown Copyright 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd. on behalf of The College of Radiographers. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.Purpose Computed tomography (CT) use has increased in recent years with concerns regarding radiation risk. Informed consent requires that patients are informed of risks and benefits; however, it is known that radiation risk communication occurs infrequently between referrers and patients. This research aimed to explore the role CT radiographers play in giving information to patients prior to CT; specifically, whether they can give appropriate and accurate information to facilitate informed decisions. Results An on-line cross-sectional survey of UK-based CT radiographers returned 78 completed questionnaires. Participants predominantly saw their role as giving procedural information to reassure the patient. Only 23.1% stated that they discussed the risks of radiation at least sometimes; iodinated contrast risks were discussed more frequently (44.9% always, 28.2% sometimes). Participants felt referrers should take a greater role in discussing CT risk/benefit with patients. Although 92% of radiographers felt confident in giving CT information, when asked to respond to a patient regarding the radiation dose that would be received during a CT abdomen/pelvis scan, 45% would not give a dose or equivalence and only 23% could give accurate dose estimates, with 28% grossly underestimating the dose. Conclusions There is variation in practice for information giving and consent procedure in CT. Radiation information communication is infrequent between radiographers in this study and their patients, unless the patient specifically asks about the risks. Relatively few radiographers who completed the survey could give an accurate estimation of radiation doses in CT.Peer reviewe

The 1-2-3 of Market Research for Business Startups: A Case Study in Library Instruction

This article describes a practical way to teach student entrepreneurs to search and use market data for business startup plans. The conventional way of teaching students to find articles and business intelligence based on a class assignment can be challenging for many students without an academic business background. This library instruction approach sequentially uses three databases enriched with business data and infographics to support the development of critical thinking for student entrepreneurs. It teaches entrepreneurial personality support, analysis, visualization, and market mapping