Gender and journalism

The media is an important cultural gatekeeper, but not a disinterested one. Inevitably journalists, their interests, backgrounds, intellectual capacity and prejudices shape what they consider we need to know. Even unconsciously they filter what they want us to know about ourselves, each other and the world. This makes the media a major vehicle, although curiously not the only vehicle, for the shaping of public opinion and in particular for the management of our responses to change. The media is also one of four so-called pillars of democracy, ensuring electors are able to make informed choices as well as engage in public policy debate. Accordingly an effective media represents a diversity ogf opinion and a range of interests which include the rights and interests and real lives of women as well as the contribution they make to the life of the nation. That's why gender counts in journalism. It is part of diversity.&nbsp

Professional learning modes. Literature review

This literature review summarises evidence from education research to describe and compare different modes of professional learning. It applies the findings to the question: ‘what works best, and for whom’ in terms of modes of professional learning for Australian teachers, with particular focus on early childhood teachers, casual relief teachers and teachers in rural and remote teaching contexts. A key professional learning challenge common to these teachers is isolation – which can be physical, pedagogical, technological and/or social isolation. The review sought to identify research on modes of professional learning and in particular any studies that compared different modes of professional learning. The reviewers were interested in evidence pointing to the circumstances in which a particular mode of professional learning might have the most impact on teaching practice or school culture, as well as whether particular modes, or combination of modes, had greater impact for specific cohorts of teachers

Tabulator Redux: writing Into the Semantic Web

A first category of Semantic Web browsers were designed to present a given dataset (an RDF graph) for perusal, in various forms. These include mSpace, Exhibit, and to a certain extent Haystack. A second category tackled mechanisms and display issues around linked data gathered on the fly. These include Tabulator, Oink, Disco, Open Link Software's Data Browser, and Object Browser. The challenge of once that data is gathered, how might it be edited, extended and annotated has so far been left largely unaddressed. This is not surprising: there are a number of steep challenges for determining how to support editing information in the open web of linked data. These include the representation of both the web of documents and the web of things, and the relationships between them; ensuring the user is aware of and has control over the social context such as licensing and privacy of data being entered, and, on a web in which anyone can say anything about anything, helping the user intuitively select the things which they actually wish to see in a given situation. There is also the view update problem: the difficulty of reflecting user edits back through functions used to map web data to a screen presentation. In the latest version of the Tabulator project, described in this paper we have focused on providing the write side of the readable/writable web. Our approach has been to allow modification and addition of information naturally within the browsing interface, and to relay changes to the server triple by triple for least possible brittleness (there is no explicit 'save' operation). Challenges which remain include the propagation of changes by collaborators back to the interface to create a shared editing system. To support writing across (semantic) Web resources, our work has contributed several technologies, including a HTTP/SPARQL/Update-based protocol between an editor (or other system) and incrementally editable resources stored in an open source, world-writable 'data wiki'. This begins enabling the writable Semantic Web

Animals and anomalies: an analysis of the UK veterinary profession and the relative lack of state reform

The sociology of professions literature would predict that the contemporary state would not allow groups to continue unregulated or unreformed. However, this is indeed the case with the UK veterinary profession, with legislation dating back to 1966. Using an interdisciplinary analysis of published literature and reports, this paper assesses whether wider social, political and ethical dynamics can better explain this intriguing anomaly. We conclude with critical implications for the sociology of the professions. Furthermore, we argue that continuing to ignore the veterinary profession, and animals more generally, in sociological research will result in an impoverished and partial understanding of contemporary healthcare and occupations

Effects of remote learning on mental health and socialisation. Literature Review

This literature review focuses on the effects of remote learning on mental health, including acute mental health issues and possible ongoing implications for student wellbeing and socialisation. It provides an overview of some of the challenges that can impact on the mental health and relationships of young people, many of which have accelerated or become more complex during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the light of concern about rising antisocial behaviour and extremism there is a focus on socialisation and self-regulation on return to school post-pandemic. In the face of limited Australian research on these topics, the review takes a global focus and includes experiences from other countries as evidenced in the emerging research literature. Based on these findings the review offers advice to school leaders regarding the self-regulatory behaviours of students on return to school after periods of remote learning, and addresses social and emotional considerations as students transition back to school. It also considers ways in which schools can promote wellbeing and respond to mental health concerns as a way to address and prevent antisocial behaviours, recognise manifestations in extremism (including religious fundamentalism), and challenge a general rise in extremist views

Rapid review of effective practice principles in the design and delivery of digital resources for teachers

This rapid review, commissioned by Life Education Australia (LEA), gathered evidence about effective practice in the design and delivery of digital professional learning for teachers. Its goal was to inform development of principles to guide the design and delivery of LEA’s own digital resources for teachers. The key research question for the review was: What does the research evidence say about the design and delivery of digital / online resources for teachers and what practice implications and recommendations could be made based on this research evidence

What a difference a year made! : an evaluation of the National Year of Reading 2012 in Western Australia, Queensland and the Australian Capital Territory

This report is an evaluation of how the National Year of Reading helped to build a reading culture across the nation. The evaluation was undertaken by The Centre for Research in Early Childhood Education, Edith Cowan University, Western Australia . The report describes the nature and outcomes of the National Year of Reading in the four case studies, including a consideration of what participating organisations delivered beyond what would normally be expected of them. The findings lead to a series of conclusions about the program\u27s successes, challenges and legacy followed by recommendations about how these successes can be sustained and extended beyond 2012

Understanding resistance to childhood vaccination in the UK: radicals, reformists and the discourses of risk, trust and science

Vaccination is regarded by the medical profession as one of the greatest public health success stories, and recent opposition, for example over the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine, as a failure of understanding. Relatively little social scientific analysis exists on vaccination opposition. However, risk, trust and science are dominant themes within literature on public resistance to technology, and in contemporary theories such as risk society. This thesis therefore evaluates the relevance of these themes for an understanding of vaccination resistance in the UK. The empirical research primarily involves a discourse analysis of interview, document and website data generated from ten parental organisations, established to campaign against aspects of vaccination policy. The study defines these organisations as 'Vaccine Critical groups' and further classifies them into Radical and Reformist categories. In contrast to smallpox vaccination in nineteenth century England, vaccination is no longer compulsory in the UK. Nevertheless, from a governmentality perspective, the individual is still subjected to, what can be termed, the 'imperative of vaccination'. This thesis argues that the Vaccine Critical groups resist this imperative: first, by reframing risk as unknown, non-objective and individual specific; second, by demonstrating an ambivalent relationship with science; and third, by challenging faith in professional expertise and constructing the parent as the potential vaccine expert. These discourses create another type of moral imperative, which actually conforms to developments in the new public health that are encouraged by the state and the medical profession. The findings demonstrate the limits of a realist approach to risk, challenge existing theories of risk society and complicate assumptions about a public crisis of trust in expertise or science. Policy implications include the need to engage with vaccine resisters and their critical discourses, and to reassess the value of risk communication strategies

Systematic review of the literature on professional education accreditation

This report is critical and systematic review of the literature on professional education accreditation models, associated methods, and the effectiveness and impact of each model. The review was conducted to inform a review and update of the Royal College of Vetinerary Surgeons (RCVS) standards of accreditation for veterinary degrees. The purpose of the study was to rapidly appraise the evidence for the effectiveness, impact, and feasibility of different accreditation approaches, in order to inform best practices for the accreditation of professional education programs. The study focused on accreditation for programs which produce practice-ready graduates, including for veterinary programs. The authors searched several databases for articles published from 2000 to 2020, using search terms identified during a scoping phase, and applied a rapid review methodology in line with contextual, time, and resource requirements. The full-text review included 32 articles, from which a clear transition in the literature was seen from input- and process-based models (pre- and early 2000s) to outcomes-based models (in the 2000s and early 2010s). Continuous quality improvement and targeted models (including risk-based and thematic) represent more recent approaches in accreditation practice. However the review identified limited empirical evidence for the relative effectiveness of different accreditation approaches in professional education, although evidence for the more recent accreditation approaches is emerging

Schools as Community Hubs. Literature Review

This literature review focuses on community hub models that include an education setting. The goals of these hubs go beyond improving academic outcomes, and look also to the health and wellbeing of their community. This review explores the ways in which education communities operate as welcoming and enriching places that connect, share, and learn with, not only students, families, and educators, but also their wider community. It focuses on a specific model of school-community partnership, typically known as a school community hub. Core features of community hubs are presented as people, partnerships, place and programs. Benefits and challenges of community hubs are discussed