Where did I lose you? Accessing the literacy demands of assessment

In this study we sought to find out how teachers could make assessment fairer for Indigenous students in learning mathematics, given the context of the high stakes of the National Assessment Program Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN). Today, teachers are experiencing the full range of demands from their own students who require individual attention, through to system level expectations of improved performances for all students. Many staff experience reform fatigue with limited time for critical reflection and a reduction in support for the use and the analysis of the overwhelming amount of data that has become available in recent years. Over the past three years we worked with teachers in seven schools to gradually refine our research focus to centre on how we might best support teachers in this demanding context with the important outcome of improved teaching and learning of mathematics with particular consideration of how to respond to the cultural needs of Indigenous (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) students

Conceptions of objects across categories: Childhood patterns resemble those of adults.

Studies of category-specific disorders have suggested that categories of living and non-living things vary in the properties that are most salient to recognition. Studies of the object features generated by normal adults have also revealed different patterns of responses to different categories. These adult patterns are likely to originate in childhood, but there are few reports of children’s verbal conceptions of objects and none at present of objects from different categories. This paper investigates the development of object conceptions, in large group of children, aged 3years 7months to 11years 6 months, in response to ‘What is a - ?” questions directed to seventy-two objects, selected from two categories of Living Things (animals and fruit/vegetables) and two categories of Artefacts (implements and vehicles). Proportions of perceptual-to-functional features provided by the children to living and non-living things varied with the range of features defined as functions, just as studies of adults have found. Apart from the distribution of superordinate responses, which were significantly more salient to living than to non-living categories, no other property separated the two categories. Only the category of implements could be distinguished from the other categories on the basis of the features generated. It is argued that the perceptual-functional of theory of category-specific disorders receives little support from this study, but that in general the distribution of features generated by young children is similar that produced by normal adults

A Qualitative Exploration of Individuals Preferences, Expectations, Lived Experiences and Satisfaction with Treatment for Depression

This item is only available electronically.Depression is one of the most commonly occurring disorders that can significantly impact an individual’s quality of life and often leads to increased morbidity and mortality. This paper reviews the existing literature on the prevalence and impact of major depressive disorder. It explores the ongoing issues associated with help-seeking and examines factors that influence or impede individuals accessing help. Research about patient preferences, expectations and satisfaction with treatment for depression are reviewed in the context of both pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy. Limitations of current research, including ongoing discrepancies across the literature, are presented, and recommendations for future research are discussed. In particular, the work concludes that there should be a greater focus on understanding individual perspectives and experiences in more naturalistic community settings, with less emphasis on the use of clinical trial data.Thesis (M.Psych(Clinical)) -- University of Adelaide, School of Psychology, 201

Accounting and the pursuit of Utopia: The possibility of perfection in Paraguay

For utopian socialists the capitalist state\u27s protection and promotion of property rights is the source of entrenched injustice that alienates individuals from their fundamentally moral nature. Substituting cooperative associations for competition as the basis of economic exchange and social relations would allow justice to be reasserted and society to operate on moral principles. In the late 19th century an attempt was made by a small group of idealistic Australian socialists to put these principles into practice in the jungles of Paraguay by establishing the utopian colonies of New Australia and Cosme. An essential ingredient to their vision was a system of exchange in which goods and services were valued, following Ricardo and Marx, according to their labor content or labor value. This required new forms of accounting to communicate and enhance a set of values, ideals and permitted behavior which was very different from that associated with capitalism. Accounting was also to prove critical to the survival of the colonies beyond their initial establishment by the legitimacy it afforded the decision to revoke the right of members, who withdrew, to a share of assets. The accounting system used at Cosme demonstrated a sophisticated understanding that the contributions of accounting were not dependent on private property

Using audience response systems to enhance student engagement and learning in information literacy teaching

One of the key challenges in Information Literacy (IL) teaching in higher education is ensuring student engagement. As such, active learning approaches are encouraged in order to maximise student participation and interaction with the teaching. The use of audience response systems (ARSs) is one active learning approach which is being used increasingly in IL teaching. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of ARSs in terms of increased engagement and student learning. Previous research has explored the use of ARSs as an active learning approach in comparison to traditional lectures, but this study aims to specifically examine the effectiveness of these tools as part of an active learning pedagogy. Most existing studies have looked at a single ARS, usually clickers. With an increase in availability and functionality of online tools, and discussions at a university level about moving to a single system which makes use of students’ own devices, this study also aims to compare the effectiveness of clickers and online ARSs. A controlled study was carried out on two cohorts of medical students at Queen Mary University of London comparing the use of clickers, online response tools, or a mixture of the two, to teaching without ARSs. Class observation and student evaluation were used to measure student engagement, and quizzes and student confidence levels to measure student learning. Results of the study showed that ARSs, when used as part of an active learning pedagogy, are an effective tool in terms of increasing student engagement, and have a generally positive impact on student learning, with online tools being slightly more effective than clickers. The study provides evidence which can be used by IL practitioners to help integrate ARSs into their teaching as well as inform institutional decisions on the use of these tools

Drop-in sessions as an effective format for teaching information literacy: A case study in the medical and dental libraries at queen mary university of London

© 2015, CILIP Information Literacy Group. All Rights Reserved. Information literacy (IL) skills are increasingly becoming acknowledged as vital lifelong skills, necessary to thrive in education, research and the workplace. IL is taught in a variety of formats in higher education. The purpose of this study is to examine the use of drop-in sessions as an effective format to meet the need for ongoing IL teaching. Although research has previously been carried out on various formats of IL teaching, there is little research specifically investigating the effectiveness of drop-in sessions. This study aims to add to the current body of knowledge by examining the experience of providing drop-in IL sessions at the Medical and Dental Libraries at Queen Mary University of London. These sessions have now been running for five years and data has been gathered from attendance statistics, evaluation forms and follow-up questionnaires in order to evaluate their effectiveness for teaching IL skills. The study shows that drop-in sessions can provide the desired one-to-one, personalised, hands-on teaching, delivered in an informal environment. Good attendance figures, high levels of satisfaction and the perceived positive impact on IL skills demonstrate that drop-in sessions can be used as an effective format for IL teaching. The study provides evidence of good practice for those looking at how best to provide ongoing IL teaching

On His Majesty\u27s Secret Service: Accounting for the Secret Service in a time of national peril 1782-1806;

Reforms to the civil list in the late 18th century in England sought to deny the Crown opportunities to use its civil-list funds and sinecures to buy influence in Parliament and, thereby, diminish constitutional protections for liberty. Among the most important reforms were tighter accounting requirements for civil-list spending, including that for the secret services. The unique nature and purpose of the home and foreign secret services, which were the responsibility of the Crown and paid from civil-service funds, resulted in accounting controls which depended upon additional measures to provide Parliament with greater control over spending and enhanced accountability. These enhancements to accountability were especially important at a time of almost continual war between England and France in the decades spanning the close of the 18th century, resulting in significant increases in spending on the foreign secret service

Accounting for justice: Entitlement, want and the Irish Famine of 1845-7

The evolution of modern accounting consists essentially of a series of pragmatic responses to the needs of capital. Accounting is implicated, therefore, in the maintenance and creation of societies in which relations are primarily defined in terms of property, however it is distributed, and justice is determined by the sanctity of property rights. Accounting historians are encouraged to broaden the compass of their research to include the association between accounting and justice which is already well recognised in the critical accounting literature. Theories of justice, especially those of 19th century political theorists such as Bentham and Senior, and more recently that of Nozick, are used to explore the close association between property, accounting and justice at the time of the Irish potato famine of 1845-7