Network of Australiasian Tertiary Associations: a space for discussion, collaboration and advocacy in tertiary education

This presentation explores the development of a network focused on enhancing network leadership in tertiary education associations. The Network of Australasian Tertiary Associations (NATA) is an Office for Learning and Teaching (OLT) project that aims at facilitating a sustainable collaborative network between established higher education associations. NATA provides a space for discussion, action and advocacy on key issues pertinent to the Australasian tertiary environment. Members of NATA comprise Australasian Society for Computers in Learning in Tertiary Education (ascilite), Australasian Council on Open, Distance and e-learning (ACODE), The Higher Education Research and Development Society of Australasia, (HERDSA), The Council of Australian Directors of Academic Development, (CADAD), Open and Distance Learning Association of Australia (ODLAA), Australian Academic and Research Network (AARNet) and Netspot. Networks are important hubs for the development of new ideas and are discussion and dissemination spaces for individuals and communities. The project is now focused on progressing achieving the NATA's key objectives through three strategic activities. These comprise: ● Disseminating the ALTC Good Practice Reports through the development of asynchronous 'E' Resources, completed in partnership with report authors ● Conducting research into the network and network leadership through interviews, focus groups and surveys ● Supporting partner associations to engage in small-scale projects aligned with the key objectives of both the NATA and their association to provide value to the sector and strengthen communication and engagement of NATA partners. Through the creation of collaborative connected spaces for discourse and action, the NATA aspires to develop a model that will influence policy, research and learning and teaching in the Australasian tertiary environment

Beyond training: Linking academic development to student learning outcomes

Keynote presentation for the ProLehre Conference, “Teaching Research goes Practice: Higher Education research findings and their integration into day-to-day teaching," Carl von Linde-Academy, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany, March 1-4, 2011.n/

An experimental and theoretical investigation of the migration of moisture in cocoa beans

This work is essentially an investigation of non-convective moisture movement as the result of a temperature gradient in hygroscopic porous materials, in particular, cocoa beans. The aim of the research has been to determine experimentally the bulk moisture diffusion coefficient for cocoa, and, by quantifying it, to investigate the contribution of such diffusion to wetting and mould damage that has occurred on the surface of cargoes during shipment from West Africa to Northern Europe

Assuring best practice in technology-enhanced learning environments

This paper documents the development and findings of the Good Practice Report on Technology-Enhanced Learning and Teaching funded by the Australian Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC). Developing the Good Practice Report required a meta-analysis of 33 ALTC learning and teaching projects relating to technology funded between 2006 and 2010. This report forms one of 12 completed Good Practice Reports on a range of different topics commissioned by the ALTC and Australian Government Office for Learning and Teaching (OLT). The reports aim to reduce issues relating to dissemination that projects face within the sector by providing educators with an efficient and accessible way of engaging with and filtering through the resources and experiences of numerous learning and teaching projects funded by the ALTC and OLT. The Technology-Enhanced Learning and Teaching Report highlights examples of good practice and provides outcomes and recommendations based on the meta-analysis of the relevant learning and teaching projects. However, in order to ensure the value of these reports is realised, educators need to engage with the reports and integrate the information and findings into their practice. The paper concludes by detailing how educational networks can be utilised to support dissemination

Corporate purpose: a social judgement perspective

We apply the lens of social value-judgement theory to understand the recent turn to corporate purpose in popular and management discourse. We address two questions; why has the shift from shareholder capitalism to stakeholder capitalism occurred now and what are the implications for competition amongst corporations in the future. Our analysis suggests that the shift to stakeholder capitalism is triggered by extreme inequality and a concomitant sentiment of collective nostalgia. Our social value-judgement analysis suggests that the basis of competition will shift from legitimacy based competition to competition based on authenticity. We explore the implications of authenticity based competition