Good Teaching and Learning in the Academy

This paper is based on original research at five Queensland Universities. It compared the teaching strategies of law, education and science academics in an attempt to discover any relationship between teaching strategies and subject matter. It also examined the teaching policy at each university, specifically university definitions of good teaching and its relationship to use of technology. The purpose of this research was to determine whether or not specific understandings of good teaching in the academy prevailed, and whether or not this (dis)advantaged certain faculties. From an initial case study of QUT, the basic findings from our research were as follows: • good teaching was found to have two central features: it was student centred and technologically innovative, • irrespective of discipline, all lecturers espoused the importance of student centred learning as integral to good teaching, even though, in practice, teaching style appeared to be largely determined by subject matter, • the most innovative and technological units were the least student centred We conclude that what counts as good teaching is both contested and context bound. This has major implications for monolithic definitions of good teaching as espoused by university policy and teaching units. It also has clear ramifications for university measures of effective and innovative teaching and thus standardised procedures for both academic promotion and teaching practices across the university

Technology meets Student Centred Learning: "good practice" in university teaching

In tertiary institutions across Australia, good teaching increasingly means student centred and technological. In this paper, this is demonstrated by a case study of Queensland University of Technology, where recent policy on teaching, promoted by management and supported by teaching and learning services, suggests two things. The first that it is impossible for QUT academics to educate their students without using inclusive and dialogical methods of instruction. The second, that at QUT, effective use of technology is paramount to the success of such student centred learning. This relationship, given legitimacy through the QUT focus on flexible delivery, raises larger questions about the dominant assumptions regarding ‘good practice’ within the university setting. In this context, the dominant assumption is the superiority of progressive education and this in itself assumes further a humanistic notion of the self. This paper will suggest three things. First that such assumptions should be challenged within tertiary teaching theory and practice, as they have been within the wider domain of social and cultural theory. Second that the new valorised practices of progressive education actually depend upon old derogated practices, but that this reliance is either downplayed or disregarded. Third, that the resulting unified policy on good teaching, needs rethinking

Targeting BCL-2 regulated apoptosis in cancer

The ability of a cell to undergo mitochondrial apoptosis is governed by pro- and anti-apoptotic members of the BCL-2 protein family. The equilibrium of pro- versus anti-apoptotic BCL-2 proteins ensures appropriate regulation of programmed cell death during development and maintains organismal health. When unbalanced, the BCL-2 family can act as a barrier to apoptosis and facilitate tumour development and resistance to cancer therapy. Here we discuss the BCL-2 family, their deregulation in cancer and recent pharmaceutical developments to target specific members of this family as cancer therapy

‘Ecstasy’ and the use of sleep medications in a general community sample: a four-year follow-up

Aims: Animal models show that a single dose of MDMA (‘ecstasy’) can result in long-term disruption of sleep. We evaluated the relationship between ecstasy consumption and the use of sleep medications in humans after controlling for key factors. Design: The Personality and Total Health Through Life project uses a longitudinal cohort with follow-up every four years. This study reports data from waves two and three. Setting: Participants were recruited from the electoral roll in the Australian Capital Territory and Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia. Participants: Participants were aged 20-24 years at wave one (1999-2000). Measures: The study collected self-reported data on ecstasy, meth/amphetamine, cannabis, alcohol, tobacco and use of sleeping medications (pharmaceutical or other substances). Depression was categorised with the Brief Patient Health Questionnaire (BPHQ). Other psychosocial measures included lifetime traumas. We used generalised estimating equations to model outcomes. Results: Ecstasy data were available from 2128 people at wave two and 1977 at wave three: sleeping medication use was reported by 227 (10.7%) respondents at wave two and 239 (12.1%) at wave three. Increased odds ratios (OR) for sleeping medication use was found for those with depression (OR=1.88, (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.39, 2.53), women (OR=1.44, 95% CI 1.13, 1.84), and increased by 19% for each lifetime trauma. Ecstasy use was not a significant predictor, but >monthly versus never meth/amphetamine use increased the odds (OR=3.03, 95% CI 1.30, 7.03). Conclusion: The use of ecstasy was not associated with the use of sleeping medications controlling for other risk factors.The PATH study was supported by an NHMRC Program Grant 179805 and NHMRC Project Grant 157125. The sponsors had no role in the design, conduct or reporting of the research. None of the authors have connections (direct or indirect) with the tobacco, alcohol, pharmaceutical or gaming industries or any body substantially funded by one of these organisations

Distributed resource discovery using a context sensitive infrastructure

Distributed Resource Discovery in a World Wide Web environment using full-text indices will never scale. The distinct properties of WWW information (volume, rate of change, topical diversity) limits the scaleability of traditional approaches to distributed Resource Discovery. An approach combining metadata clustering and query routing can, on the other hand, be proven to scale much better. This paper presents the Content-Sensitive Infrastructure, which is a design building on these results. We also present an analytical framework for comparing scaleability of different distribution strategies

Probing polymer chain constraint and synergistic effects in nylon 6-clay nanocomposites and nylon 6-silica flake sub-micro composites with nanomechanics

In this study, we report that a synergistic effect exists in the surface mechanical properties of nylon 6–clay nanocomposites (NC) that can be shown by nanomechanical testing. The hardness, elastic modulus, and nanoindentation creep behavior of nylon 6 and its nanocomposites with different filler loading produced by melt compounding were contrasted to those of model nylon 6 sub-microcomposites (SMC) reinforced by sub-micro-thick silica flakes in which constraint cannot occur due to the difference in filler geometry. Polymer chain constraint was assessed by the analysis of nanoindentation creep data. Time-dependent creep decreased with increasing the filler loading in the NC consistent with the clay platelets exerting a constraint effect on the polymer chains which increases with filler loading. In contrast, there was no evidence of any reduced time-dependent creep for the SMC samples, consistent with a lack of constraint expected due to much lower aspect ratio of the silica flake

Interpreting Dark Matter Direct Detection Independently of the Local Velocity and Density Distribution

We demonstrate precisely what particle physics information can be extracted from a single direct detection observation of dark matter while making absolutely no assumptions about the local velocity distribution and local density of dark matter. Our central conclusions follow from a very simple observation: the velocity distribution of dark matter is positive definite, f(v) >= 0. We demonstrate the utility of this result in several ways. First, we show a falling deconvoluted recoil spectrum (deconvoluted of the nuclear form factor), such as from ordinary elastic scattering, can be "mocked up" by any mass of dark matter above a kinematic minimum. As an example, we show that dark matter much heavier than previously considered can explain the CoGeNT excess. Specifically, m_chi < m_Ge} can be in just as good agreement as light dark matter, while m_\chi > m_Ge depends on understanding the sensitivity of Xenon to dark matter at very low recoil energies, E_R ~ 6 keVnr. Second, we show that any rise in the deconvoluted recoil spectrum represents distinct particle physics information that cannot be faked by an arbitrary f(v). As examples of resulting non-trivial particle physics, we show that inelastic dark matter and dark matter with a form factor can both yield such a rise