What industry wants : Employers' preferences for training
- Authors: Smith, Erica , Kemmis, Ros Brennan
- Date: 2010
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Education and Training Vol. 52, no. 3 (2010), p. 214-225
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- Description: Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to describe and analyse what retail and hospitality industry employers want from training and trainers. Design/methodology/approach: The research project was undertaken for Service Skills Australia, the Australian Industry Skills Council that oversees formal training for a range of service industries in Australia. The paper utilises data from focus groups and telephone interviews with representatives of the retail and hospitality industries, and telephone interviews with staff of the relevant UK Sector Skills Councils, to provide international benchmarking for the issues raised. Findings: Results showed that, while industry representatives stated that they prioritised industry skills and knowledge above education skills and knowledge, a complex mixture of the two was required, which was generally felt to be lacking. Curriculum for training was also perceived to be deficient, despite Training packages having been developed in consultation with industry. A comparison with the UK interviews with senior staff at the UK Skills Councils for the two industries showed similar issues and suggested some possible ways forward for Australia. Originality/value: The paper provides three major areas where improvement in VET training and trainers would be welcome and gives useful initiatives for improvement in those areas. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
- Description: Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to describe and analyse what retail and hospitality industry employers want from training and trainers. Design/methodology/approach: The research project was undertaken for Service Skills Australia, the Australian Industry Skills Council that oversees formal training for a range of service industries in Australia. The paper utilises data from focus groups and telephone interviews with representatives of the retail and hospitality industries, and telephone interviews with staff of the relevant UK Sector Skills Councils, to provide international benchmarking for the issues raised. Findings: Results showed that, while industry representatives stated that they prioritised industry skills and knowledge above education skills and knowledge, a complex mixture of the two was required, which was generally felt to be lacking. Curriculum for training was also perceived to be deficient, despite Training packages having been developed in consultation with industry. A comparison with the UK interviews with senior staff at the UK Skills Councils for the two industries showed similar issues and suggested some possible ways forward for Australia. Originality/value: The paper provides three major areas where improvement in VET training and trainers would be welcome and gives useful initiatives for improvement in those areas. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
Bird responses to targeted revegetation : 40 years of habitat enhancement at Clarkesdale Bird sanctuary, central-western Victoria
- Authors: Loyn, Richard , Faragher, J. T. , Coutts, D. C. , Palmer, Grant
- Date: 2009
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australian Field Ornithology Vol. 26, no. 3 (2009), p. 53-75
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- Description: A program of planting Australian shrubs and trees has been conducted in degraded farmland at the Clarkesdale Bird Sanctuary (central-western Victoria) since the 1960s, to address the issue of declining native birds, as perceived by the late landowner Gordon Clarke. The shrubs and trees were selected to attract birds, and included many species that were not native to the region. This form of management is often practised by private landholders (at various scales), but its effects are rarely documented. Bird surveys were conducted for this study between 1999 and 2001 at 27 sites: 11 in native eucalypt forest on ridges and slopes, 13 in planted areas on ridges and slopes, and three in planted areas on river-flats and a small gully (with three supplementary sites in a pine plantation). Total bird abundance and species per count were highest in the planted sites on river-flats and gully, and higher in the planted sites on ridges and slopes than in native forest on similar topography. Honeyeaters (Meliphagidae), Superb Fairy-wrens Malurus cyaneus, open-country birds, seed-eating birds and five insectivorous guilds reached their maximum abundance in planted sites. Barkforaging insectivores, canopy-foraging insectivores, frugivores and a generalist insectivore were marginally more common in native forest than in planted sites. Introduced birds were uncommon. Generalised linear modelling showed that total bird abundance was positively related to the cover of planted native vegetation, native low shrubs and young wattles Acacia spp. and to the presence of indigenous Cherry Ballart Exocarpos cupressiformis. Various guilds showed positive relationships with the cover of planted native vegetation, native low shrubs, young wattles, original old wattles, original old eucalypts and trees with small or large hollows. The planting program has provided new habitat for many native forest birds. A greater challenge is to address the needs of some uncommon species that have declined locally, such as the Brown Treecreeper Climacteris picumnus and Speckled Warbler Chthonicola sagittata.
Enabling play : Insider accounts of disabled children's playworlds in accessible playgrounds
- Authors: Burke, Jenene
- Date: 2009
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
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- Description: This thesis investigates accessible playgrounds as spaces that offer children with impairments the opportunity to be included in play with children who do not have impairments. It presents an examination of play on the Swanmere Accessible Community Playground and several other children's playground sites.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
Honours : a taken-for-granted pathway to research?
- Authors: Zeegers, Margaret , Barron, Deirdre
- Date: 2009
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Higher Education Vol. 57, no. 5 (2009), p. 567-575
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- Description: In this paper we examine variations in Honours programs in Australian universities and the consequences that this has for students who wish to undertake higher degrees by research after their undergraduate programs have been successfully completed. Our review of universities' Honours programs across rural, regional, and urban Australia has indicated that there is a degree of variation that is localised as far as each university is concerned, and that there is a lack of consistency in various universities' application of policies or procedures in the implementation of their Honours programs. We conclude by calling for greater consistency across universities in Australia in the awarding of Honours, certainly, but also suggesting that a review needs to be undertaken as part of national, systematic and orchestrated project.
Moving dialysis treatment into people's homes
- Authors: Wellard, Sally
- Date: 2009
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: The Renal Society of Australasia Journal Vol. 5, no. 2 (2009), p. 102-104
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- Description: Home based dialysis treatments were among the earliest high technology treatments widely adopted in Australia for home use. Advances in membrane technology together with the development of access devices and delivery systems provided the opportunity of extending dialysis as a treatment to a wider group of patients. The evolution of home dialysis was infl uenced by serendipity. The right people and technology came together at the same time. Dr John Dawborn, supported by Sue Evans, trained with the fi rst home haemodialysis patient Peter Morris in Melbourne, who subsequently transferred to Sydney.
- Description: 2003007106
Practical application of a knowledge development life cycle : Adaptive experimental management in box-ironbark forests of victoria
- Authors: Pigott, Patrick , Gammack, John , Pigott, Diarmuid , Hobbs, Val
- Date: 2009
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: VINE Vol. 39, no. 2 (2009), p. 159-173
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- Description: Purpose: The aim of this paper is to describe the practical application of a reflective knowledge development lifecycle (KDLC) designed to be used by organisations reviewing their KM processes and capability. The KDLC had emerged from practical experience but had not been more widely validated. The present study seeks to provide a unique opportunity to test theory comprehensively against an exemplary case where both organisation and investigator were suited to the work. Design/methodology/approach: A case study research strategy was used. Applying the theory in a practical setting, an environmental scientist used the model and associated knowledge representation and visualisation tools to find gaps in processes and design in the implementation of an organisation-wide research framework. Findings: Developing the knowledge repository highlighted inherent complexity among people, resources, research activities, operational tasks and communication outcomes. The study helped validate the KDLC's utility in ensuring alignment of organisational processes and strategy; demonstrating its useful application in a practical setting. Research limitations/implications: A replication across several organisations would help to refine the model beyond this critical test in a single organisation, while suggesting further practical recommendations. Originality/value: The results of the study suggest that the KDLC is of value to practitioners in providing a check-list approach for knowledge auditing, to theorists developing organisational KM models and those using test-case strategies. The outcomes will particularly interest information and environmental professionals involved in establishing adaptive management projects. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
Regional innovation for sustainable development : An Australian perspective
- Authors: Courvisanos, Jerry
- Date: 2009
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Journal of Innovation Economics Vol. 1, no. 3 (2009), p. 119-143
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- Description: 2003007338
Removing the "relative" uncertainty within the Australian donor insemination network
- Authors: Sawyer, Neroli
- Date: 2009
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Journal of law and medicine Vol. 17, no. 2 (2009), p. 270-279
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- Description: In Australia there is no federal legislation limiting the use of donor sperm. However, it is important to place limits on the multiple use of sperm donors to reduce the risk of inadvertent half-sibling mating between the offspring of anonymous donors and to control for the consequences of contact between identity-release donors and their donor-inseminated offspring. A nationally mandated donor registry should be established to enable, first, the calculation of updated variable values for use in the development and implementation of a predictive model to estimate the probability of half-siblings mating and provide policy-makers with empirical evidence to inform the setting of anonymous donor limits; and secondly, the linking of identity-release donors to their donor-inseminated offspring and an investigation into the psychosocial consequences of that linking so as to be able to implement suitable donor limits as well as management strategies and support systems for these new "extended families" within the donor insemination network.
Selection criteria, skill sets and competencies : What is their role in the appointment of vice-chancellors in Australian universities?
- Authors: O'Meara, Bernard , Petzall, Stanley
- Date: 2009
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: International Journal of Educational Management Vol. 23, no. 3 (2009), p. 252-265
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- Description: Purpose - The research presented here attempts to identify and analyse the reported selection criteria used in the appointment of Australian vice-chancellors (VCs) and to contrast this with the selection criteria actually used. Design/methodology/approach - Contemporary research into the nature, role and purpose of section criteria in appointment processes has chiefly been conducted in the private sector and across various hierarchical levels. The research is based on a PhD entitled "The recruitment and selection of vice-chancellors for Australian universities". The research for the thesis had ethics approval and involved interviews with former and incumbent chancellors, VCs, consultants, representatives of the Australian Vice-Chancellors Committee and selection panel members. Central to this research was the selection criteria and the skill bases selection criteria attempted to measure. A questionnaire was also sent to those listed above. Findings - The findings show that a matching of organisational antecedents with candidate attributes does occur. The research also highlights the key selection criteria used to appoint VCs. It also demonstrates how these key criteria are universally applied but in different orders depending upon the various foci of universities. Non-stated, but important, criteria and competencies are also discussed. Originality/value - No other research exists outlining the skill sets and competencies required by Australian VCs. It is hoped that this research will form the basis for further research and discovery into this field that we know so little about. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
Social construction of skill viewed through the lens of training for the cleaning industry
- Authors: Smith, Erica
- Date: 2009
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: Paper presented at AVERTA 12th Annual Conference: Aligning Participants, Policy and Pedagogy: Traction and Tensions in VET Research, Crown Plaza Coogee Beach, Sydney, New South Wales : 16th-17th April 2009
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- Description: Most people would agree that an objective measurement of skill in work is not possible. Many perceptions of what is skilled work privilege 'male' over 'female' occupations, and pre-1950 industrial and craft jobs over more recently-established and service sector jobs. Theories of social construction of skill centre around claim-making by interest groups, structural conditions that allow or prevent such claims, and the institutionalisation of those claims. As skill cannot be measured objectively, the social construction of skill takes on immense significance in defining what are worthy and non-worthy occupations, and the training that is available and valued within those occupations.
- Description: 2003007930
White eyes open : Teaching the history wars in an indigenous studies unit at the University of Ballarat
- Authors: Blaskett, Beverley
- Date: 2009
- Type: Book chapter
- Relation: Indigenous issues in Australian universities: Research, teaching, support. Chapter 7 p. 47-56
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- Description: 2003008025
"How men are worked with": Gender roles in men's informal learning
- Authors: Golding, Barry , Foley, Annette
- Date: 2008
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: Paper presented at 38th Annual SCUTREA Conference, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK : 2nd-4th July 2008 p. 198-207
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- Description: Our paper critically analyses and theorises the role of women as coordinators and participants in community-based organizations where men comprise the majority of participants. Literature, interview and survey data lead us to suggest that it is "how men are worked with" that determines the effectiveness of women's involvement (author abstract)
- Description: 2003006466
A long and winding road : Autonomous men's learning through participation in community sheds across Australia
- Authors: Brown, Michael , Golding, Barry , Foley, Annette
- Date: 2008
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: Paper presented at 38th Annual SCUTREA Conference, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK : 2nd-4th July 2008 p. 78-86
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- Description: This paper discusses aspects of men's learning derived from our study of mostly older men who are coming together, talking, working and socialising in community sheds across Australia (Golding et al 2007). The paper looks at the social, informal and autonomous learning and considers the significance of the community "work-like" settings (author abstract)
- Description: 2003006465
Ahliat va Masir (roots and routes) : Narratives of identity and adaptation from Persian Baha'i refugees in Australia
- Authors: Williams, Ruth
- Date: 2008
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
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- Description: This study aims to discover what oral history narratives reveal about the post-migration renegotiation of identity for seven Persian Baha'i refugees and to assess the ensuing impact on their adaptation to Australia.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
Alternative possibilities : Social impulses in ACE coordinator practices
- Authors: Foley, Annette
- Date: 2008
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: Paper presented at 38th Annual SCUTREA Conference, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK : 2nd-4th July 2008 p. 198-207
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- Description: This paper looks at policy initiatives in the vocational education and training sector in Australia. The paper draws on exiting work on neoliberalism in education and its impact on VET in the Australian setting and adds some new insights into the working practices of coordinators in the Victorian setting (author abstract)
- Description: 2003006462
Beyond hydrogeologic evidence : Challenging the current assumptions about salinity processes in the Corangamite region, Australia
- Authors: Dahlhaus, Peter , Cox, Jim , Simmons, Craig , Smitt, C. M.
- Date: 2008
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Hydrogeology Journal Vol. 16, no. 7 (2008), p. 1283-1298
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- Description: In keeping with the standard scientific methods, investigations of salinity processes focus on the collection and interpretation of contemporary scientific data. However, using multiple lines of evidence from non-hydrogeologic sources such as geomorphic, archaeological and historical records can substantially add value to the scientific investigations. By using such evidence, the validity of the assumptions about salinity processes in Australian landscapes is challenged, especially the assumption that the clearing of native vegetation has resulted in rising saline groundwater in all landscapes. In the Corangamite region of south-west Victoria, salinity has been an episodic feature of the landscapes throughout the Quaternary and was present at the time of the Aboriginal inhabitants and the first pastoral settlement by Europeans. Although surface-water salinity has increased in some waterways and the area of salinised land has expanded in some landscapes, there is no recorded evidence found which supports significant rises in groundwater following widespread land-use change. In many areas, salinity is an inherent component of the region's landscapes, and sustains world-class environmental assets that require appropriate salinity levels for their ecological health. Managing salinity requires understanding the specific salinity processes in each landscape. © Springer-Verlag 2008.
Common wealth through community men's sheds : Lives and learning networks beyond work
- Authors: Golding, Barry
- Date: 2008
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: Paper presented at Fifth Pan-Commonwealth Forum on Open Learning, University of London, London, UK : 13th-17th July 2008
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- Description: This paper explores the recent phenomenon and benefits of community men's sheds in Australia, focusing on the important role sheds and workshop-based practice plays in creating informal learning and friendship networks for men. It is based on recent studies of organizations and contexts in Australia that informally and effectively engage men. Problems are identified with front-end models of vocational training that disregard or undervalue the lifetime of skills and experiences built up by men in previous paid work roles and in adult and community education sectors that tend not to cater for men or diverse masculinities. Insights are provided into ways in which men's skills and experiences can be shared, transferred, valued and celebrated in men's livelihoods beyond paid work, through regular, shared, hands on activity in gendered communities of practice. It particularly explores the untapped potential of open and flexible shed-based practice for men';s vocational retraining, lifelong learning and inter-generational skills transfer. The "open" and inclusive nature of the community shed and what occurs in it and its pedagogical familiarity with men are identified as its key strengths. The paper identifies what it is about the nature of community-based men's sheds that has proven to be increasingly popular, productive and therapeutic in Australia in the past decade. One of my purposes at presenting at this conference is to seek out, identify and learn about different and similar insights from conference participants from other countries that might contribute to an ongoing international study of men's informal learning beyond the workplace. My paper particularly seeks to identify shed and workshop-type settings and organizations in other national and cultural contexts that might play a similar role in the livelihoods of men, families and communities.
Conducting suicide research in Australia in relation to the operation of Human Research Ethics Committees
- Authors: Macgill, Jennifer
- Date: 2008
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
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- Description: This thesis began with a research project on suicide that was abandoned after many hurdles were encountered in terms of reaching participants and after various applications to ethics committees. The ultimate research question was then recast as ‘Do Human Research Ethics Committees influence the conduct of suicide research in Australia?’ The conceptual framework for setting up the research was derived from literature on Critical Theory, Feminism and Weberian concepts of power and rationality. Subsidiary questions were then derived from this literature and the starting exemplar case of my own research attempts. These considered whether suicide research was problematic for ethics committees, the nature of the experiences of ethics committee members in making decisions regarding suicide research and whether the influences of disciplinary background, patriarchal medical dominance and pro-positivism were evident. In addition, questions were raised about whether and how other researchers who sought approval to conduct research into suicide-related issues were appraised. [...]
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
If I Belong Here...How Did That Come To Be?
- Authors: Lambeth, Paul
- Date: 2008
- Type: Text , Thesis , Masters
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- Description: The purpose of this research is to contribute a non indigenous perspective to current discourse on sense of place in contemporary Australia. The research employs a number of strategies to investigate current responses to our geographic and historical time position. Within the exegesis there is a vers libre poem, written from the imagined viewpoint of members of the Burke and Wills’ expedition. The poem is supported by a superimposition of the Don Quixote story over that of the ill-fated inland Australian explorers. [...]
- Description: Master of Arts (Visual Arts)
Innovation policy framework for sustainable development in regional economies : An Australian perspective
- Authors: Courvisanos, Jerry
- Date: 2008
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: Paper presented at 2008 Pacific Northwest Regional Economic Conference : Spirit of Innovation III Forum, Tacoma, Washington, USA : 14th-16th May 2008
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- Description: The paper develops a broad macroeconomic innovation policy framework for ecologically sustainable economic development that can be applied to regional economies, from the perspective of Australia. Australia is one of the three huge per capita greenhouse emitting nations in the world. The increased frequency of drought and dramatic storms, together with mounting international scientific evidence, has raised the spectre of greenhouse gas emissions significantly deteriorating the economic viability of regional communities. Up until now from a regional perspective, ecological concerns of pollution and resource depletion have generally been part of the overall management approach to agriculture and regional economic development – more successful in some places and some time periods than others, but still part of the existing economic paradigm. Greenhouse is “the inconvenient truth” that now faces all regional communities, but its existing economic paradigm is clearly inappropriate for responding effectively and timely to this ecological concern. A completely different economic framework, based on economic activity that is satisficing (under conditions of ecological uncertainty) rather than optimising (under conditions of calculable risk) is required to address the ecological concerns of the future. An “eco-sustainable framework” is developed in this paper which sets out an innovation policy aimed at satisficing towards sustainable regional development from an Australian high-emission economy perspective. The framework is based on the work of two economists, Micha
- Description: 2003006404