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This is a longitudinal study to investigate whether there is a correlation between the methods for completion of homework and the incentive levels with academic achievement. The method adopted in this study is the t-test statistical analysis to assess the relationship between the use of compulsory homework on achievement and the influence of intervening and moderating variables. The findings are as follows -- Cohort 1 which completed homework in the traditional pen and paper style (with a mean of 13.278) performed better than the Cohort 2 which completed homework online They also performed better than Cohort 2 which completed homework online (with a mean of 11.851). Cohort 3 that had no incentive and subsequently no compulsion to do the homework (with a mean of 11.851) performed better than Cohort 2 which completed homework online (with a mean of 9.658).

Martin Davies' paper seeks to vindicate the efforts of the Ramsay Centre to fund courses in 'Western Civilisation' at selected Australian universities. He begins by lamenting the rejection of vast amounts of philanthropic money for the humanities, and all too quickly dismisses the stated grounds for the Australian National University's decision to decline a deal with the Ramsay Centre: 'The issue of academic autonomy has been raised as a reason, but this is, at best, ostensible', Davies writes. He then goes on to defend the concept of courses in Western civilisation more generally. This article will briefly address a number of relevant points in reaction to Martin Davie's paper: (1) the concept 'Western Civilisation' has its own, comparatively recent, history, and needs to be viewed in its own historical context; (2) the term 'civilisation' has relatively little utility as a unit of scholarly analysis; (3) proponents of an academic program on (or for) 'Western Civilisation' are operating with a reified and artificially unified concept that breaks up under closer examination; and (4) that some of the advocacy for a 'Western Civilisation' program betrays an animus against the modern, secular, public university. [For "Three Cheers for the Ramsay Centre," by Martin Davies, see EJ1228236.]

Several researchers have noted how children's whole number schemes can interfere with their efforts to learn fractions. An Australian study found that children who were successful with the solution of rational number tasks exhibited greater whole number knowledge and more flexible solution strategies. Behr and Post (1988) indicated that children needed to be competent in the four operations of whole numbers, along with an understanding of measurement, for them to understand rational numbers. This paper describes a "hands on" approach developed by researchers that focuses on the use of paper folding, fraction walls and number lines to develop an understanding of fractions using a measurement model. (Contains 8 figures.)

Introduction: We report an investigation on collaboration practices in research papers published in the most prestigious English-medium astrophysics journals. Method: We propose an evaluation method based on three numerical indicators to study and compare, in absolute terms, three different types of collaboration (international, national and local) and authors' mobility on the basis of co-authorship. Analysis: We analysed 300 randomly selected research papers in three different time periods and used the student's t-test to determine whether the paired two-sample differences observed were statistically significant or not. Results: International collaboration is more common than national and local collaboration. International, national and local authors' mobility and intra-national collaboration do not seriously affect the indicators of the principal levels of collaboration. International collaboration and authors' mobility are more relevant for authors publishing in European journals, whereas national and intra-national collaboration and national mobility are more important for authors publishing in US journals. Conclusions: We explain the observed differences and patterns in terms of the specific scope of each journal and the socio-economic and political situation in both geographic contexts (Europe and the USA). Our study provides a global picture of collaboration practices in astrophysics and its possible application to many other sciences and fields would undoubtedly help bring into focus the really big issues for overall research management and policy.

The "National Mathematics Curriculum Framing Paper" has been released for consultation until 28 February 2009 (see www.ncb.org.au). Professional associations, teachers, teacher educators and others are taking the opportunity to organise meetings and forums to consider the views presented in the paper and to provide critical feedback and commentary on the proposed broad directions. The University of Sydney held a National Curriculum Symposium in December to bring together teachers, school system personnel, academics and representatives from the National Curriculum Board to have a "robust and broad ranging discussion" about the four framing papers released by the NCB: English, Mathematics, History and the Sciences. The program for the symposium began with a presentation by Professor Kerry Kennedy about his reflections on national curriculum in Australia over the last 30 years. This was followed by brief presentations by each of the authors of the framing papers. Discussion groups for each of the disciplines considered key questions about the papers with feedback from each group. Finally Rob Randall, the acting Director of the NCB commented on the challenges identified by the discussion groups. In this paper, the author summarises the comments and discussion about curriculum development in general and the "National Mathematics Curriculum Framing Paper" in particular.

Objectives: Current mental health practices for people living in residential aged care (RAC) facilities are poor. In Australia, there are no mechanisms to monitor and promote mental health for people living in RAC, including those who experience changed behaviours and psychological symptoms. The aim of this study is to improve current practices and mental health outcomes for people living in RAC facilities by codesigning a Mental Health benchmarking Industry Tool for residential aged Care (MHICare Tool)., Methods: A two-stage sequential and mixed methods codesign methodology will be used. Stage 1 will include qualitative interviews and focus groups to engage with residents, family/care partners and RAC staff to ascertain mental healthcare practices and outcomes of greatest significance to them. Adapted concept mapping methods will be used to rank identified issues of concern in order of importance and changeability, and to generate draft quality indicators. Stage 2 will comprise a Delphi procedure to gain the wider consensus of expert panel views (aged care industry, academic, clinical) on the performance indicators to be included, resulting in the codesigned MHICare Tool., Ethics and Dissemination: This study has been reviewed and approved by the University of Queensland Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC/2019002096). This project will be carried out according to the National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research (2007). The study's findings will be published in peer-reviewed journals and disseminated at national and international conferences and through social media., Conclusion: This protocol reports structured methods to codesign and develop a mental health performance indicator tool for use in Australian RAC., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2024. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Introduction: One in six people live with disability in Australia with higher levels of disability of people from diverse communities, such as those with culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds. In Australia, CALD refers to people from diverse ethnicity and cultures, nationalities, societal structures and religions that may or may not speak a language other than English. This study employs researchers with lived experience of disability and peer support to study the impact of peer support for people with disability, including people from CALD backgrounds, in two peer-led organisations in New South Wales (NSW) Australia., Methods and Analysis: This study uses participatory action research and inclusive research design with researchers with lived experience, having lived experience of disability and a peer in the disability community, leading the research.Over three years, three different groups will be recruited through Community Disability Alliance Hunter (CDAH) and Diversity and Disability Alliance (DDAlliance): (1) peers with disability, (2) peer leaders with disability and (3) researchers with lived experience of disability and peer support. Data collection and creation methods include semistructured interviews, surveys and focus groups. Qualitative data will be analysed using thematic analysis through the lens of the researchers with lived experience., Ethics and Dissemination: Ethical approval was granted by the University of Newcastle Human Research Ethics Committee (Approval No: H-2021-0088). Dissemination includes peer-reviewed publications, presentations at local, national and international conferences and written reports for user-led organisations, disability service providers, disability agencies and people with disability., Competing Interests: Competing interests: All authors have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure at http://www.icmje.org/disclosure-of-interest/ and declare: financial support for the submitted work from the Australian Government Department of Social Services, Information Linkages and Capacity Building Program; MT has received an honorarium from DDAlliance and CDAH for academic input; CH was a consultant contracted by DDAlliance and CDAH to be a research adviser and project manager; JD, JM, DY, CW and FR were paid a casual salary as researchers with lived experience from DDAlliance; SP, AF, SS and OB-P were paid a casual salary as researchers with lived experience from CDAH., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2023. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Institutional graduate capabilities and discipline threshold learning outcomes require science students to demonstrate ethical conduct and social responsibility. However, the teaching and assessment of these concepts are not straightforward. Australian chemistry academics participated in a workshop in 2013 to discuss and develop teaching and assessment in these areas, and this paper reports on the outcomes of the workshop. Controversial issues include: How broad is the mandate of the teacher, how should the boundaries between personal values and ethics be drawn, and who determines what constitutes social responsibility? In this position paper I argue for a deep engagement with ethics and social justice, achieved through case studies and assessed against criteria that require discussion and debate. Strategies to effectively assess science students' understanding of ethics and social responsibility are detailed.

Like the vast majority of Australian universities, Flinders University (Flinders) collects feedback from students on the quality of teaching and learning through unit of study (topic) or classroom evaluations. Prior to 2009, survey instruments at Flinders were delivered via paper mode and in person to students in the classroom. In a drive for an improvement to administrative efficiency, the adoption of a new system in 2009 created the option of two modes of delivery. Instruments can now be delivered via either paper mode in class, identical in most aspects to the previous system, or online mode, where students fill out the survey instrument, typically outside of class, using the World Wide Web. The choice of delivery mode is at the discretion of the academic. Students have no choice; they receive the survey either via paper or online. This article examines a number of aspects of this change in process at Flinders. Some general aspects of managing the implementation of the new process are discussed. Take-up rates of paper mode versus online mode show that the overwhelming majority of surveys were conducted online in 2009. A dramatic increase in the volume of surveying was noted. Response rates fell by approximately 20% overall and some evidence of a change in the level of response was apparent (cause unknown). Findings at the institution and faculty level are presented where applicable. [This paper was first presented at the Annual Conference of the Australasian Association for Institutional Research, "Turning water into wine: Institutional Research as an essential ingredient in strategic decision making for tertiary education" held in Adelaide, 11-13 November 2009.]

Sixteen articles discuss the implications of Australia's Green Paper, a public policy statement recommending substantial changes in the higher education system to improve access. The issues discussed include labor force development, educational equity, women's education, and the financing of higher education. (MSE)

Rationale: Saliva as a sample matrix is rapidly gaining interest for disease diagnosis and point-of-care assays because it is easy to collect (non-invasive) and contains many health-related biomarkers. However, saliva poses particular problems relative to more common urine and blood matrices, which includes low analyte concentrations, lack of understanding of biomolecule transportation and inherent viscosity variability in human samples. While several studies have sought to improve assay sensitivity, few have addressed sample viscosity specifically. The goal of this study is to minimize the effect of sample viscosity on paper-based analytical devices (PADs) for the measurement of pH and nitrite in human saliva. Methods: PADs were used to measure salivary pH from 5.0 to 10.0 with a universal indicator consisting of chlorophenol red, phenol red and phenolphthalein. Nitrite determination was performed using the Griess reaction. Artificial saliva with viscosity values between 1.54 and 5.10 mPa∙s was tested on the proposed PAD. To ensure the proposed PADs can be tailored for use in-field analysis, the devices were shipped to Australia and tested with human specimens. Results: Initial experiments showed that viscosity had a significant impact on the calibration curve for nitrite; however, a more consistent curve could be generated when buffer was added after the sample, irrespective of sample viscosity. The linear range for nitrite detection was 0.1 to 2.4 mg/dL using the improved method. The nitrite measurement in artificial saliva also showed a good correlation with the standard spectrophotometry method ( p =0.8484, paired sample t -test, n=20). Measured pH values from samples with varying viscosities correlated well with the results from our pH meter. Conclusions: The inherent variation of salivary viscosity that impacts nitrite and pH results can be addressed using a simple washing step on the PAD without the need for complex procedures., Competing Interests: Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interest exists.

The prevalence of plagiarism, cheating, and other acts of academic dishonesty may be as high as 80% in populations of high school and post-secondary students. Various educational interventions have been developed and implemented in an effort to educate students about academic integrity and to prevent academic misconduct. We reviewed the peer-reviewed research literature describing face-to-face workshops, e-learning tutorials, or blended approaches for promoting academic integrity and the effectiveness of these approaches. In general, the educational interventions were described as effective in terms of satisfaction with the intervention, and changes in students' attitudes and knowledge of academic integrity. Few studies provided evidence that the educational interventions changed student behaviour or outcomes outside the context of the intervention. Future research should explore how participation in educational interventions to promote academic integrity are linked to long-term student outcomes, such as graduate school admission, alumni career success, service to society, and personal stability.

Introduction: The Australian population presenting with surgical pathology is becoming older, frailer and more comorbid. Shared decision-making is rapidly becoming the gold standard of care for patients considering high-risk surgery to ensure that appropriate, value-based healthcare decisions are made. Positive benefits around patient perception of decision-making in the immediacy of the decision are described in the literature. However, short-term and long-term holistic patient-centred outcomes and cost implications for the health service require further examination to better understand the full impact of shared decision-making in this population., Methods: We propose a novel multidisciplinary shared decision-making model of care in the perioperative period for patients considering high-risk surgery in the fields of general, vascular and head and neck surgery. We assess it in a two arm prospective randomised controlled trial. Patients are randomised to either 'standard' perioperative care, or to a multidisciplinary (surgeon, anaesthetist and end-of-life care nurse practitioner or social worker) shared decision-making consultation. The primary outcome is decisional conflict prior to any surgical procedure occurring. Secondary outcomes include the patient's treatment choice, how decisional conflict changes longitudinally over the subsequent year, patient-centred outcomes including life impact and quality of life metrics, as well as morbidity and mortality. Additionally, we will report on healthcare resource use including subsequent admissions or representations to a healthcare facility up to 1 year., Ethics and Dissemination: This study has been approved by the Hunter New England Human Research Ethics Committee (2019/ETH13349). Study findings will be presented at local and national conferences and within scientific research journals., Trial Registration Number: ACTRN12619001543178., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2023. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Background: There is increasing use of online surveys to improve data quality and timeliness and reduce costs. While there have been numerous cross-sectional studies comparing responses to online or paper surveys, there is little research from a longitudinal perspective., Objective: In the context of the well-established Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health, we examined the patterns of responses to online or paper surveys across the first two waves of the study in which both modes were offered. We compared the following: differences between women born between 1946 and 1951 and between 1973 and 1978; types of device used for online completion; sociodemographic, behavioral, and health characteristics of women who responded online or using mailed paper surveys; and associations between mode of completion in the first survey and participation and mode of completion in the second survey., Methods: Participants in this study, who had responded to regular mailed surveys since 1996, were offered a choice of completing surveys using paper questionnaires or Web-based electronic questionnaires starting in 2012. Two groups of women were involved: an older cohort born between 1946 and 1951 aged in their 60s and a younger cohort born between 1973 and 1978 aged in their 30s when the online surveys were first introduced. We compared women who responded online on both occasions, women who responded online at the first survey and used the paper version of the second survey, women who changed from paper to online, and those who used paper for both surveys., Results: Of the 9663 women in their 60s who responded to one or both surveys, more than 50% preferred paper surveys (5290/9663, 54.74%, on the first survey and 5373/8621, 62.32%, on the second survey). If they chose the online version, most used computers. In contrast, of the 8628 women in their 30s, 56.04% (4835/8628) chose the online version at the first survey. While most favored computers to phones or tablets, many did try these alternatives on the subsequent survey. Many women who completed the survey online the first time preferred the paper version on the subsequent survey. In fact, for women in their 60s, the number who went from online to paper (1151/3851, 29.89%) exceeded the number who went from paper to online (734/5290, 13.88%). The online option was more likely to be chosen by better educated and healthier women. In both cohorts, women who completed paper surveys were more likely than online completers to become nonrespondents on the next survey. Due to the large sample size, almost all differences were statistically significant, with P<.001., Conclusions: Despite the cost-saving advantages of online compared to paper surveys, paper surveys are likely to appeal to a different population of potential respondents with different sociodemographic, behavioral, and health characteristics and greater likelihood of attrition from the study. Not offering a paper version is therefore likely to induce bias in the distribution of responses unless weighting for respondent characteristics (relative to the target population) is employed. Therefore, if mixed mode (paper or online) options are feasible, they are highly likely to produce more representative results than if only the less costly online option is offered., (©David Fitzgerald, Richard Hockey, Mark Jones, Gita Mishra, Michael Waller, Annette Dobson. Originally published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (http://www.jmir.org), 14.03.2019.)

Using waste paper as fuel for domestic heating is a beneficial recycling option for small island developing states where there are lacks of resources for energy and waste treatment. However, there are concerns about the impact of air pollutants emitted from the burning of the self-made paper briquettes as household air pollution is recognised as the greatest environmental risk for human. In this study, combustion tests were carried out for paper briquettes made in one Pacific island and three commercial fuels in Australia including wood briquettes, kindling firewood and coal briquettes in order to: 1) characterise the emissions of three criteria air pollutants including particulate matters, CO and NO x including their emission factors (EF) from the tested fuels; and 2) compare the EFs among the tested fuels and with others reported in the literature. The results showed that waste paper briquettes burned quickly and generated high temperature but the heat value is relatively low. Paper briquettes and coal briquettes produced higher CO concentration than the others while paper briquettes generated the highest NO x level. Only PM 2.5 concentration emitted from paper briquettes was similar to kindling firewood and lower than wood briquettes. Burning of paper briquettes and wood briquettes produced particulate matter with large average count median diameter (72 and 68 nm) than coal briquette and kindling firewood (45 and 51 nm). The EFs for CO, NO x and PM 2.5 of paper briquettes were within the range of EFs reported in this study as well as in the literature. Overall, the results suggested that using paper briquettes as fuel for domestic heating will not likely to generate higher level of three major air pollutants compared to other traditional fuels., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Sonography is a highly specialized diagnostic imaging profession facing significant workforce challenges due to increased service delivery demands and a shortage of clinical training opportunities. Developing sustainable solutions is crucial for workforce growth. Using examples from the Australian workforce and education context, this paper explores the current sonography training pathways available and the benefits and challenges of each, highlighting the importance of work-integrated learning (WIL) in facilitating the development of professional identity, clinical competence and the quality of sonographer education. Conclusions are drawn that WIL is integral to the future of the sonography profession to improve patient outcomes and address workforce shortages. However, effective implementation requires careful planning and consideration of many factors, including regulatory requirements, industry partnerships, student and supervisor/tutor support, and issues related to equitable access and participation in WIL. Key recommendations are provided to encourage ethical student learning, university-industry collaboration, effective resource allocation, and WIL-specific research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The most impactful research on pediatric type 1 diabetes (T1D) remains unknown. Objective: We aimed to evaluate the characteristics and impact of the 100 most-cited articles on pediatric T1D. Materials and Methods: Using a predefined bibliometric strategy, the Scopus database was searched for high-cited papers (HCPs) published from 2001 to 2020. Articles were evaluated for data on the publication year, countries, authors, journals, topics, and types. Social network analysis was performed to visualize the interaction among countries, organizations, and authors using VOSviewer software. Results: The top 100 HCPs received 390 to 4634 citations, averaging 773.5 citations per paper (CPP). The funded HCPs (n = 50) had a higher impact (CPP 791.5). The majority of HCPs (n = 83) were collaborative. Classifying by research type, 65 studies were clinical (n = 65), risk factors (n = 27), epidemiology (n = 26), pathophysiology (n = 16), treatment outcome (n = 13), genetics (n = 12), complications (n = 3), quality of life (n = 2), and prognosis (n = 1). The number of authors involved was 1,101, affiliated with 545 organizations in 27 countries; the USA (n = 64) and the UK (n = 24) were the most productive countries, whereas Australia and the UK were the most impactful. D.M. Nathan and J.M. Lawrence were the most prolific authors, while P. Raskin and J.M. Lachin were the most impactful. Conclusions: High-income countries such as the USA, UK, and Australia contribute significantly to high-impact pediatric T1D research. Funding and collaboration improve the impact of citations in publications. Less researched areas such as treatment outcomes, genetics, complications, quality of life, and prognosis should be the focus of future research on pediatric T1D. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors classified citations included in papers presented at 10 International Society for Music Education (ISME) biennial International Research Commission Seminars across an 18-year period (1988-2006) based on the six world regions as specified by the ISME Research Commission. Citations (N = 4,535) were examined from 238 papers presented at the 12th through 21st seminars. There were 2,250 citations from 407 journals, the most prevalent sources. Twenty-eight papers from this sample were multinational in nature, with 79% (n = 22) of these by U.S. researchers as either sole or senior authors. The main result of this study is that the researchers from around the world who were presenters at these seminars primarily cited sources within their own geographical regions. Additionally, the "Journal of Research in Music Education" was by far the most referenced journal throughout the entire sample. (Contains 2 tables.)

Introduction: Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer mortality, comprising the largest national cancer disease burden in Australia and New Zealand. Regional reports identify substantial evidence-practice gaps, unwarranted variation from best practice, and variation in processes and outcomes of care between treating centres. The Australia and New Zealand Lung Cancer Registry (ANZLCR) will be developed as a Clinical Quality Registry to monitor the safety, quality and effectiveness of lung cancer care in Australia and New Zealand., Methods and Analysis: Patient participants will include all adults >18 years of age with a new diagnosis of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), SCLC, thymoma or mesothelioma. The ANZLCR will register confirmed diagnoses using opt-out consent. Data will address key patient, disease, management processes and outcomes reported as clinical quality indicators. Electronic data collection facilitated by local data collectors and local, state and federal data linkage will enhance completeness and accuracy. Data will be stored and maintained in a secure web-based data platform overseen by registry management. Central governance with binational representation from consumers, patients and carers, governance, administration, health department, health policy bodies, university research and healthcare workers will provide project oversight., Ethics and Dissemination: The ANZLCR has received national ethics approval under the National Mutual Acceptance scheme. Data will be routinely reported to participating sites describing performance against measures of agreed best practice and nationally to stakeholders including federal, state and territory departments of health. Local, regional and (bi)national benchmarks, augmented with online dashboard indicator reporting will enable local targeting of quality improvement efforts., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2022. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Social insects are highly diverse in their social structures, aside from the consistent presence of reproductive castes. Among social insects, the Australian paper wasp Ropalidia plebeiana constructs extremely dense colony aggregations consisting of hundreds of colonies within a few square meters; however, little is known about the aggregation structures. We genetically analyzed the colony and population structure of R. plebeiana, and concomitant variations in colony sex ratios. In spring, the foundress (candidate queen) group started their colonies on a single old comb from the previous season, subsequently dividing these old combs via relatedness-based comb-cutting. Female philopatry, a prerequisite condition of Local Resource Competition (LRC), was confirmed. The colony sex ratio of reproductive individuals (male and female offspring for the next generation) became slightly male-biased in larger colonies, as predicted under LRC. However, the number of foundresses was positively associated with the number of reproductive individuals, suggesting that Local Resource Enhancement (LRE) also operates. Although the population structure appears to meet the prerequisites of LRC, the sex ratio appears to be modulated by factors other than LRC. Rather, through LRE, the availability of female helpers at the founding stage is likely to mitigate the sex ratios predicted under LRC., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Special Feature that lists the names of people involved in the review of technical papers for the IEEE Transactions on Industry Applications and Industry Applications Magazine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mechanisms that allow the strengthening of market and patriarchal forces in higher education, especially as they relate to the academic labor market, are illustrated. The Dawkins paper, "Higher Education, a Policy Statement" (the White Paper), represents an attempt to implement major restructuring in Australia. (MLW)

This article describes a classroom activity in which a solar eclipse is simulated and a mathematical model is developed to explain the data. Students use manipulative devices and graphing calculators to carry out the experiment and then compare their results to those collected in Koolymilka, Australia, during the 2002 eclipse.

By examining seemingly contradictory reactions to the COVID-19 pandemic and relating these to the basic income debate in Australia, this article explores the potential that the socio-economic crisis provoked by COVID-19 presen ts for a transformation of welfare systems. Drawing on ethnographic observation, the article describes the emergence of grassroots forms of solidarity in response to the pandemic. Within the context of the increasing hardship experienced by Australians, ongoing failures of existing welfare systems, and inadequate government responses to COVID-19, the groundswell of solidarity may coalesce with increasing support for a basic income, creating a conjunctural movement that propels radical social transformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]