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Engineering support for adaptations in information graphics for disabled communities:A study with public space indoor maps
No full textMost software applications contain graphics such as charts, diagrams and maps. Currently, these graphics are designed with a “one size fits all" approach and do not cater to the needs of people with disabilities. Therefore, when using software with graphics, a colour-impaired user may struggle to interpret graphics with certain colours, and a person with dyslexia may struggle to read the text labels in the graphic. Our research addresses this issue by developing a framework that generates adaptive and accessible information graphics for multiple disabilities. Uniquely, the approach also serves people with multiple simultaneous disabilities. To achieve these, we used a case study of public space floorplans presented via a web tool and worked with four disability groups: people with low vision, colour blindness, dyslexia and mobility impairment. Our research involved gathering requirements from 3 accessibility experts and 80 participants with disabilities, developing a system to generate adaptive graphics that address the identified requirements, and conducting an evaluation with a total of 99 participants with disabilities. The evaluation showed that users found our solution easy to use and suitable for most of their requirements. The study also provides recommendations for front-end developers on engineering accessible graphics for their software and discusses the implications of our work on society from the perspective of public space owners and end users.</p
Donor preferences for recipient control of international development aid
No full textMore than 90 % of health aid remains tied to projects that reflect donor rather than recipient priorities. This has a material impact on aid effectiveness and is inconsistent with the stated aims of development partners to ‘decolonise aid’ and prioritise ‘locally led development’. Relatively little attention has been given to constraints that might account for this divergence between donor rhetoric and action. The present study considers whether the preferences of donor country citizens (donors) are consistent with recipient control of aid programs. Using Indonesia as the recipient country setting, we conducted a discrete choice experiment amongst 1523 Australians aged 18+ to describe donor preferences for recipient control and nine other characteristics of Australia's health aid program. We found that donors have a strong aversion to recipient control and are unwilling to cede control of either aims or implementation. Despite evidence of pervasive preference heterogeneity, we were unable to identify a class or preference ‘type’ with a preference for recipient control. Importantly, donor resistance to decolonisation was pervasive under experimental control for the institutional quality of recipient governments, suggesting that preferences for donor control are unlikely to reflect an attempt to compensate for political instability and government ineffectiveness in recipient countries. The implications of these findings are significant. This fundamental misalignment challenges international commitments to locally led development. For governments aiming to reflect their constituencies’ preferences, emphasizing donor control over aid objectives may garner greater public support, but risks undermining international commitments to increase recipient ownership and decolonise aid.</p
COVID-19 lies and truths:Employing the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) and Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC) to gain insights into the persuasive techniques evident in disinformation (fake news)
No full textThe spread of disinformation and the harm this causes continues to be a cybersecurity concern. Technical methods, such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), employed to detect disinformation automatically are often inadequate because they fail to consider psychological theory that may help to inform the models. This research aimed to overcome this shortcoming by examining persuasive language evident in disinformation compared with genuine news. It applied the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM), a Dual Process Theory, to examine distinguishable cues in COVID-19 news stories: 70 fake and 70 genuine news stories. As predicted, fake news stories were more likely to contain the following cues: emotional appeals, repetition, celebrity figures, visual cues and loudness cues. In contrast, as predicted, genuine news stories were more likely to contain the following cues: rational appeals and statistics. Additionally, we conducted a Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC) analysis, which revealed that positive emotions and tones were more prevalent in genuine news stories. However, fake news stories did not contain more negative emotions and tones compared with genuine stories. Loudness cues (e.g., exclamation marks, bold text, overuse of capital letters) stood out as one of the most significant differences in the use of persuasiveness across news types. This study demonstrates the importance of investigating how fake and genuine news compare by applying a psychological lens to interrogate the data and the utility of drawing from the ELM to inform the development of Large Language Models (LLMs) for automatic detection of fake news.</p
An examination of the leadership and governance responses of Australian Jewish community peak body leaders to Institutional Child Sexual Abuse (ICSA)
No full textMinimal research has been undertaken into Institutional Child Sexual Abuse (ICSA) within Jewish communities. Internationally, scrutiny has predominantly considered the ultraorthodox sector of the community. The Australian Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse likewise focused upon the ultra-orthodox within their Jewish community reviews. No research to date has considered the far larger, mainstream Australian Jewish community leadership, nor their leadership practices, though it is broadly acknowledged, that institutional child safety is embedded in institutional leadership, governance and culture. This is the first study to address this section of the Australian Jewish community regarding ICSA. It examines the responses of Australian Jewish community peak body leaders, regarding their leadership and governance relating to ICSA, between 2012-2024. This qualitative study utilised a deductive process; data was analysed thematically, from which findings were developed. Results indicated leadership and governance deficiencies including minimal awareness of institutional child sexual abuse or communal concerns for survivors. Impacts of poor conflicts of interest practices, failure to drive changes to promote child safety and advance survivor support across the community were highlighted. The importance of greater communal support for survivors of late, has been noted. Findings suggest the need to reform leadership and governance policy and practice within Australian Jewish peak bodies, including through enhanced internal governance and child safety education at a leadership level, to provide improved child safety and greater survivor support across the community. Outcomes were found to be applicable to additional communities and cultures, including for example the Catholic church
"It's something you can't wash off; you carry it with you":a qualitative study into teachers' experiences of vicarious trauma symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic in Victoria, Australia
No full textBackground: The COVID-19 pandemic caused unprecedented disruption to education systems worldwide, and exacerbated existing challenges in the teaching profession. The dual demands of academic instruction and pastoral care placed a considerable amount of emotional burden on teachers, compounded by increased exposure to the traumatic experiences of students. This heightened risk of vicarious trauma among teachers has been underexplored, particularly in the context of Victoria, Australia, where one of the world's longest government-mandated lockdowns was implemented.Methods: This study builds on previous research by examining how teachers' roles and responsibilities informally evolved in response to external pressures during the pandemic. Drawing on interview and focus group data from 25 educators in public and private schools across Victoria in 2022, the findings were coded via NVIVO software version 12 and thematically analyzed.Results: Findings suggest that roles of educators evolved during the pandemic as their responsibilities expanded beyond academic instruction to include more pastoral care for students. This, in turn, disclosed different pathways through which educators were exposed to traumatic content from their students, families and other educators. As a result, many participants felt vicarious trauma symptoms, which is explored as various negative emotions.Conclusion: This study highlights the risk of vicarious trauma becoming an issue within the teaching profession. It underscores the need for further research to understand how vicarious trauma is affecting the teaching profession
Enhancing workplace road safety for commercial and gig economy drivers in Australia
No full textThis study investigates workplace road safety cultures among (1) drivers of light commercial vehicles (i.e., drivers of vehicles <4.5 tonnes) and (2) gig economy workers (i.e., drivers and delivery riders working as independent contractors for platforms such as Uber and DoorDash), aiming to identify barriers and facilitators for enhancing safety and reducing work-related incidents. Twenty semi-structured interviews (ten participants from each group) were conducted online via Zoom, a sample size considered sufficient to reach thematic saturation and allow for comparative analysis across the two groups. A thematic analysis identified recurring concepts and ideas across all participant interviews. The findings reveal the limitations of an ’opt-in’ safety culture and underscore the need for a more proactive, universally embraced approach. Additionally, the study results highlight the importance of incorporating principles of diversity and inclusion into workplace road safety to address the varied experiences within the workforce. Redefining gig platforms as network operators is suggested to prioritise safety considerations and responsibilities. The inclusion of safety and well-being metrics in a customer's ratings and driver assessments ensures a comprehensive evaluation of performance. The findings highlight opportunities for relevant, tailored, assessed, and compulsory training and education for gig workers to enhance safety practices in this evolving work landscape. These findings contribute to the discourse on workplace road safety, highlighting key opportunities for intervention and the need for evidence-based programmes to mitigate the growing risks associated with work-related driving in both traditional and gig economy settings.</p
A framework for playful pedagogy:nurturing child imagination in second language learning
No full textThis conceptual article argues that although imagination is a highly important dynamic of the mind with strong potential to assist language development, imagination alone does not work by itself. Instead, a strategic framework is needed to support imagination by connecting it with playful teaching and amusing content. The article begins by pinpointing what playful pedagogy means and what role imagination plays in the learning process. Secondly, the discussion presents some challenges to such learning, delving particularly into some constraints on child imagination and other constraints on English learning among children. Thirdly, the discussion highlights the need for a playful pedagogy and amusing content to support it. This is followed by some insights into nurturing imagination for learning. Finally, the article unpacks the above-mentioned framework in ways that would assist task design in language education
Exploring the significance of WeChat in Chinese international students’ practice in the Australian higher education field
No full textWeChat is one of the most popular social media platforms among Chinese international students (CISs) studying in Australia, yet little is known about how its use mediates student transition to Australian higher education. This study draws on Bourdieu’s concepts related to practice to explore CISs’ WeChat practices in digitally mediating their experiences in Australia. Data were collected from 15 CISs through semistructured interviews via a scroll-back method. The findings suggest that CISs’ WeChat practices have deep roots in their habitus. WeChat was found to increase their sense of belonging and negotiation in the new international setting but also diminished their successful transition. Moreover, the social media platform appeared to be underutilized by the university. The findings suggest that WeChat can be a more valuable tool for CISs to negotiate their transition, whereas CISs should also be guided to decrease their use of WeChat to more effectively engage with their higher education.</p
