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Creative righting: Autoethnographic creative writing as a tool to prevent teacher burnout and attrition
No full textTeacher burnout is a key feature of the current international crisis of teacher shortages. Teachers are feeling isolated, marginalised and disempowered. Research on burnout in teachers has focused on attrition and how to avoid it. However, factors contributing to teacher burnout are multi-dimensional and complex. Consequently, any potential solution must be able to address such complexities in a personalised way. The literature tells us that personal reflection and discussing experiences, particularly negative or those that involve conflict, can result in improvements in teacher identity, positive teaching experience, positive mental health, and thus less burnout. In my own case of burnout, I used autoethnographic writing to re-imagine challenging episodes from my career. The creative and reflective processes reinvigorated my passion for teaching so that writing and sharing stories became an unexpected pathway away from burnout and into empowerment. The use of autoethnographic creative writing to tell and reflect upon the challenges of teaching offers a personalised and valuable way to address the complex variables of burnout affecting individuals. Importantly, one does not have to be an expert in creative writing to be effective. More research is needed to determine whether this approach has wider appeal and benefit for educators experiencing burnout.</p
Developing Critical Thinking Skills Using Digital Technologies: A Study of Secondary School Teachers' Pedagogies in Karachi, Pakistan
No full textThe rapid advancement of technology in the modern era has accelerated the pace of life requiring the younger generation to develop the competence and adaptability to navigate daily challenges effectively. Core competencies required include critical thinking skills and the ability to use digital technologies. Critical thinking is complex but includes skills like problem-solving, judgment, and the ability to analyse issues. Numerous studies have examined the significance of critical thinking skills and digital technology proficiency, yet there has been limited in-depth exploration of how school teachers in Karachi, Pakistan, are fostering critical thinking skills through the use of digital technologies. This research addresses this gap by investigating the pedagogies of secondary school teachers at a government school in Karachi in fostering students' critical thinking through digital technologies. The study used the qualitative research methodology of a case study, using structured interviews with the Karachi secondary school teachers. The findings of this study indicate that secondary school teachers are using various pedagogical strategies to foster critical thinking skills, with some use of digital technologies to engage and enhance the interest of students and guide them in researching and analysing information online. The research suggests that while efforts are being made, teachers could further refine their pedagogical approaches and use advanced digital technologies to foster critical thinking skills more effectively, aligning with current research in this field. However, systemic challenges and limited access to digital technologies may hinder their ability to fully implement these strategies. This study highlights the importance of professional, structured pedagogies in fostering critical thinking, emphasising their role in equipping students with the problem-solving skills necessary for sustainable solutions and global citizenship.</p
Cape and Torres Health Commissioning Ltd (CaTHC) Project Final Evaluation Report
No full textIn May 2024, the Cape and Torres Health Commissioning (CaTHC) Ltd was established as a regional community-controlled commissioning entity. CaTHC is governed by a Board of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Directors and is independent from government. It is planned that over a 10-year period CaTHC will develop the capabilities to receive public funding and commission health services that respond to community need. The aim is to shift the way care is planned, purchased, and delivered, to drive improved health system effectiveness, equity and whole of population health and wellbeing outcomes. This report provides a detailed evaluation of the CaTHC project covering the period of entity establishment between August 2022 and December 2024. It focusses on project deliverables and resourcing; collaboration and governance; model design and implementation; and community and engagement. The project was formerly called the Torres and Cape Health Care Commissioning Fund (TORCH), with a name change to the CaTHC project in 2024
Bank-Fintech Collaboration as a Disruption Response Strategy in Ghana: A Life Cycle of Alliance Capability Building
No full textDuring the 2008 global financial crisis, a new wave of potentially disruptive financial technologies (fintechs) was introduced into the banking industry, impacting traditional banks' activities. As a response strategy to these disruption threats, traditional banks began collaborating with fintechs. Due to the turbulent nature of the banking industry, researchers suggest organisations need to upgrade their alliance capability. However, prior studies on bank-fintech partnerships revealed that while bank-fintech alliances have become the dominant approach of banks responding to disruption, research has predominantly focussed on developed countries and less on developing economies. More importantly, existing bank-fintech collaboration research within the context of alliance capability from a dynamic capability perspective is limited. Consequently, a study from the African perspective is valuable, considering contrastive information about the dynamics of financial innovation compared to developed nations. Hence, this study draws from the dynamic capability lens to conceptualise alliance capability building for the Ghanaian banking context as a disruption response strategy. The conceptualisation outlines the antecedents, microfoundations of processes, and organisational structures that underpin the categories of alliance sensing, seizing, and transforming capacities and the positive outcomes of alliance capability. This conceptualisation helps investigate the preformation and post-formation phases of the life cycle of alliance capability building. An interpretivist approach, using qualitative case studies, was adopted to answer the research questions. Data was derived from interviews with 20 senior managers from five Ghanaian commercial banks. Data was thematically analysed using a hybrid deductive to inductive reasoning approach. The findings from this study revealed that antecedents comprised environmental conditions that influenced organisational factors of alliance capability building. Alliance sensing processes include sensing objectives and protocols supported by internal and external sensing structures. Alliance seizing processes consisted of fintech sourcing, due diligence, making a final choice, alliance authorisation, alliance governance type, and writing a contractual agreement. The alliance seizing structures comprised seizing actors such as project teams and sourcing specialists who facilitated the formation of the collaboration. Alliance transforming processes included coordination, communication, bonding, and evaluation. These were supported by alliance-transforming structures such as an alliance department, project team, and head of information technology. The positive outcomes of alliance capability were relational, financial, and non-financial. This thesis contributes to prior literature by developing a life cycle framework for alliance capability building of banks collaborating with fintech as a disruption response strategy. The findings extend previous knowledge of antecedents, microfoundations, and outcomes of alliance capability. Practical contributions from this thesis can inform bank managers about the processes and organisational structures for alliance capability building in response to disruption.</p
Policy gradient-based optimal subset selection for few-shot vision-language learning
No full textVision-Language models (VLMs) like Contrastive Language-Image Pre-Training (CLIP) have been extensively adapted for few-shot classification. Most few-shot methods rely on randomly selected samples from the dataset. However, since only a few samples are used, the sample selection process can significantly impact the performance of the downstream classification task. In this work, we propose a reinforcement learning-based policy gradient technique that employs a diversity and informativeness-based reward function to optimise the sample selection process. We evaluate various sample selection techniques based on downstream classification accuracy across three benchmark datasets, where the proposed method demonstrates promising results
“Oh, Biscuits!” Exploring resilience in the children’s television programme Bluey
No full textObjective
Resilience, the ability to cope with challenges, can lead to lifelong benefits when developed in childhood. While storytelling through media may foster resilience, little is known about how this is depicted in children’s programming. This study investigated the nature and extent of resilience messages in the popular Australian children’s television programme Bluey.
Method
All episodes from all three seasons were viewed, and details such as plot, primary and secondary themes, characters and networks were recorded. Resilience storylines were then coded according to the Grotberg Resilience Framework.
Results
Half the episodes (48.7%) featured resilience as either a primary or secondary theme. Primary themes included creative play (30.0.%) and resilience (27.3%). Bluey, the main character, featured in 54.8% of resilience storylines. Parents were the main facilitators (64.4%), with Bluey’s mother being the most common (46.6%). The “I HAVE” resilience attribute was most prevalent, with trusting relationships and role models as core factors. The family network was the most dominant source of support.
Conclusions
Bluey frequently portrays resilience-building behaviours aligned with the Grotberg Resilience Framework, especially through family relationships and coping strategies. These findings highlight Bluey as a strong example of how children’s television can support emotional learning and model adaptive behaviours relevant to real-life challenges.</p
Wearable sensors and flexible antennas used in the wireless body area networks
No full textIn the era of advancing wireless technologies and the integration of healthcare with connectivity, the interdependent relationship between wearable sensors and flexible antennas within wireless body area networks (WBANs) has emerged as a cornerstone of transformative innovation. This chapter delves into the intricate landscape of these technologies, unraveling their applications, advantages, and challenges.</p
Can a wooden spoon really stop a pot from boiling over? Here’s the science
No full textAn article discussing practicalities and science behind a well-known kitchen hack - that putting a wooden spoon over a boiling pot will stop it bubbling over
Investigating the outcomes and quality of support programs for autistic young adults in higher education: A systematic review
No full textBackground: Participation rates for autistic young adults in higher education are increasing. However, academic outcomes and retention are lower than for neurotypical peers, and mental health and well-being concerns exist for these young people. Universities and colleges must provide inclusive supports that consider the needs of autistic young people and reflect neurodiverse affirming approaches. Our systematic review examined empirical studies of support initiatives for autistic young adults in higher education. We considered initiatives’ impact in enhancing psychological well-being, academic achievement and retention, and the extent to which programs were coproduced and informed by an understanding of autistic culture and individual experiences. Methods: Our review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis standards of systematic review. Studies conducted between 2013 and 2023 that investigated programs for autistic young adults in university and examined psychological well-being, academic achievement, or retention were eligible for inclusion. Sixteen studies met the inclusion criteria. We critically appraised those studies using the Joanna Briggs Institute tool and assessed the support initiatives for quality following the Australasian Society for Autism Research criteria. Results: The most prevalent support programs for autistic young adults in higher education were mentoring initiatives. Multimodal interventions adopted a psychosocial focus, with primary aims of developing social, organizational, and empathic listening skills. Participants in mentoring programs demonstrated increases in well-being and academic outcomes, including participants’ feelings of connection, belonging, and academic self-efficacy. Multimodal interventions showed reductions in areas such as anxiety and loneliness, and improvements in self-esteem. Conclusion: The support programs we identified in this review demonstrated positive effects for autistic young people’s well-being, academic achievement, and retention. Mentoring interventions were beneficial and focused on individual strengths, interests, and challenges of autistic individuals. Our recommendation for future research and support initiatives is to tailor programs to the individual needs of autistic university students, using codesign principles and focusing on environmental and systemic changes to enhance their full participation in higher education.</p
Exploring household leftover food waste heterogeneity: Insights from latent class analysis
No full textPurpose: This study investigates heterogeneity in household leftover food management behaviour, offering insights into consumer motivations, abilities and opportunities. Design/methodology/approach: Data were collected from 1,004 Australian households through an online survey. A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted to identify the best-fitting model for the collected data. Based on the items selected for the CFA model, a latent class analysis (LCA) was performed to classify households into distinct subgroups. Finally, a multinomial logistic regression was conducted to examine the influence of sociodemographic variables on household latent class membership. Findings: The analysis identified four distinct consumer segments. Efficient savers demonstrate strong skills in meal planning, food storage and repurposing leftovers. Unplanned eaters are characterised by limited skills in handling leftovers and low motivation to reduce leftover waste. Aspirational savers exhibit a desire to manage leftovers effectively but face occasional challenges, while time-savvy planners balance efficient food management with busy lifestyles. Sociodemographic factors, such as age, gender, employment and household composition, significantly influence class membership. Practical implications: The findings emphasise the importance of targeted interventions, such as consumer education on meal planning, portion control, optimal food storage and leftover utilisation, to address specific behaviours within each segment. Originality/value: This study contributes to the literature by revealing the underlying heterogeneity within consumer groups that influences leftover food management. Gaining deeper insights into consumer behaviours related to food leftovers can empower policymakers and relevant government agencies to design targeted interventions to mitigate food waste