6,103 research outputs found
The Frontier of Gifted Education: An Interview With Michelle Ronksley-Pavia
No full textDr. Michelle Ronksley-Pavia is a Senior Lecturer in Inclusion and Special Education at Griffith University, Australia; making significant contributions to the field of gifted and special education. As Program Director for the Graduate Certificate in Special Education and researcher with the Griffith Institute for Educational Research (GIER), she leverages over two decades of experience in her impactful work.
An internationally recognized scholar, Dr. Ronksley-Pavia’s research on giftedness, twice-exceptionality, and neurodiversity earned her a “Best Research Paper” award from the Ministry of Education (Republic of China). Her collaborations with organizations like Australian Mensa, the Australian Council of Deans of Education, and the Queensland Department of Education have informed educational practices nationwide. Dr Ronksley-Pavia is currently an Australian Delegate to the World Council for Gifted and Talented Children (WCGTC) and served as a member of the writing team for the WCGTC’s influential Global Principles for Professional Learning in Gifted Education.Full Tex
Viruses, Science and Law: Clarifying the Status of Viruses as `Genetic Resources' Under International Access and Benefit-Sharing Law to Inform Future Virus Sharing Arrangements
No full textIn 2007 the Indonesian government cited the United Nations’ Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) when it claimed sovereignty over influenza viruses isolated from within its territory, denying the World Health Organization (WHO) access to physical samples of H5N1 influenza virus. In response, WHO Member States adopted the Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Framework (PIP Framework) for the sharing of influenza viruses with human pandemic potential. This ended the political stalemate between Indonesia and the WHO, but the international community never addressed the broader legal issue at the core of Indonesia’s claim: do countries have sovereign authority over viruses isolated from within their territories? Answering this question is the starting point of this thesis and is crucial to creating legal certainty for international virus sharing and defending global health security.
Genetic resources were largely treated as global public goods under international law until the entry into force of the CBD in 1993. This binding and widely-adopted convention situates genetic resources within the sovereign domain of the Nation State, allowing national governments to regulate access to genetic resources pursuant to their own environmental policies. The domestic laws and policies implemented in the wake of the CBD have created a diverse and complicated regime for accessing genetic resources and sharing benefits associated with their utilisation, referred to as ‘access and benefit-sharing’ (ABS). Until the present research, it has not been clear how these rules apply to viruses outside the narrow remit of pandemic influenza viruses under the PIP Framework.
Virus samples are essential for ecological, agricultural and medical research and are vital inputs for the production of vaccines and antivirals. Most viruses are still accessed freely from the environment and shared informally between networks of scientific colleagues without regard to the domestic ABS policies of originating Nation States. This is starting to change as States begin to restrict access to virus samples to exchange them for monetary or non-monetary benefits. This trend is likely to impact scientific research and the development of novel biotechnologies, but it has the most disturbing consequences in the field of public health, where international negotiations over access to pathogenic virus samples can delay outbreak response efforts.
This research examines the legalities of claiming sovereignty over viruses under international law and represents the first systematic effort to situate viruses within the international ABS regime. This research aims to: (1) clarify the status of viruses under international ABS law, (2) examine the facets of the international ABS regime that will shape future virus sharing practices, and (3) determine the impact of virus ABS on virological research. It draws together the key themes of law, scientific research and viruses.
The legal question originally posed by Indonesia in 2007 and restated here as the first aim of this research is addressed by means of a textual analysis of the CBD and its Nagoya Protocol. Chapter 2 (published in the European Intellectual Property Review) demonstrates that all viruses are unequivocally ‘genetic resources’ within the remit of these international instruments. This finding clarifies the previously ambiguous status of all viruses as sovereign genetic resources under international law and forms the theoretical basis for the preponderance of this research. In effect, influenza viruses with human pandemic potential are regulated by the PIP Framework and all other viruses are subject to regulation under the CBD and Nagoya Protocol.
Four chapters of this thesis address the second aim of this research, examining the facets of the current international ABS regime that will shape future virus sharing arrangements. Chapter 3 (published in the Journal of Law and Medicine) analyses temporality and the conceivable extension of sovereign rights to virus isolates collected before the entry into force of the CBD on 29 December 1993, using the ex situ repositories of smallpox virus held by the United States of America and the Russian Federation as a case study. Chapters 4 and 5 (published in the Journal of Law and Medicine and the Journal of World Intellectual Property respectively) are the first published papers to examine how provisions of the CBD and Nagoya Protocol relating to ‘traditional knowledge associated with genetic resources’ apply to viruses. These chapters provide proof of principle that Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities could possess virus-associated traditional knowledge that can be subject to benefit-sharing obligations. Chapter 6 (published in The Milbank Quarterly) critiques the ABS provisions of the PIP Framework as the only international virus-specific de facto ABS instrument. The Nagoya Protocol creates the flexibility to adopt specialised instruments outside of the default bilateral ABS system created by the CBD and Nagoya Protocol. Chapter 6 demonstrates that while the PIP Framework may be considered a multilateral ABS agreement, it secures just the access side of the ABS ‘grand bargain’ enshrined by the CBD. Chapter 6 cautions against the current proposals to expand the scope of the PIP Framework to include other pathogens.
Chapter 7 (published in the Journal of Science Policy and Governance) addresses the third aim of this research by examining how ABS measures have impacted scientific research in the biological disciplines. It shows how domestic legislative, administrative and policy measures implementing the CBD and Nagoya Protocol create legal barriers to accessing genetic resources for biological research and can limit scientific innovation. It demonstrates that ABS policies will have a cooling effect on biotechnological research utilising viral genetic resources if countries start to impose similar legal barriers to accessing virus samples.
Chapter 8 concludes that the international ABS regime already fetters virus sharing with unforeseen adverse impacts on global health security. Scientists require access to virus samples for research and development, and timely access to viruses that can cause diseases in humans, plants and animals is critical. As countries start to exercise their sovereign authority over viruses and restrict access to virus samples in order to influence benefit-sharing negotiations, it is ever more important that the international community comprehends the form and structure of virus ABS. This thesis fills the literature void as the first published research to explore the legal and practical issues of accessing virus samples and sharing the benefits associated with their use under the CBD and Nagoya Protocol. Given the deficiencies of the current ABS regime, this research forms the basis for an international debate about alternative models for regulating access to viruses and sharing the associated benefits. During public health emergencies, legal ambiguities around who can control access to viruses and at what price can delay the public health response and ultimately cost lives.Thesis (PhD Doctorate)Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)Griffith Law SchoolArts, Education and LawFull Tex
Reconstructing Cultural Identity in Artistic Practice : Embracing Mixed Heritage Through Framing Pride and Prejudice
No full textThis paper is a Doctoral exegesis which discusses, analyses and contextualises
the artistic quest of contemporary Australian-born artist, Michelle van Eps, to reconstruct
her cultural identity in her artwork through investigating her paternal
Dutch ancestry. Addressing Australian artists with mixed cultural heritage, the
paper explores the phenomenon of a foreign ‘missing culture’ created by the
dismissal of the validity of a past as well as a present, cultural ancestry. In this
exegesis, the dilemma of the mixed heritage artist is related to Australian sociocultural
dynamics and cultural mythologies, describing the possible impact of
‘missing culture’ upon artistic practice as one of ‘cultural vacuum’. Michelle van
Eps retrospectively identifies three developmental stages in her practice from
2004 to 2009 which allowed her to reach a point of cultural hybridity and place
her cultural identity into perspective whilst still continuing to practice in Australia.
The ‘Prejudice’ phase, the ‘Pride’ phase and the ‘Hybridity’ phase are clearly
demarcated in the artist’s work and form a narrative of an artistic shift in cultural
perspective which includes a form of migration which is described as ‘virtual
migration’. Her experience is compared to that of mixed heritage case studies,
Lindy Lee, an Australian-Asian artist and Inga Hunter who was born in England
with Afro-Carribean ancestry but has practiced art predominately in Australia.
This dissertation frames notions of diaspora, cultural dichotomy, ancestry, selfesteem,
belonging, prejudice, pride and hybridity within the context of an
evolutionary artistic journey in which the artist seeks to come to terms with mixed
heritage. Through self-reflection which exposed the interaction between private
creation and public exhibition, Michelle appropriated 17th century Dutch painting
compositions and techniques to developmentally reach a point of conceptual and
cultural maturity in her work.Thesis (Professional Doctorate)Doctor of Visual Arts (DVA)Queensland College of ArtArts, Education and LawFull Tex
Using Environmental Print to Enhance Emergent Literacy
No full textEnvironmental print in the form of product labels and signs provides children with their earliest print experiences. The present research examined the role of environmental print in early reading and writing development and the ways in which parents and early childhood educators can best utilise it to foster emergent literacy and print motivation. This involved (a) case study and observational methods to document how parents naturally use environmental print in the home and during play to scaffold children’s emergent literacy and print motivation and (b) experimental methods to evaluate the effects of directly using environmental print to scaffold emergent literacy and print motivation in a preschool
setting. The case studies provided a detailed view of how a mother referenced environmental print words and letters using multisensory strategies and how children utilised these environmental print strategies during print interactions. A larger sample of mother-child dyads (N = 35; M age child = 4.30 years) were observed at play in a grocery shop setting and during a joint writing activity in this same setting. Two-thirds of mothers referred to environmental print words during play. However, only a small number of
mothers referred to letters in the environmental print during play or used it during the joint writing to scaffold their child’s writing. When referring to environmental print, the mothers used strategies such as encouraging their child to identify letters embedded in the print by names and sounds, using directional and descriptive language to describe letter shapes, and copying the environmental print. Some mothers traced print with fingers and formed letter shapes in the air.Thesis (PhD Doctorate)Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)School of Applied PsychologyGriffith HealthFull Tex
Taiwanese Mothers’ Perceptions of the Influences of Their Acculturation on the Identity Formation of their Children in Australia
No full textThis study explores how Taiwanese immigrant mothers in Australia perceive the influence of their acculturation on the identity formation of their children. To date, little research has been undertaken on the effect of Taiwanese immigrant mothers’ acculturation on the identity formation of their children in Australia. Social constructionism, the method of constant comparisons and thematic analysis underpinned the qualitative methodology which was employed to understand the lived experience of Taiwanese immigrant mothers. Data collection was predominantly undertaken by using in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 41 participants from South-East Queensland. Of these participants, 20 were married to Taiwanese males while the others (21) were married to non-Taiwanese males. Six mothers have a full-time job or own a business with their husband, while the majority is full-time housewives. Individual interviews subject to forward and back translation were conducted in Mandarin. All interview data were transcribed and translated into English, and were managed with a qualitative data software (MAXQDA) to handle the coding tasks.Thesis (PhD Doctorate)Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)Griffith Business SchoolGriffith Business SchoolFull Tex
Diverse Stakeholders' Perceptions of the Attributes Needed by Chinese Returned Graduates in the Hotel Industry in China
No full textThe study enters the contested environment of the role of universities in an increasingly globalised world where geographically mobile students from diverse national backgrounds are seeking tertiary qualifications in foreign higher education institutions. In this space, questions are asked about the purpose and function of universities with respect to the nature of students (whether domestic or international), and the goals of university programs (whether applied and vocational, or liberal in purpose). Key stakeholders in this debate are universities, governments and industry. Some researchers argue that more collaboration is needed between these three stakeholders in order to increase the employability of graduates. Furthermore, the perceptions and expectations of industry about requisite graduate attributes tend to differ from country to country. There is, therefore, a risk that international students’ ideas of employability may differ from those that shape the curriculum of the degree programs of their host university. Whether universities should accommodate their international students’ specific needs in relation to employability in their home countries is contested.Thesis (PhD Doctorate)Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)Griffith Business SchoolGriffith Business SchoolFull Tex
A Critical Analysis of Microfinance Tourism and Poverty Alleviation: Characteristics, Opportunities and Constraints
No full textSet within the context of increasing global commitment to eradicate extreme poverty, this research critically analyses and evaluates the extent to which microfinance tourism (MFT) is an effective vehicle for poverty alleviation in developing countries. For decades, both microfinance and tourism have been promoted as key strategies for global poverty alleviation. Microfinance can offer people living in poverty, especially those considered ‘unbankable’, the necessary financial and educational support to engage in entrepreneurial activities, while tourism has the capacity to reduce poverty via economic development and global citizenship education. MFT emerged in 2008 as an innovative approach that pioneers the integration of microfinance and tourism for poverty alleviation purposes. Despite promising great hope for many by addressing multiple facets of the poverty issue, the extent to which MFT rhetoric translates into reality is
unclear, given that the positive impacts of both microfinance and tourism on poverty alleviation remain debatable. More importantly, MFT as an antipoverty intervention built around impoverished communities also has the potential to inflict a range of negative impacts on vulnerable populations. Yet the literature on MFT is almost completely absent; thus there is a pressing need to undertake a comprehensive
investigation of MFT to increase our understanding of the phenomenon.Thesis (PhD Doctorate)Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)Griffith Business SchoolGriffith Business SchoolFull Tex
Speaking through paint: the theory and practice of studio research
No full textThe title Speaking Through Paint draws its sense from the comment made by the painter Hans Hofmann concerning the importance of the painter to think in the medium: ‘Painters must speak through paint – not through words.’ Hofmann suggests that we shift our point of view, turning our attention away from thinking in words - to thinking in the medium. He insists that an idea cannot be communicated until it is ‘converted into material terms.’ In an analogous statement, the author Paul Carter stresses the importance of thinking in the material stating that ‘the matter is not passive … the quality of the material must lend itself to the transformation.’
This paper focuses on the materiality of paint, particularly on the links between the surface and the subject represented on it being related to each other. The painter marks the surface to elicit recognition, so that we see the surface and see ‘something’ in the surface. Richard Wollheim refers to this duality as a distinctive phenomenological feature that he calls ‘twofoldness’, meaning two aspects of a single experience – not two experiences. Throughout the paper, I shall indicate some of the ways in which the feature of ‘twofoldness’ is discussed as exemplified in Wollheim’s book Painting as an Art.
According to Wollheim, the twofoldness of ‘seeing-in’ is a distinct kind of perception that is triggered off by the right kind of surface in order to experience a certain phenomenology that is distinctive about seeing-in. On the other hand, Ernst Gombrich denies the possibility of ‘twofoldness’, that is, the viewer’s ability to be aware of the subject as well as the painted surface. He argues that we cannot experience alternative readings at the same time. Therefore, in order to test the method, ‘twofoldness’ is applied to the study of work by the following three painters whose painting surfaces are right for seeing-in to occur.
A discussion of the work by Mostyn Bramley-Moore, Claude Monet and Michelle Bainbridge shows some of the ways in which painters can, and do, exploit ‘twofoldness’. A characteristic of their work is that they do invoke, indeed they attract, attention to the marked surface, where seeing-in occurs. The painter who uses this method places demands on the viewer to acknowledge the surface and the subject. The consequences of the relationship between surface and subject such as, 'recognition', 'complications', 'depiction' – are explored in the remainder of the paper.Thesis (Professional Doctorate)Doctor of Visual Arts (DVA)Queensland College of ArtArts, Education and LawFull Tex
Effects of Soil Crusts on the Erodibility of a Claypan in the Channel Country, South-West Queensland, Australia
No full textThis thesis explores the role of cyanobacterial crusts in controlling the aeolian
erodibility of arid soil surfaces. Soil erodibility estimates are commonly derived from
sediment trap measurements or field wind-tunnel simulations. Such estimates are
often difficult to relate to crust types and conditions because of the intricate spatial
variation inherent with crusts. Similarly, empirical wind-erosion models across a
range of spatial scales often fail to incorporate a crust parameter simply because of the
complexity associated with both spatial and temporal variations in crustal attributes.
The soils of the Channel Country, western Queensland, the site of this study, have
intricate mosaics of biological and physical crusts. These arid soils are frequently
affected by wind erosion and the role that the presence of the crusts has in controlling
erodibility is a largely unknown. The aim of this study has been to address this
knowledge gap.
It was found that the spatial heterogeneity of the surface features described for the
study area claypan supported a diverse range of crust types and cover levels. This
diversity varied at sub metre increments. Such spatial diversity is beyond the
sensitivity of most common measurement or modelling approaches used in wind
erosion research. To overcome this, a specialised Micro Wind Tunnel (MWT) was
developed providing a reliable and practical solution measuring erodibility between
different crust types. The MWT successfully provided laminar horizontal airflow with
and without added saltation material, to specific crust types. Importantly, the size of
the MWT was appropriate to the spatial heterogeneity of crust types.Thesis (PhD Doctorate)Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)Griffith School of EnvironmentScience, Environment, Engineering and TechnologyFull Tex
Factors Influencing the Conservation Status Of the Glossy Black-Cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus Lathami Lathami) on the Gold Coast, Queensland
No full textCalyptorhynchus lathami, the Glossy-black Cockatoo, is a highly specialized monophagous bird feeding only on the cones of Allocasuarina species. Studies elsewhere have shown that C. lathami are restricted by a tight energy budget, forcing them to select high quality food sources, thereby minimizing effort and time in feeding, and resulting in the birds feeding in some trees and ignoring other apparently suitable trees. This specialized feeding habit, in conjunction with recent and ongoing habitat loss, is expected to cause a decline in their population in many localities. This study examined the abundance and distribution of C. l. lathami on the Gold Coast, Queensland.
The feeding status and stability of feed trees was examined, comparing between feed and non-feed trees within a site, and between sites, determining why some trees and sites are fed upon, whilst others are ignored. The results indicate that many areas containing Allocasuarinas had little to no current potential as a food source due to low cone production. Ultimately, it was found that many birds were feeding in few suitable sites, with most sites being unsuitable. Where trees with adequate cones crops were observed, it was found that C. lathami would feed in the areas with abundant cones. Within these areas, the birds were feeding on trees with large cone crops.
This study also used the number of chewings (pieces of cones: C. lathami feeding residue) to estimate bird abundance. The population size was calculated using the quantity and age of C. lathami feeding in the study area, and their daily food requirements. It was calculated that between 250 and 690 C. lathami were been feeding on the Gold Coast. On-going habitat loss on the Gold Coast may suggests that this population is not stable.Thesis (PhD Doctorate)Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)Griffith School of EnvironmentScience, Environment, Engineering and TechnologyFull Tex
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