In Australia, the employment destinations of new graduates are surveyed annually and descriptions of successful employment have become an indicator of quality within the higher education sector. The expectations that employers hold for graduate generic skills are of interest, therefore, to graduates and the institutions they attended. Communication and thinking are recognised widely as the most important generic skills, however the application of these skills will occur in the workplace where academic skills may not be totally appropriate. In addition, many graduates of Australian institutions; e.g., international students, are likely to be employed by foreign organisations. Therefore, not only is the workplace a very different environment to academia but graduates could be expected to satisfy the expectations of employers working in culturally different environments.This investigation describes the expectations participating Singaporean and Perth employers held for recently graduated business graduates with particular attention given to graduate communication and thinking. The exploratory research used interviews and surveys to assemble contextual descriptions of employer expectations. The interview data was used to construct a questionnaire that was administered across a larger sample of employers to see whether the surveys corroborated the interview findings. Contextual descriptions of the communication and thinking capabilities that the Singaporean and Perth employers expected recent business graduates to possess are provided by this study. Gaps between employer expectations and perceptions of graduate ability are discussed, together with useful graduate characteristics. During data analysis five themes were noted and they have been used to propose a model of employer expectations. Finally, seven recommendations for professional practitioners have been suggested ++ / and a list of employer concerns is provided.

Abstract This study is concerned with the ways mathematical understanding emerges when mathematical phenomena are encountered through digital pedagogical media, the spreadsheet, in particular. Central to this, was an examination of the affordances digital technologies offer, and how the affordances associated with investigating mathematical tasks in the spreadsheet environment, shaped the learning trajectories of the participants. Two categories of participating students were involved, ten-year-old primary school pupils, and pre-service teachers. An eclectic approach to data collection, including qualitative and quantitative methods, was initially undertaken, but as my research perspective evolved, a moderate hermeneutic frame emerged as the most productive way in which to examine the research questions. A hermeneutic process transformed the research methodology, as well as the manner in which the data were interpreted. The initial analysis and evolving methodology not only informed this transition to a moderate hermeneutic lens, they were constitutive of the ongoing research perspectives and their associated interpretations. The data, and some that was subsequently collected, were then reconsidered from this modified position. The findings indicated that engaging mathematical tasks through the pedagogical medium of the spreadsheet, influenced the nature of the investigative process in particular ways. As a consequence, the interpretations of the interactions, and the understandings this evoked, also differed. The students created and made connections between alternative models of the situations, while the visual, tabular structuring of the environment, in conjunction with its propensity to instantly manage large amounts of output accurately, facilitated their observation of patterns. They frequently investigated the visual nature of these patterns, and used visual referents in their interpretations and explanations. It also allowed them to pose and test their informal conjectures and generalisations in non-threatening circumstances, to reset investigative sub-goals easily, hence fostering risk taking in their approach. At times, the learning trajectory evolved in unexpected ways, and the data illustrated various alternative ways in which unexpected, visual output stimulated discussion and extended the boundaries of, or reorganised, their interaction and mathematical thinking. An examination of the visual perturbations, and other elements of learning as hermeneutic processes also revealed alternative understandings and explanations. Viewing the data and the research process through hermeneutic filters enhanced the connectivity between the emergence of individual mathematical understanding, and the cultural formation of mathematics. It permitted consideration of the ways this process influences the evolution of mathematics education research. While interpretive approaches are inevitably imbued with the researcher perspective in the analysis of what gets noticed, the research gave fresh insights into the ways learning emerges through digital pedagogical media, and the potential of this engagement to change the nature of mathematics education.

This study aimed to discover ways of designing children's programs using creativity and imagination that are unique and relevant to young children. It examined whether the degree to which the early childhood professional's own sense of enchantment, creativeness and imagination is or is not inextricably linked to the creative and imaginative output of young children in childcare contexts. It evaluated the link between an educator?s own sense of enchantment, imagination and creativeness and the quality of the program offered to young children in childcare centres. The study also identified ways of enriching the care of children in childcare centres through programs that would enhance the children?s imagination and creativeness, utilising the individuality of the teacher/carer?s own ideas on creativity and program design. A case-study methodology was chosen to determine the answers to the posed questions. Three case studies in Hobart and one in Brisbane, using a variety of research tools, including interviews, the application of a creativity assessment sheet, observations and photography, were used to answer the research questions. The results in this small-scale study showed that the early childhood educator's own sense of enchantment and use of imagination and creativity did correlate with the children's imagination and creativity and also with the quality of the program. A conclusion is that an educator's creative disposition is a vital factor in the enrichment of the care of children in childcare contexts. / thesis (PhDEducation)--University of South Australia, 2002.

The thesis investigates activism in the context of an empowering teaching of economics in two educational settings: TAFE and university. The chosen research methodology is critical action research and the thesis is framed as an emergent process, incorporating critical reflection on the researcher's own assumptions from the outset.The study showed that critical reflection requires a continual process of critical questioning to explore and undercover deeply held assumptions and beliefs. A key finding is the significance of relationship within an atmosphere of openness and trust in enhancing critical reflection. A significant finding was the emergent distinction between 'critical reflection' and 'critical reflexivity' and a significant implication from investigating the process of reflexivity is that an important role for activism may be that of the 'relexive inquirer', the person who assists the deeper reflection, with no agenda other than to explore, to understand and to reveal deeper meanings. Activism may well offer empowerment of a very different kind - the freedom to experience the world free of materialist desire, valuing the building of communities through connectedness with others and the environment / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

This qualitative research project explored the experiences of nurse educators who sought to assess aspects, which could be related to facilitation of emotional competence, in nursing students. Focus groups were conducted in three different educational institutions, offering a Bachelor of nursing degree. Each of the participants had a teaching and assessment role within the school of nursing. The contributions of the nurse educators and their interactions were audio taped, transcribed and then later, analysed using thematic and focus group analysis practices.From the analysis of the experiences of the nurse educators, four predominant themes arose which capture the areas of importance to the participants. Student nurses can develop emotional competence by critically reflecting during classroom and clinical experiences. Continuous consideration must be made within each practicing area of nursing, of the environmental and relational challenges which inhibit or facilitate nurse's ability to practice with emotional competence. Educators and practicing nurses, who work alongside students, must uphold the expectation that emotional competence is a requisite ability and provide opportunities to foster emotional growth and skills to resolve conflict within the culture of nursing.A common view shared by the educators was that the profession of nursing needs to have a clear understanding of what constitutes emotional competence. Strategies to realistically incorporate emotional competence into the educational curriculum and competency based assessment opportunities within nursing education are required.Suggestions are presented from which undergraduate nursing education can facilitate development of emotional competence with those students working toward becoming a registered nurse. Emotional competence is suggested as an essential learning outcome in the movement toward transformative nursing education and a collaborative nursing profession.

This qualitative research study investigated the expression of critical thinking in environmental subjects at university level in Australia. It also explored the strategies used by lecturers to encourage student critical thinking. Initially an open-ended questionnaire was sent to lecturers and tutors in universities across Australia and the responses from thirty participants were analysed thematically. From these participants semi-structured interviews were arranged with six lecturers and eight students from three different universities. The third phase of the research process involved analysing subject outlines and student assignments. Findings were triangulated to create a picture of the teaching and learning practices of critical thinking in this field. The three cases of Environmental Science, Environmental Engineering and Environmental Law were identified as having some common yet distinctively different themes in relation to critical thinking. In each discipline area three broad approaches to the expression of critical thinking were identified: scientific/technical, paradigmatic and reflective. The scientific/technical approach in science was most concerned with critique of experiments and studies, in engineering with problem solving and in law with the technical aspects of language and application of the law. The paradigmatic approach included critical analysis of the different theories, frameworks and paradigms of each subject. The reflective approach to critical thinking included students’ self evaluation of their learning within a specific subject. Notable differences between the three cases were the types of strategies used by lecturers to encourage student critical thinking. The Environmental Science lecturers were more inclined to use a wide variety of strategies, including provision of written material about critical thinking with critical thinking identified in marking criteria, discussion in class and guided exercises. The Environmental Engineering lecturers placed more emphasis on discussion in class than on providing written materials. The Environmental Law lecturers predominantly focused on the strategy of debating in class for the development of student critical thinking. The findings of this study are significant in providing support for the argument that development of critical thinking is subject specific rather than generic. This calls into question the use of generic skills testing for university graduates as a reliable measure of their ability to think critically in their field. The findings indicate that it is necessary for subject lecturers to be explicit with students about their expectations regarding critical thinking, particularly in relation to assessment. Findings suggest guidelines for lecturers including strategies and attitudes that encourage or hinder student critical thinking. Findings also suggest that the nature of the field of environmental and sustainability subjects lends itself to developing critical thinking, which is considered to be important.

The first aim of this study was to identify important aspects of mathematical thinking, and to investigate the relationships between the different aspects of mathematical thinking and mathematics achievement. The second aim was to examine possible gender and school location (urban, suburban, and rural) differences related to aspects of mathematical thinking and mathematics achievement. Two assessments were developed that were suitable for students in the Year 11 scientific stream in Jordan. One test was for aspects of mathematical thinking and the other for mathematics achievement, the latter being consistent with typical school achievement tests for these students in Jordan. The researcher chose and developed items to test mathematical thinking and mathematics achievement from the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), the internet, research literature, specialist books in mathematics and his own experience. The data were collected in the 2003-2004 academic year from over 500 Year 11 scientific stream students (both male and female) at 20 randomly selected schools from six directorates in the Irbid Governorate, Jordan. In addition, 13 teachers were individually interviewed, and four groups of students were interviewed in focus groups to obtain information about their opinions and about different methods of thinking in mathematics. The teacher interviews were used to identify consistencies and inconsistencies between the test results and the respondents’ opinions of difficulty and importance. In addition, information was obtained about the classroom time teachers devoted to the different aspects of mathematical thinking and the teaching strategies they employed. Six aspects of mathematical thinking were identified by the study: Generalization, Induction, Deduction, Use of Symbols, Logical thinking and Mathematical proof. Mathematical proof was also the most difficult aspect, while Logical thinking was the least difficult. Female students had significantly higher mean scores than males on three of the six aspects of mathematical thinking and on the total test scores. Students attending suburban schools had significantly higher mean scores than students at urban and rural schools on four aspects, and on the total scores. Using multiple regression analysis, all six aspects were found to be important for mathematics achievement. Mathematical proof and Generalization were the most important aspects, Use of symbols and Logical thinking were next in importance, and Deduction and Induction were the least important aspects. Approximately 70 per cent of the variance in mathematics achievement was explained by the six aspects of mathematical thinking, gender, and school location. There was a high level of consistency between teacher opinions of the relative importance of aspects of mathematical thinking and the test results. However, there were some nconsistencies between the teacher opinions and test results with respect to relative difficulty levels of the six aspects. By clarifying the importance for mathematics achievement of the six aspects of mathematical thinking identified, this study has relevance for the teaching of mathematics to Year 11, scientific stream students in Jordan. / PhD Doctorate

Strategic decision-making is a fundamental process in business management as strategic decisions affect the long-term health of the organisation. However, a constantly and unpredictably changing business environment, becoming progressively more complex as time passes makes strategy formulation increasingly difficult. Shock events such as terrorist attacks, rapidly spreading communicable diseases, and unexpected business failures of large and well-established companies greatly affect organisations by making it difficult to effectively plan for the future. This thesis contributes to the strategic decision-making literature by investigating the role of shock events in a complex system, namely strategic decision-making. Using chaos/complexity theory as an intellectual platform this thesis argues that strategic decision-making is a complex, open, dynamic and non-linear system and that shock events can represent an opportunity in strategic decision-making. A number of contemporary writers are calling for more integrated models. In response this research proposes a generic and integrative framework that highlights the complexity of strategic decision-making and its processes. The research is qualitative and a single-case study approach was chosen, examining the decision-making processes in a large Australian regional airport. Data collection was triangulated, consisting mainly of in-depth interviews with executives but also included questionnaires, and quantitative and qualitative archival data. It was found that shock events influenced strategic decision-making by causing evolutionary changes in the strategic decision-making processes. In addition it was found that shock events impacted on internal drivers such as cognition and organisational culture. The shock event was perceived as an opportunity, which resulted in changing decision-making processes a change in business strategy. It was concluded that environmental perception, intuition and an opportunity-seeking culture can play an important part in strategic decision-making following a shock event.

本論文的研究目的，旨在探討戈巴契夫上臺後，為因應「亞洲世紀」及解 決國內問題，在「外交新思維」下所推展之新東北亞政策。該項政策分為 兩階段：第一階段為促成中蘇共合解。戈巴契夫深切體認蘇聯需要一個和 平的國際環境，來解決國內日益嚴重的經濟問題，因此必須與其有著世界 最長邊界且逐漸強大的中共改善關係。第二階段為改善蘇聯與日本、韓半 島的關係。日蘇兩國關係因「北方領土」爭執而無法突破，迨戈巴契夫掌 權，積極改善與日本的非政治關係，希望換取日本對蘇聯經改的支持。「 櫻花高峰會議」的召開雖顯示戈氏對日政策的彈性成果，會議的結果仍是 兩國關係受制於「北方領土」而無重大突破。在韓半島方面，蘇聯的「外 交新思維」與南韓的「北進政策」交集成兩國外交關係的建立，和解的氣 氛使得北韓亦無法堅持強硬姿態，對於韓半島的穩定有正面影響。 戈 巴契夫的東北亞政策既為解決國內問題，自受國內政、經、民族問題所影 響，而與東北亞相關的強國－中共、美國，更是影響戈氏該項決策的重要 外在因素，本文第五章對上述因素有較深入之分析。綜觀戈氏東北亞政策 的推展，雖然無法獲致全面的成功，但對於締造有利於蘇聯發展經濟的有 利環境，卻居功厥偉。

This thesis sets for itself the task of testing the viability of a dialogic model of learning as a methodology for teaching critical thinking in reading and writing to undergraduate students of Thai in Thailand. To this end, we conducted an experiment involving twenty-one undergraduate students of Thai at KhonKaen University, Thailand. This study presents the intellectual background of the pedagogic framework supporting the experiment and a discussion of its outcomes. The assessment of the results of the experiment focuses on the forms of evidence resulting directly from this pedagogic framework. The study concludes with a number of considerations for future research in critical thinking which our project helped us to identify. For the purpose of our work, we adopt the model of dialogic learning which involves students in looking for perspectives enabling them to challenge, and as a result to enhance, the relevance of the understandings in which they frame their interactions. The process is dialogic because it involves students in working with different points of view by identifying challenging perspectives, constructing conflicting arguments and exploring the strategic potential that the interaction of these arguments may have on the students? initial assumptions. In this sense, the concept of dialogue that we use refers to the methodology of students? inquiry (learning), rather than a specific form of linguistic genre. In our view, this definition is suitable to all fields of inquiry considering that each field deals with evaluation of the strategic (enabling) power of its assumptions. In the course of this work, we establish the relevance of the above concept of dialogic inquiry against a multitude of ideas regarding the suitability of different approaches to the teaching of critical thinking. We illustrate that, typically, teaching approaches value questioning as a means for generating reasoned arguments. However, the originality of the dialogic model used in this thesis lies in its ability to focus pedagogic environments on students? strategic engagement in social interactions, rather than on the process of questioning alone. Consequently, in our study we assess the quality of students? learning by identifying the contexts indicating the quality of students? social engagement. These included gauging the community?s interest in the students? project, the depth of students? exploratory work, their ability to work together and students? own personal involvement in their project. These outcomes helped us to reflect on the quality of the teaching model which we designed in order to promote the critical thinking process. The emphasis on students? strategic engagement in social interactions allowed us to break away from the conventional concerns with the link between classroom learning and real-world tasks. Instead, our students engaged in the task of creating a Thai News Network (TNN), an Internet-based broadcasting channel, involving students in generating for themselves the meaning of the objectives of their academic subject in the contexts of challenges that they experienced when creating the channel and its (news) articles. Our data analysis shows that the concept of a Thai News Network proved very successful despite the conventional beliefs that Thai students would find it difficult to be critical thinkers. As we demonstrate throughout the entire thesis, the main issue in teaching critical thinking is not, as it is often assumed, to ask students to critique the teacher or other authority texts. Rather, it is to create conditions enabling students to identify, and to work with, conflicting perspectives in order to create for themselves increasingly better informed and more inclusive strategies for acting in the world. This may not be an original purpose, but our study offers an original pedagogic framework for facilitating this objective.