International students have diverse needs when undertaking education in Australian universities. It is in the interest of both international students and the host institution to ensure these students achieve success in their studies. This study builds on previous research and explores, from the students' perspective, the academic adjustment experiences of undergraduate international Business students from Chinese Confucian heritage cultural backgrounds at Victoria University, Australia. A qualitative methodology, using principles of grounded theory, was used for the study. Individual in-depth interviews were conducted for data collection. The transcribed data was analysed under focus questions and themes identified in the literature review using open and fixed grids. The dissertation documents the academic experiences of the cohort of students studied, focusing on the significant cultural factors which impinged on their adjustment; and discusses the emerging patterns, processes of the adjustment, strategies for future students to adjust well, and implications for curriculum development and delivery. The results of this study have suggested that cultural and educational backgrounds play a significant role in students' adjustment. The systematic building by academics and administrators of formal and informal mechanisms in Australian universities, which value students' cultural diversity and develop inclusive curricula, is to enrich the learning experiences of all students.

Thesis (EDD)--University of Montana, 2009. / Contents viewed on December 21, 2009. Title from author supplied metadata. Includes bibliographical references.

A database was developed for the storage and convenient analysis of inorganic background soil constituent data within specific geological groups in Victoria, Australia. A statistical analysis of the data revealed the relative abundances of metals and, in particular, arsenic within soils of various geological units. These units included the Quaternary Aeolian (Qpw) (highest concentration of zinc, lowest concentration of chromium) the Quaternary Fluvial (Qrc) (highest chromium and nickel, equal highest copper, lowest lead and equal lowest arsenic); the Quaternary Newer Volcanics (Qvn) (equal lowest arsenic concentration); Silurian Anderson Creek Formation (Sla) (highest arsenic); Silurian Dargile Formation (Sud) (highest lead, equal highest copper); Tertiary Brighton Group (Tpb) (lowest nickel) and Older Volcanics (Tvo) (lowest copper and zinc). The identification of arsenic as a significant background constituent prompted a formal study of this element with respect to the nature of its sorption onto different kinds of soils, its bioavailability and speciation. Arsenic soil sorption analyses were conducted in the laboratory on clay loam, light clay, sand and silt loam soils. These experiments demonstrated that the sorption of arsenic was dependent on soil type and time of soil exposure to the arsenic solution. The bioavailability of arsenic from soil was also investigated using a relative bioavailability test method referred to as the 'geophagy gut simulation' extraction method. The adaptation of this method to these investigations showed it to be a viable, fast and simple technique. The experimental results indicated that the relative bioavailability of sorbed total arsenic was dependent on soil type. Given that the toxicity of arsenic is dependent on its speciation, techniques were also evaluated to assess arsenic speciation in soil extracts. To this end, the utility of electrospray mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) for the qualitative and quantitative assessment of arsenic and phosphorus speciation in solution was explored. Although this technique yielded interesting qualitative outcomes it was deemed not to be suitable for quantification. From the qualitative data, various postulates were formulated for the interaction between different species that were subsequently tested by quantum chemical calculations. A technique, based on extraction into chloroform, for quantifying the amount of AsIII in a sample was adapted to these investigations and was found to be highly accurate and discriminating, albeit time consuming. All phosphorus and arsenic species found to coexist in the ESI-MS experiments were modelled using high-level density functional theory (DFT). From these calculations, the relative energies of the species could be determined as well as reaction energies for their inter-conversion. This allowed hypotheses to be proposed for the distribution of such species in solution and how they might be taken up into clay structure. The DFT calculations also yielded geometrical information on a wide range of species as well as their electrostatic potential energy maps.

The United Nations peacekeeping intervention into Timor Leste following September 1999 signalled a victory for the 24-year Timorese struggle for independence. To date most evaluations of this intervention have taken “problem-solving” approaches, which have primarily considered how to improve the effectiveness of UN peacekeeping operations. This has left a gap about the impact of the UN’s overall strategic approach to political reconstruction in transitional societies recovering from chaos. In order to fill this gap this research draws upon the lessons of intrastate conflict and state-failure in post-colonial states during the 1990s and uses an institutional peace-building framework to evaluate the impact of the UN’s political reconstruction efforts in Timor Leste. This study traces Timor Leste’s post-conflict state-building through different stages of post-conflict state-building between 1999 and 2005 and examines how new patterns of political conflict have changed. One of the principal areas of consideration is the role of democratisation as a method of transferring potentially violent factional conflict into a peaceful rule-governed institutional setting. Also considered is the role of administrative and political decentralisation as a method of consolidating post-conflict peace by strengthening the legitimacy of a new state from the “bottom upwards”. By doing so, this study contributes to the growing interest among academics and peacekeeping practitioners about the role of participatory peacekeeping interventions into post-conflict societies. This work also assesses how and the extent to which UN and international aid agencies contributed to achieving sustainable peace and development in Timor Leste through institutional peace-building. Timor Leste continues to face reconstruction challenges peculiar to its history of occupation and resistance, which threaten to undermine the successes of state-building. Nevertheless, this thesis argues that state-building under the tutelage of the UN was a tremendous success. The findings drawn offer valuable political reconstruction lessons for Timor Leste, as well as other post-conflict societies, that will help to consolidate transitions from conflict to peace.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1998. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 106-111). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1998. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 106-111). Also available on the Internet.

<p>Education today needs to be different than the education that has been prevalent in U.S. public schools for generations of students, in part because of the rapid rise of technology in recent years. Students need to be able to employ 21st century skills in today&rsquo;s workforce. The current study&rsquo;s purpose was to measure the educational impact of Project Based Learning (PBL) in eighth grade social studies on students&rsquo; academic achievement, attendance, and discipline in a north Texas School district. The researcher analyzed historical State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness (STAAR) data, attendance data, and discipline data housed in the Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS). Achievement results were measured using scale scores from the STAAR eighth grade social studies, reading, and mathematics tests. The groups (PBL and nonPBL) were then compared using independent sample t-tests and a series of MANOVA tests to compare the specific objectives within the subject tests. The results of the study indicated that PBL students performed better on the STAAR social studies test and all four of the social studies objectives tested by STAAR than nonPBL students. Attendance and discipline rates were then compared using independent sample t-tests. </p><p> The results showed that PBL students do not have higher attendance rates and lower discipline rates than students in nonPBL settings. Recommendations made by the researcher related to further expansion of PBL within social studies and science classrooms in the District as well as additional research opportunities. </p><p> <i>Keywords</i>: project based learning, accountability, student engagement, student attendance, student discipline, student achievement, 21st century skills </p>

<p> This qualitative study addressed the problem of students' lack of trust of and interest in U.S. history and focused on students' experiences with official and unofficial versions of history in the middle school social studies classroom. A collective case study of five African American students was conducted in an eighth grade classroom at Carroll Academy, a public, urban charter school in Ohio. Interviews, questionnaires, observations, artifacts, and logs were collected and analyzed with a critical, interpretivist lens. </p><p> The findings included: (a) the students were suspicious of the official historical story in the form of their textbook and teacher; (b) they shared similar rationales for the perceived motivations behind the dishonest accounts in their textbooks, and the rationales changed in similar ways throughout the course of the project; (c) although they had limited experience with unofficial history before the project, they preferred to use unofficial historical sources with the condition that one eventually corroborates accounts with official sources; (d) the experience of studying family histories created race-related instances of contradiction between unofficial and official accounts in the classroom, and (e) students developed productive forms of resistance to the grand narrative in U.S. history by the end of the study. </p><p> The findings of the study offer implications for teachers of social studies. By using family history projects, teachers can engage students while helping them learn critical and historical thinking skills. They can provide a more inclusive social studies curriculum and can better understand their students' backgrounds and historical knowledge.</p>

The thesis is a study of Richard Casey and the Department of External Affairs in the 1950s, and the policies proposed or adopted by the Department in relation to three Asian nations: China, Indochina and Indonesia. This will illuminate the workings of a key government department that was at the front line of the early Cold War. The 1950s was a crucial decade in fostering relationships with Australia’s northern neighbours, many either emerging from, or fighting against, colonial rule. The actions of the Minister for External Affairs and his Department, whether positive or negative, would lay the foundations of Australian foreign policy for future decades. The thesis explores the ways in which Casey approached different regions in Asia in order to provide an analytical framework of how his policies toward Asia developed over time. The thesis examines whether Casey’s ideas about Asia were influenced by the particular circumstances of each country or whether other imperatives determined his approach to Asia. A study of Casey’s tenure in External Affairs will also involve an analysis of the level of support for Casey and his department both within Federal Cabinet and from Prime Minister Menzies.

Dual occupancy, the development of two dwellings on a single allotment, was initially formulated by the Victorian Ministry of Housing in the late 1970s as a housing policy. In the 1980s it became a planning issue and was then developed as a key plank of metropolitan planning policy by the (then) Ministry for Planning and Environment, resulting in specific controls being introduced into metropolitan planning schemes in 1985. By 1987 it had become a major mechanism for the implementation of the government's urban consolidation policy. This thesis traces the evolution of dual occupancy policy and discusses its impact on urban consolidation of metropolitan Melbourne. It explores three major questions: - How did dual occupancy become part of metropolitan planning policy? - What impact did dual occupancy have on housing and building options from its inception (1985/86 to 1991/92)? - Did dual occupancy contribute to increased growth rates in the established municipalities of the metropolitan area? This thesis involved the application of a number of different research methodologies, including interviews, analysis of Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data and some literature reviews. Interviews were conducted with several key people who were involved in formulation of dual occupancy policy. This enabled the policy to be put into its proper metropolitan context. A central element of the thesis involved a detailed analysis of Australian Bureau of Statistics census data for years 1985/86 through to 1991/92, including analysis of building approval statistics, population data, household size and household numbers for all municipalities within the designated metropolitan area of Melbourne. This allowed a number of trends to be established and observations to be made about the impact of dual occupancy developments on overall housing and population characteristics. The research represented in this thesis demonstrates that although dual occupancy was successful as a form of housing, it had little success as a contributor to urban consolidation. The data in this thesis shows that a large number of dual occupancies proportionate to other types of dwellings were built in the established and growth municipalities, but this form of development had a cost. Dual occupancy did not contribute to stabilising the population of established areas, nor did it contribute to reducing the rate of growth of developing (outer) municipalities.