LeaD-In: a cultural change model for peer review of teaching in higher education

Peer review of teaching is recognized increasingly as one strategy for academic development even though historically peer review of teaching is often unsupported by policy, action and culture in many Australian universities. Higher education leaders report that academics generally do not engage with peer review of teaching in a systematic or constructive manner, and this paper advances and analyses a conceptual model to highlight conditions and strategies necessary for the implementation of sustainable peer review in higher education institutions. The model highlights leadership, development and implementation, which are critical to the success and formation of a culture of peer review of teaching. The work arises from collaborative research funded by the Office for Learning and Teaching to foster and advance a culture of peer review of teaching across several universities in Australia.     

Funding international communication research

The purpose of this paper is to derive certain lessons learned about funded international communication research. Like other types of funded research, funding for international communication research is increasing as funding agencies perceive the value of communication research. Much international communication research is interdisciplinary in nature, and benefits the American university in broadening intellectual concerns to a more worldwide perspective. The Internet is changing the nature of certain types of international communication research by providing rapid, low-cost access to overseas respondents in data-gathering, and by raising new issues to be investigated. Also, the rise of this new communication technology calls the potential of communication research to the attention of funding agencies.     

Changing attitudes of Australian academics

This article reports on the changing work-related attitudes and demographics of academic staff in Australia, in four universities and four former colleges of advanced education (CAEs, comparable to polytechnics), surveyed in 1979, 1984 and 1990. The surveys were of all academic staff in each institution, with response rates averaging 47%. As in other countries, the former binary system of education has recently been ended by reconstituting colleges of advanced education as universities. Differences in work-related attitude are examined, and shown to differ consistently between the types of institution, across the elapsed time, and between the sexes, ranks and academic disciplines of the respondents. In particular, each institution has shown a sustained increase in academic staff alienation and dissatisfaction over the eleven-year period. The differences in demographics and in work-related attitudes between original universities and former colleges of advanced education remain after the ending of the binary system. The differences are discussed in relation to a number of current policy issues, including the ending of the binary system of higher education. Since similar policy changes and similar pressures are occurring in a number of countries, the findings of the study have implications beyond Australia.     

Sign language and the brain: a review

How are signed languages processed by the brain? This review briefly outlines some basic principles of brain structure and function and the methodological principles and techniques that have been used to investigate this question. We then summarize a number of different studies exploring brain activity associated with sign language processing especially as compared to speech processing. We focus on lateralization: is signed language lateralized to the left hemisphere (LH) of native signers, just as spoken language is lateralized to the LH of native speakers, or could sign processing involve the right hemisphere to a greater extent than speech processing? Experiments that have addressed this question are described, and some problems in obtaining a clear answer are outlined.     

The stability of attachment security from infancy to adolescence and early adulthood: general introduction

Current attachment theory hypothesizes that attachment security during infancy influences individual differences in adult representations of attachment. We present three long-term longitudinal studies using three different samples relevant to this hypothesis. Each study assesses infant attachment by using the Ainsworth Strange Situation and adult attachment by using the Berkeley Adult Attachment Interview (AAI). Attachment security was significantly stable in the first two studies. Discontinuity in all three studies was related to negative life events and circumstances. Comparison of the results across these complementary studies affords a degree of replication and sheds light on alternative interpretations. Various mechanisms underlying the stability and instability of attachment security are discussed.