EXPLAINING LABOR'S WIN AT THE 1993 AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL ELECTION

This paper investigates Labor's victory at the 1993 AustralianFederal election. In the aftermath of the election a varietyof explanations emerged endeavoring to account for the result.From these explanations factors claimed as important are investigatedfor their influence on vote choice and importantly their contributionto the parties' shares of the vote. Confirming aspects of someof the explanations, the factors which gave the ALP the greatestbenefits were the opposition's proposed goods and services tax,and the medicare and health, and industrial relations issues.The coalition benefited from Labor's employment record, theeconomic management issue, and from the belief that it was timeto change government. This study demonstrates that careful analysisof survey data can provide accurate and detailed accounts ofelection outcomes. We discuss how explanations of election outcomesin general can be improved and the implications of the study'sfindings for the next election.     

Specific impairment in developmental reading disabilities: a working memory approach

Children with developmental reading disabilities (RD) frequently display impaired working memory functioning. However, research has been divergent regarding the characteristics of the deficit. Our investigation addressed this controversy by assessing Baddeley's working memory model as a whole rather than focusing on particular aspects of it, as has been done by much of the research to date. Participants included 20 children with RD and 20 typical readers between the ages of 9 and 13. The phonological loop, visual-spatial sketchpad, and central executive were assessed according to Baddeley's model. The results demonstrated that children with RD have an impaired phonological loop but intact visual-spatial sketchpad and central executive functioning as compared to controls. In terms of the phonological loop, the deficit appears to be specific to the phonological store. Furthermore, our research supports a relationship between phonological processing and phonological loop functioning.     

Active Learning and Teaching through Digital Technology and Live Performance: ‘Choreographic Thinking’ as Art Practice in the Tertiary Sector

This article is an interdisciplinary reflective response to an intensive studio learning and teaching experience involving artists, academics and postgraduate students. The authors of this article teach, research and practise in coding, digital design, dance, and virtual and live performance. As lecturers and students we reflect upon and propose future approaches to art practice in tertiary education informed by live performance, performance capture and studio‐based responses to digital and virtual platforms. We reflect on an innovative contribution to the field of research–teaching nexus as informed by digital and virtual data capture identifying the key element of immediacy in live performance and choreographic improvisation with systems. We reflect on practice‐based inquiry via the Choreographic Coding Lab (CCL) model – a dialogical negotiation between capture technology and interdisciplinary artists in industry and academia. How can we encourage potential studio inquiry as an adapted model in tertiary learning and teaching? Our interdisciplinary voices, presented as authors’ reflections, provide suggestions for future studio‐based, active learning contexts.