Celeste Lawson

The problem of student attrition in higher education: An alternative perspective

Abstract Student attrition continues to be a significant and costly challenge for higher education institutions across the globe. In Australia, universities cite the importance of addressing student attrition through strategic statements and policy documents, and expend time and resources on the problem. Despite vast expenditures, they have made little impact on student attrition, which continues to negatively impact reputation and revenue. Using a regional Australian university as a case study, this paper analyses a student exit survey to identify the complex and inter-related array of factors that contribute to student attrition. It was found that attrition would be better conceptualised as a wicked problem, which is one that cannot be strategically addressed using traditional approaches to problem-solving. The practical implications of these findings reinforce that current approaches to attrition are likely to fail. Therefore, the wicked nature of the attrition problem needs to be taken into account when developing strategies or policies within higher education.

Situating Policing in a Late Modern Society: The Ontology of Police Identity

As individuals we interact and make decisions that shape both us and those around us. This view holds true of policing, a field dominated by functionalist approaches to research. This paper questions functionalism and presents a sociological perspective of policing research, incorporating a social construction of identity. Whilst functionalists argue that crime is deviance against the dominant group, it provides no opportunity to question norms or identity. In an era of globalisation and connectivity, an interpretivist ontology in policing research is more appropriate, allowing the representation of identity through an analysis of culture and discourse. Culture and identity are sociological influences on police action, negotiated through hegemonistic power struggles.

Development of an international comorbidity education framework.

CONTEXT The increasing number of people living with multiple chronic conditions in addition to an index condition has become an international healthcare priority. Health education curricula have been developed alongside single condition frameworks in health service policy and practice and need redesigning to incorporate optimal management of multiple conditions. AIM Our aims were to evaluate current teaching and learning about comorbidity care amongst the global population of healthcare students from different disciplines and to develop an International Comorbidity Education Framework (ICEF) for incorporating comorbidity concepts into health education. METHODS We surveyed nursing, medical and pharmacy students from England, India, Italy and Sweden to evaluate their understanding of comorbidity care. A list of core comorbidity content was constructed by an international group of higher education academics and clinicians from the same disciplines, by searching current curricula and analysing clinical frameworks and the student survey data. This list was used to develop the International Comorbidity Education Framework. RESULTS The survey sample consisted of 917 students from England (42%), India (48%), Italy (8%) and Sweden (2%). The majority of students across all disciplines said that they lacked knowledge, training and confidence in comorbidity care and were unable to identify specific teaching on comorbidities. All student groups wanted further comorbidity training. The health education institution representatives found no specific references to comorbidity in current health education curricula. Current clinical frameworks were used to develop an agreed list of core comorbidity content and hence an International Comorbidity Education Framework. CONCLUSIONS Based on consultation with academics and clinicians and on student feedback we developed an International Comorbidity Education Framework to promote the integration of comorbidity concepts into current healthcare curricula.

Framing attrition in higher education: a complex problem

Abstract This study situates student attrition within the strategic framework of Australian public universities. It draws on organisational theory to describe higher education within a bureaucratic framework. The study uses a quantitative approach to undertake a content analysis of attrition and retention policy statements from all Australian universities. This reveals that Australian universities, and the higher education sector as a whole, are attempting to address attrition within their existing bureaucracies. Attrition however is a wicked problem that includes many variables outside the influence of universities, which limits the potential of strategic approaches to problem solving. The practical implications of these findings are that current approaches to attrition are likely to fail. The wicked nature of the attrition problem needs to be taken into account when developing strategies or policies within higher education.

Are you really one of us?: Exploring Ethics, Risk and Insider Research in a Private Facebook Community

Researchers have only just begun grappling with the ethical implications of social media research, since more research is conducted online in virtual communities. Ethical review boards may not have the understanding or training to advise on projects with elements of social media research. This paper is a reflexive account that explores the authors decision to undertake research in a private Facebook community, of which she was already a member. This paper details the negative response that was received from community gatekeepers, and explores the research decisions which elicited this response. This paper uses Lee-Treweek & Linkogles four-part framework for understanding researcher risk, and presents in this instance that the risk of social isolation faced by the researcher was too significant to proceed with the study. Insider research, and netnography are two complicated areas of research. This paper contributes to ongoing learning in this growing field.

Dipping Qualitative Toes into a Quantitative Worldview: Methodological Manoeuvres in a Multicultural Context

Radiography is a health science with rich opportunities for qualitative research, yet only 5 % of published research in radiography is qualitative. This chapter maps the journey of one radiography researcher who used comparative ethnography to study the sociological underpinnings of radiographic practice in seven countries. She encountered issues and pitfalls that needed to be overcome in terms of not only methodology but also practice. The researcher was obliged to justify a qualitative approach to the profession in order to access the varying cultural and socioeconomic data collection sites. The insider status of the researcher became a critical element in the interpretation of certain professional behaviours in a variety of contextual cultural influences.