Kylie M. Smith

Measuring research ‘impact’ for academic promotion: issues from the literature

Around the world, governments and the higher education sector are being asked to become more accountable for the money they spend on research funding. Research quality measurement exercises, such as the Excellence in Research for Australia initiative, use a number of agreed indicators to measure, analyse and report on various institution and discipline-based research outputs. This emphasis on the outputs of research as opposed to its longer term outcomes is having an effect on internal university policy and processes which can often operate negatively on individual staff career development and promotion. This article reports on a project aimed at more clearly articulating and defining the idea of research impact for academics by preparing a promotion application. Phase one of the project was an extensive international literature review and this article sets out the findings from this review, considers the difficulties for articulating and evidences impact at the individual level and makes some suggestions for how academic staff and units might begin to deal with the idea of research impact.

The effect of point of sale promotions on the alcohol purchasing behaviour of young people in metropolitan, regional and rural Australia

This study, part of a larger project examining marketing and alcohol, looked specifically at the effects of point of sale (POS) promotions on young people, with a view to providing evidence which could be used to inform policy and regulation in this area. A series of focus groups were conducted in three different locations with young people aged 16–25 years, separated by age and gender, with a total of 85 participants. Participants were asked questions about their recollection of various POS promotions and the effect of these promotions on their alcohol purchasing and consumption behaviour. The majority of participants indicated a strong link between POS promotions and alcohol purchasing and consumption behaviour. A majority of participants demonstrated a strong recall of previous promotions and almost all participants indicated they had been influenced to buy more or a particular brand of alcohol because of a promotion. Specifically, the results of the study indicate that POS promotions involving price or volume discounts have a strong impact on young people, and are particularly effective in encouraging the purchase of increased volumes of alcohol, suggesting a need for regulation in this area.

Surveillance, responsibility and control: an analysis of government and industry discourses about 'problem' and 'responsible' gambling

Abstract Background: Discussions of gambling have traditionally focused on ideas of “problem” and “responsible” gambling. However, few studies have examined how Institutions attempt to exert social control over gamblers in order to promote so-called “responsible” behaviour. In this study, we examine the way “problem” and “responsible” gambling are discussed by Australian governments and the gambling industry, using a theoretical framework based on the work of Foucault. Method: We conducted a thematic analysis of discourses surrounding problem and responsible gambling in government and gambling industry websites, television campaigns and responsible gambling materials. Results: Documents distinguished between gambling, which was positive for the community, and problem gambling, which was portrayed as harmful and requiring medical intervention. The need for responsible gambling was emphasised in many of the documents, and reinforced by mechanisms including self-monitoring, self-control and surveillance of gamblers. Conclusions: Government and industry expect gamblers to behave “responsibly”, and are heavily influenced by neoliberal ideas of rational, controlled subjects in their conceptualisation of what constitutes “responsible behaviour”. As a consequence, problem gamblers become constructed as a deviant group. This may have significant consequences for problem gamblers, such as the creation of stigma.

Engagement and academic promotion: a review of the literature

Universities in Australia are becoming increasingly concerned with their reputation as ‘engaged’ institutions. Yet there is significant confusion about what this idea of ‘engagement’ means and no clear way of measuring or reporting it. In part, this is because of the nature of engagement itself which is dependent on local context, partnerships and communities. This presents a difficulty for academic staff undertaking engaged work within institutions and stresses the need for institutions to develop internal processes that clearly articulate definitions of engagement, set out performance expectations and provide processes for the reward and recognition of the scholarship of engagement. In a sector increasingly concerned with the outputs of research as measurable by publication bibliometrics and grant income, the sometimes difficult to measure outcomes of engaged work can become relegated and dismissed. As part of a project to articulate performance expectations in the area of the scholarship of engagement for academic promotion at the University of Wollongong, researchers undertook an extensive international literature review to learn what had been done in this area previously and to identify issues of concern. This paper sets out the findings from this review, considers the implications of engaged scholarship for academic promotion and suggests some possible ways forward for institutions and staff working in this area.

The development of a model of education for casual academic staff who support nursing students in practice.

Nursing is predominantly a practice based profession where clinical placement for pre-registration nursing students is a significant component of their programme, as this is pivotal in achieving work readiness of the graduate registered nurse. It is therefore important to ensure nursing students have high quality clinical placements that are supervised by well-prepared experienced registered nurses. This paper discusses one component of the reconnaissance phase of a wider action research project being undertaken in a metropolitan university in NSW, Australia seeking to enhance the development and support of casual academic staff known as clinical supervisors who support students in clinical placement. The outcomes attributed to this project are the development of a participation model which has resulted in a collaborative partnership between the university and clinical supervisors and secondly, the embedding of solution focused ways of working and practice development into the program. The information from the reconnaissance phase of this project confirms the need for further research into the implementation of the participatory model to ensure that future education and support process are developed through collaboration.

Articulating performance expectations for scholarship at an Australian regional university

With an academic workforce undergoing transformation, it is vital that universities rethink how they define and value scholarship through their processes for academic promotion. A key part of this rethink is to review and refine existing documentation about promotion to reflect changing conceptions of scholarly work, in a way that enables scholars from non-traditional academic pathways to be valued equally through the promotion process with their more traditional counterparts. This process of reviewing scholarship was the aim of a promotions review project which began at the University of Wollongong in 2011 and concluded with the production of an Academic Performance Framework (APF). This framework outlines a new way of articulating performance expectations in order to recognise scholarship more broadly, as well as to emphasise more clearly the imperative for academics to be able to articulate evidence of the impact of their work.

A qualiatitive study of peer support and advocacy activities for problem gambling

A systematic review of randomized controlled trials studying the preventive effects of physical exercise, manual and behavioural treatments in acute low back pain and neck painIntroduction: The global financial crisis has left governments struggling to reduce their budget deficits. Loans and taxes are two important financial instruments for governments to close their budget gaps. According to models of temporal discounting and expected utility individuals should experience loans as a greater loss than taxes, depleting psychological resources and reducing individuals’ capacity to cope with stressors. The present research examined patterns of cardiovascular (CV) reactivity associated with exposure to loans or taxes. Methods: We randomised 73 students to one of three groups: loans, taxes, control (baseline). Participants in the experimental groups imagined finishing university with debts and having to repay the sums outstanding as a proportion of their salaried income over the next 30 years either via a loan repayment, or via taxes. Participants in the control group imagined finishing university, and then working in salaried employment over the next 30 years. All participants then performed a variant of the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST), whilst CV responses were monitored [BP (blood pressure), ECG (electrocardiogram), ICG (impedance cardiogram)]. Results: Compared to the control group, participants in the loan group exhibited maladaptive CV responses during the stress task (higher BP and higher total peripheral resistance [TPR]). Conversely, participants in the taxes group exhibited more adaptive CV responses and did not differ from the control group. Conclusions: Economic considerations have dominated debates surrounding macro-financial performance. The present research highlights the need to consider the psychological costs and benefits of tax-based and loan-based financial instruments.

The study of nursing care project: back to the future for contemporary nursing research?

AIMS   To discuss the Study of Nursing Care project, an initiative from the late 1970s in the UK. The article explores the impact of the Study of Nursing Care on nursing research, and considers to what extent it presents a useful model for contemporary nursing research. BACKGROUND   It is acknowledged internationally that the nursing academic workforce is ageing and dwindling. Many possible solutions are being debated with all agreeing that the next generation of evidence based nurse leaders is urgently required. DATA SOURCES   In this article, the authors survey existing workforce schemes, describe the Study of Nursing Care series, published in the 1970s, and draw on interviews and correspondence conducted in 2009 with four of the original Study of Nursing Care research assistants. DISCUSSION   The Study of Nursing Care project poses a potential response to academic workforce issues. This article discusses the evolution of the project, its methods and operation and considers its possible implications for contemporary practice. Implications for nursing.  The Study of Nursing Care model demonstrates the clear benefits of fully committed funding, a programmatic approach towards research development, and the importance of selecting the right kind of people for the work, in a national scheme. CONCLUSION   The authors argue that although the clinical outcomes it set out to achieve remain elusive, the project produced a cohort of nurse researchers who went on to give important leadership in nursing, including in nursing academia/research. A contemporary version of the Study of Nursing Care has important potential to generate the next generation of nurse researchers, and leaders, into the twenty-first century.