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A new classification system for computing education papers is presented and applied to every computing education paper published between January 2004 and January 2007 at the two premier computing education conferences in Australia and New Zealand. We find that while simple reports outnumber other types of paper, a healthy proportion of papers address and answer a research question. We find that more papers deal with programming courses than with other courses, and that more than half of all publications are situated in single subjects. To the extent that differing circumstances permit, we compare our results with those of an earlier study of the SIGCSE conference, and find that the Australasian publications include fewer simple reports and more papers describing analysis and experiment. We note a reasonable number of publications on multi-institutional work, which we interpret as evidence of a sense of computing education community within Australia and New Zealand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the Australian literature relating to female under-representation in the information technology (IT) sphere of careers and education. This summary of the current body of literature presented through the lens of the nature of the discipline includes emerging theories that explore the masculinization of the discipline, followed by a discussion of the lack of a sustainable impact on declining female student numbers of earlier Australian intervention programmes. A position is presented on the marginalization of this line of research within the IT discipline, as well as media representations of gendered messages about IT. Finally, student career choice literature is used to explore the author's premise that many young women in 21st century Australia, when faced with an array of career choices, appear to be exercising this power of choice to exclude IT from their list of possible futures.

Over the past few years Australian universities have sought to establish generic graduate attributes statements to meet the demands of external stakeholders. Within the area of information and communication technology (ICT), for example, professional organizations and employers want new ICT graduates to be able to talk with clients, create persuasive arguments and present work confidently. To meet such requirements, Australian ICT educators have explored a variety of methods to implement graduate attributes. The selection and content of delivery models, however, vary according to university policies and departmental cultures. In this paper we critically examine the dedicated, infused, and embedded approaches to the delivery of generic graduate attributes. To do this, we first trace the development of graduate attributes. Secondly, we present three diverse approaches by two ICT departments within the same university and discuss factors that lead to sustainable generic graduate attribute programmes. We conclude our paper with issues to consider when adopting implementation models and map out suggestions for further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the Australian literature relating to female under-representation in the information technology (IT) sphere of careers and education. This summary of the current body of literature presented through the lens of the nature of the discipline includes emerging theories that explore the masculinization of the discipline, followed by a discussion of the lack of a sustainable impact on declining female student numbers of earlier Australian intervention programmes. A position is presented on the marginalization of this line of research within the IT discipline, as well as media representations of gendered messages about IT. Finally, student career choice literature is used to explore the author's premise that many young women in 21st century Australia, when faced with an array of career choices, appear to be exercising this power of choice to exclude IT from their list of possible futures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]